sure about exactly what they mean don’t sweat it, we’ve got your back. There was a time when we didn’t understand their significance either. We’ve learned and we'll share. 
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Diagnosis and Troubleshooting
Let’s talk about fixing things vs. diagnosing problems. There’s a big difference. A person that knows how to diagnose problems is sort of the big cheese in a world with a lot of cheese. 
They’re smooth and creamy with just the right amount of cheese-smell.
There are plenty of people who know how to fix things and they do very well with these tasks. People who know how to diagnose problems use a completely different skill set. But, the way they learned to diagnose problems was acquired in the same way as the person who learned to fix things. They learned by practicing and they remember what they’ve learned when they encountered similar problems.
Our Peeps
We’ve observed that our friends and relatives who we would say are good diagnosticians, or people who diagnose things, are habitual problems solvers. They don’t need a Dirty Shirt problem to get their problem-solving juices flowing. It just happens. They analyze problems, any problem, at the speed of light and start talking about possible fixes. They’re very good at visualizing the big picture and translating these pictures into a course of action; usually several actions. We love these guys and girls; they keep the world spinning in the same direction. Here’s a big shout-out to all of you; we’ve been paying attention and squirreling away everything you’ve said into a shoe box under the bed!
That’s Just Super, Really Super
We’re not talking about a know-it-all guy or girl here. We’re talking about natural bends in one’s personality. They’re usually subtle about it. They’re not preaching. They diagnose in normal conversation and you can see they’re working things out in their heads while they’re sipping their beer. They grind on problems in their minds without even realizing they’re doing it. They’re the ones who get the phone call when you can’t figure things out by yourself.
So, let’s just say that diagnosis is the most super-useful skill you can acquire in order to perform Dirty Shirt work, or at least it’s useful if you want to fix things, anything. So what do you need to know to become good at diagnosing things?
I Poke Everything I See
Here are a couple of thoughts and observations that come to mind:
Understanding how a system works will help you diagnose problems and it may take research to acquire an understanding of a system. Not expert understanding, just understanding. Your plumbing is a system, the electricity in your house is a system, the components of your car are a set of systems, the way your commode flushes is a system. You need to know something about how a system works in order to diagnose it. In the build portion of the site we talk about the need to understand what it is you’re building: You flip it over, you poke it, you get to know it….you do the same with diagnostic work.
Great, Now My Leg Hurts
Systems are connected to other systems. The knee bone is connected to the shin bone, the shin bone is connected to the ankle bone - they’re part of system. If you need to diagnose why a light in your house no longer turns on you don’t necessarily need to know how your power company generates power and feeds the electricity to your neighborhood and then to your home. (Nice to know but who cares?)
Little Elves Generate My Electricity
It would be useful to know that the power company feed comes into your house and is bolted to an electrical panel, with circuit breakers, and the breakers distribute the power throughout the house. (Okay, that might be important)
Lazy Frickin Elves
You would need to know whether any other electrical components in the home have stopped working. (If the answer is yes, what do the all of the dead things have in common with your light bulb, if anything?)
My Circuit Breaker Is Searching For Meaning
It would be useful to know what circumstances might cause a circuit breaker to trip and what the purpose of a circuit breaker is. (A breaker problem would definitely kill a light bulb, sure enough)
Never Hit The Kids
It would be great to have an idea of the age of the light switch and how much use it gets over period of time. (Did it make a popping sound and smell weird? Do your kids up/down the switch when they’re bored?)
Wasn't Me
It would be fantastico to know if the light stopped working after we’d been working on other areas of the house. (Oh crap, did you somehow cause this?)
Ask Me Something I Know
Finally, it would be useful to know when the last time the light bulb was changed. (You have no idea)
The Elves Have Learned To Drive, They’re Driving Elves
The light is driven by a system and gathering bits of information about how a system works helps with the diagnosis of a problem. This is true for all diagnostic work everywhere, for everything. No matter what it is this is the basis for diagnostic work.
Diagnostic work always results in a series of actions that will have to be taken to test the diagnosis and (hopefully) fix the problem.
You Look Good, Mind If I Stare?
You must review the system with your eyes and to a lesser 
extent your hands. Diagnosticians call that a visual inspection. People who don’t know that they are diagnosticians just say they’re having a lookie-look at the problem. They’re not wrenching or cutting on anything just yet, they’re looking for an obvious clue that might be causing the problem. You must look at the system first before you start turning screw drivers and wrenches. Visual inspection is the first action item of a diagnosis and eventually a fix.
Kitty, You Made My Car Smell Funny
If you’re intimidated by cars and hear a funny noise under the hood do you open the hood to see what you can see or do you just call a tow truck? If the noise is being made by a cat that crawled into your engine compartment you don’t need a tow truck or automotive tech to tell you that. The problem is the cat, dig him out of there, you're late for work. You need a set of eyes to spot the obvious - your eyes. If you don’t have a clue about what’s causing the noise you’ve lost nothing by doing a visual inspection. You might even show up at your garage and mention that the noise sounds like it might be coming from the front of the engine. Impressive, you’ve just indicated to your auto techs that you’re not completely helpless. Knowledge is power.
