¶ … internet connectivity for the last few days. The internet has been going on and off in my home every couple of hours, sporadically. It would work fine during the day, with some hiccups in connection, but then it would be go completely off around 11pm and turn back on around 7 in the morning. I didn't understand why it was happening and decided to generate a flow chart that could help me not only process steps to fixing the problem with the internet but also understand why it could be happening.
My wireless router has had several issues with connectivity recently and is the source for my internet issues. I had concerns over getting a new router, however in developing my flowchart and analyzing for the three days, the times in which the internet went out, I came to the realization the plug connecting the router was loose. What this means is there was nothing wrong with the router so much as the router's plug became loose thus affecting the power supply to the router. Right before I went to bed and checked things online via the wireless connection I would have problems connecting to the internet. It was because as I got ready for bed, the plug through my movement became unplugged and thus the internet connection was down. When I got back up it was moved back in place and the internet came back.
Steps
1. The first step I took was to identify the source of my internet connectivity issues. I found the source of my problem to be the wireless router. The wireless router was glitchy throughout the day but still had internet and then had no internet during a specific time range. That meant there was something either wrong with the router or wrong with the wireless connection.
2. I decided to observe and identify when specifically the internet would go down. It would go down specifically from midnight with some glitching around 11pm, all the way to 7am or when I awoke. I hadn't really noticed there was a problem before, because I went to bed around that time. However, due to some tasks I had to complete, I was up around that...
I made a scatter diagram of my results. The Y-axis signifies the frequency of connectivitty. 1 meant it was on while 2 meant it was off. The results clearly show when it was on and when it was off. The scatter diagram presented a good visual cue for seeing the time frame in which I had internet connectivity issues.
4. Now that I had a definite time range, I was able to eliminate cause of problems by checking the wireless router. I devised a flow chart to outline steps to see what to do next. The flow chart helped me identify which steps I had to take as well as which actions would be appropriate. After I checked the router and then the plug, I discovered the plug was loose.
5. Therefore the best course of action then became tightening the plug. It seems that when I got ready for bed, I accidentally loosened the already loose plug, causing the wireless router to turn off. When I got up, it was moved again, turning it on, thus bringing back the wirless connection. Once I tightened the plug, the next time I checked to see if there was internet connectivity, there was and I was able to resolve the dilemma.
6. The visual reprentations generated by the quality tools helped me process efficiently the data as well as give me better indication of what to do next. Not only that, but it helped make clear the course of actions after discovering the source of the problem. Everything was done simply and easily thanks to the use of quality tools like the flow chart and the scatter diagram.
7. Internet connectivity was solely resolved based on a loose plug. A process that would have ordinarily taken me several days to figure out only took a short while and was able to be resolved without much energy put in. Quality tools are not only useful but also help in formulating ideas clearly and concisely. It is a great way to problem solve.
Closing Thoughts
Although I had a difficult time at first resolving the issue of the wireless router,…
