A Tough Interview Question and How to Ace It

I was asked the following question in a forum, and I thought it was worth sharing as a blog post:

Question (edited):

During a job interview I was given the following scenario to test my ability at handling difficult situations as a Production Support analyst.
You receive a call from two business users and:

1. You are alone covering the shift.
2. The issues are not documented in the run book.
3. Both the stakeholders are insisting their issue is critical.
4. The severity level of both issues is same.

Issue 1: The business user is saying they are unable to log into the application. This is happening to multiple business users and you know this is occurring during peak hours.

Issue 2: After the first call, you get a call from a different business user saying they are unable to generate reports to validate the data for another application.

Which issue should be given priority? How would you handle this situation?

Answer:

Several things are going on here:

1. In the first reported issue, you didn't have clear indication of impact. If people couldn't trade, that might be more important than producing a report (the 2nd issue), despite what you heard on the phone from either partner. However, it sounded like the report was needed for reconciliations, which some groups depend on for trading. In this case, you need clarification on the issues. Get the business users on the phone again and get find out more. One of the things you have to get really good at in Support is to ensure you really understand the problem. Sometimes, calling the users back and getting clarity is the only way to accomplish this.
2. If you're alone in a shift and need help, call and get it. It's better to take a few minutes and escalate, than to try going at it alone. Remaining calm and really thinking about the best approach is a sign of maturity in a Support associate. Wake someone up if you have to. I always tell my guys it's better to wake someone up than to let things fall apart causing financial loss.
3. Keep in mind that there are no two issues that are really, exactly the same in terms of urgency. One is usually more urgent than the other. But suppose they were the same and you can't get help. In this case all you can do is work them on a first-come-first-serve basis. You being the sole person on a shift and not having enough bandwidth to handle multiple issues is more a sign of bad coverage (and ineffective management) than anything. Of course, you wouldn't say that in an interview ;)

I hope you find this answer helpful and that it will help you ace your next Production Support job interview!