Pliny The Elder Called
And speaking of knowledge, somebody told us quite awhile ago: “Be smarter than what you’re trying to fix, be smarter than the work-piece.” 
Thank you philosopher-fix-it-dude. For years we’ve said those words out-loud over and over again in the dark times, as we’re standing at the threshold of hell trying to figure something out and diagnose a problem. These words have reinvigorated us and damn near brought tears to our eyes for their profound impact and thoughtful wisdom. Sniff. “Be smarter than…” Okay, we can do that, we get it. Can we have a hug now?
Easy And Cheap Are My Best Traits
So where’s the first place to start looking for the cause of the broken light? The light bulb; definitely the light bulb and the fixture too.
To test a diagnosis you always begin by inspecting and changing the easiest to accomplish and the least expensive task of the bunch. This item may not always be the task with the highest probability for having caused the problem but you do it anyway. You don’t want to purchase and replace a circuit breaker, a light switch, a light fixture or the wiring in the wall until you’ve visually inspected the light bulb and changed it, even if it looks fine. Changing the bulb is the easiest and least expensive action that can be taken.
Misdiagnoses Sounds A Lot Like A Mistake
If you misdiagnose the problem with the light you will spend money and time on the misdiagnosis – you are working on the wrong thing. We REALLY don’t like wasting money. It’s frustrating, a bit embarrassing and it usually means you get to keep on working the problem when you have other things you could be doing. Somebody else is usually impacted by the problem and they’d really appreciate it if you could get the problem taken care of, like yesterday.
You will misdiagnose problems, it will cost you money and it will cost you time – it happens to everyone that does this kind of work. You either don’t understand enough about how the system works or the steps you took to correct the problem were done in the wrong order, or both.
Pass The Crackers Please
Diagnosing and fixing problems makes you a hero, misdiagnosing problems shakes your confidence and makes other people look at you with a WTF expression on their faces. Misdiagnosis increases the pressure to get it right. It’s an odd thing, the person doing the diagnostic work is the person carrying all of the risk, they either get it right or they get it wrong. You could just sit on the couch and not be wrong about anything. People who do diagnostic work love a challenge and keep going when they get it wrong. As sure as your girl will get a headache or your guy will squirt cheese-whiz on the couch you will misdiagnose something.
I Know What Isn’t Causing The Problem
But there’s at least one good thing that comes from misdiagnosing a problem and spending money and time fixing the wrong thing: You’ve ruled out at least one possibility you know for sure isn’t causing the problem.
Talking Trash, I Like It
You need to talk that crap up and own that ho…your credibility is taking a smack in the head Buckwheat. Get out there and turn your supposed mistake into a unique feature of your diagnostic capability. Tell everyone that you like to toy with the problem before zeroing in and making the kill. You gotta spin it.
I’ve No Idea Why I Would Do This
So why would or should you devote time to diagnosing problems if the risk of failure is high? The answer is to reduce your reliance on others and to control the expense that is associated with hiring everything out. You are beginning to exercise control over what will eventually happen anyway; something will break. If you’re the fix-it person you control when it will be dealt with, when the money will be spent, and to a large extent – the quality of the repair. These reasons are why the risk of failure is acceptable.
Sure, you’ll blow some diagnostic work but what’s your success rate overall? How many times did you not-call the plumber or the towing company because you diagnosed and fixed a problem yourself? There’s a big time dollar figure attached to not-calling someone to fix your broken stuff.
I Rationalize My Purchases
But you could say that you had to buy some expensive tools to help diagnose and fix the problem. Another way of saying this is that you were going to spend money one way or another; but now you own the tools.
Who You Call’n A Nerd?
If you’re a budget-nerd your tool TCO (total-cost-of-ownership) begins to go down and your ROI (return-on-investment) begins to go up as you continue to use the tools to fix problems. It’s a system of spending money to eventually save money. Sometimes your money savings are immediate. You purchase a tool, diagnose and fix a problem and there’s still money in the bank. Those are good, good days. Everything is going your way. You’re a hero and everyone loves a hero. Go grab your girl or your guy and show ‘em what a hero feels like.
I Love It When You Talk Acronym
We want TCO to eventually reach zero and go the other direction. The tools are paying you now. We want tools that have paid for themselves and Dirty Shirt people who are taking care of business. It’s the basic premise for everything we talk about on Dirty Shirt.
Waiting For The Second Coming Makes Me Thirsty
So, you’ve diagnosed your problem and it’s time to fix it. What are you waiting for? Turn off your computer and get busy, you’ve got people waiting for you to do your thang and plan your trip to the hardware store! Trip over to the Fix page if you need a little more perspiration inspiration.One last thing before you go: Remember that premium coffee makes a bad day better and a good day great. We’d recommend a splash of cream and that you sip it slowly, don’t rush.