1. Describe the symptom
State what someone is trying to do and what happens instead. Name the tool: Outlook, Teams, SharePoint, or OneDrive. “The Operations SharePoint site shows an access error for three employees” gives an investigation a clearer starting point than “Microsoft 365 is broken.”
2. Explain who is affected
Is the issue affecting one person, a group, or everyone? Does the same task work for another colleague? Record the roles or approximate number of people involved without including private personnel records.
3. Capture the timing
Note when the issue began, whether it is constant or intermittent, and whether a recent change might be relevant. A new account, permission change, device, or moved document can provide context. Avoid assuming that the most recent change caused the problem.
4. State the business impact
Explain which work cannot move forward. An approaching customer deadline, blocked shared files, or interrupted onboarding helps us understand the priority and the practical result your team needs.
5. Gather safe evidence
A short error message, the steps that reproduce it, and a screenshot with confidential details removed can help later. Do not submit passwords, access tokens, private records, or confidential documents through the website. Access and evidence sharing are agreed through an appropriate channel.
6. Tell us what has already been tried
Briefly list the checks or workarounds attempted and their results. Repeated changes can obscure the original issue, so keep a simple record instead of making broad permission changes to see what happens.
A useful first message
Example: Three employees cannot open our Operations SharePoint site. Other staff can still open it. The issue started this morning and is blocking an onboarding task. We have captured the error text and have an IT contact available to discuss access.
Illustrative example; not a client result.
Send a description of your own situation through the contact form. We will agree the next investigation step and the scope before work starts.