Diagnostic system and method

A method for identifying a component that has failed, the method comprising:

• receiving input relating to observed symptoms indicative of a failed component;
• correlating the input relating to the observed symptoms with a plurality of suspect components that are each capable of causing the observed symptoms upon failure;
• prioritizing the plurality of suspect components based upon a relative likelihood that the respective suspect components caused the observed symptoms;
• identifying at least one test to be performed in order to refine the prioritization of the plurality of suspect components;
• and
• displaying a prioritized listing of the plurality of suspect components and an indication of the at least one test to be performed in order to refine the prioritization of the plurality of suspect components.

A method for identifying a component that has failed, the method comprising:

• correlating input relating to at least one observed symptom with a plurality of suspect components that are each capable of causing the at least one observed symptom upon failure;
• prioritizing the plurality of suspect components based upon a relative likelihood that the respective suspect components caused the at least one observed symptom;
• identifying a plurality of tests to be performed in order to refine the prioritization of the plurality of suspect components;
• and
• prioritizing the plurality of tests based upon at least one predetermined criteria.

A diagnostic system for identifying a component that has failed, the diagnostic system comprising:

• an interface for receiving input relating to observed symptoms indicative of a failed component;
• a processing element for correlating the input relating to the observed symptoms with at least one suspect component that is capable of causing the observed symptoms upon failure, said processing element also capable of identifying additional information relating to the at least one suspect component and including at least one item selected from the group consisting of component availability, time to repair the suspect component, cost to repair the suspect component, time to replace the suspect component and cost to replace the suspect component;
• and
• a display for presenting the at least one suspect component and the additional information relating to the at least one suspect component.

A method for identifying a component that has failed, the method comprising:

• receiving input relating to observed symptoms indicative of a failed component;
• correlating the input relating to the observed symptoms with at least one suspect component that is capable of causing the observed symptoms upon failure;
• identifying additional information relating to the at least one suspect component including at least one item selected from the group consisting of component availability, time to repair the suspect component, cost to repair the suspect component, time to replace the suspect component and cost to replace the suspect component;
• and
• displaying the at least one suspect component and the additional information relating to the at least one suspect component.

A diagnostic system for identifying a component that has failed, the diagnostic system comprising:

• an interface for receiving input relating to observed symptoms indicative of a failed component;
• a processing element for correlating the input relating to the observed symptoms with at least one suspect components that is capable of causing the observed symptoms upon failure, said processing element correlating the input relating to the observed symptoms with the at least one suspect component in accordance with a diagnostic model constructed based upon systemic information relating to the components and input-output relationships of the components, experiential information relating to direct relationships between component failures and the observed symptoms, and factual information relating to component reliability;
• and
• a display for presenting the at least one suspect component.

A method for constructing a diagnostic model for correlating at least one observed symptom with at least one suspect component that is capable of causing the at least one observed symptom upon failure, the method comprising:

• obtaining systemic information relating to the components and input-output relationships of the components;
• obtaining experiential information relating to direct relationships between component failures and the observed symptoms;
• obtaining factual information relating to component reliability;
• and
• constructing the diagnostic model comprising a plurality of nodes and a plurality of arcs that interconnect the nodes in a manner defined by the systemic information and the experiential information, wherein the plurality of nodes include nodes representing the components and the observed symptoms, wherein each node has at least two states, and wherein constructing the diagnostic model comprises assigning a probability to each state of a node based upon at least one of the systemic information, the experiential information and the factual information.

A method of troubleshooting a system experiencing a fault, the method comprising:

• providing input relating to observed symptoms indicative of a failed component;
• executing a diagnostic model constructed based upon systemic information relating to the components and input-output relationships of the components, experiential information relating to direct relationships between component failures and the observed symptoms, and factual information relating to component reliability, wherein execution of the diagnostic model correlates the input relating to the observed symptoms with at least one suspect component;
• identifying the suspect component that caused the fault based at least in part upon the correlation of the input relating to the observed symptoms with the at least one suspect component;
• and
• determining remedial action to be taken with respect to the identified component.

A method of troubleshooting a system experiencing a fault, the method comprising:

• providing input relating to observed symptoms indicative of a failed component;
• executing a diagnostic model to correlate the input relating to the observed symptoms with a plurality of suspect components that are each capable of causing the observed symptoms upon failure, wherein execution of the diagnostic model also prioritizes the plurality of suspect components based upon a relative likelihood that the respective suspect components caused the observed symptoms, and wherein execution of the diagnostic model further identifies at least one test to be performed in order to refine the prioritization of the plurality of suspect components;
• identifying the suspect component that caused the fault based at least in part upon the correlation of the input relating to the observed symptoms with the at least one suspect component;
• and
• determining remedial action to be taken with respect to the identified component.