The difference between a ticket that gets resolved in one reply and one that bounces back and forth for a week is almost always the same thing: detail. IT is not sitting at your desk. They cannot see your screen. The more context you give upfront, the less back-and-forth, and the faster your problem gets fixed.

This is not about writing a novel. It is about giving IT the five or six pieces of information they need to actually help you.

What to include in every ticket

What happened

Describe the problem as specifically as you can. "It doesn't work" tells IT nothing. What exactly does not work? What did you see?

• Bad: "Outlook is broken"
• Good: "When I click send on an email with an attachment over 10 MB, I get an error that says 'Message size exceeds fixed maximum message size' and the email stays in my outbox"

The goal is to describe what you observed, not what you think the cause is. "The server is down" is a diagnosis. "I cannot open any files on the shared drive and I see 'Network path not found'" is a description. Let IT figure out the cause — that is literally their job.

What you expected to happen

This helps IT understand whether the behavior is actually a bug or just unexpected. Sometimes the software is working correctly and you need a different approach. Sometimes it is genuinely broken.

• "I expected the email to send successfully like it normally does with smaller attachments"
• "I expected the page to load the dashboard, but instead I see a blank white screen"

Error messages: exact text

If there is an error message, copy and paste the exact text. Do not paraphrase it. Do not summarize it. The exact wording matters because IT uses it to search documentation and known issues.

If you cannot copy the text, take a screenshot. See our screenshot guide for how to capture your screen on any device.

Error codes are especially useful. If you see something like 0x80070005 or ERR_CONNECTION_REFUSED or Error 504, include it.

When it started

Did this just start happening today? Has it been going on for a week? Did it start after an update, a restart, or a change you made?

• "This started Monday morning after the weekend Windows update"
• "It has been happening intermittently for about two weeks"
• "It worked fine until I connected to the new VPN"

A timeline helps IT figure out what changed. Most tech problems are caused by something that changed recently.

Can you reproduce it

Can you make it happen again, or did it only happen once? If you can reproduce it, what are the exact steps?

• "It happens every time I try to export a PDF from Chrome"
• "It happened once yesterday and once today, but I cannot make it happen on demand"
• "It only happens when I am on WiFi, not on ethernet"

If it only happened once and you cannot reproduce it, say so. That is useful information too.

What you have already tried

If you restarted your computer, cleared your cache, reinstalled the app, or tried a different browser, say so. This saves IT from asking you to try things you have already done.

• "I restarted my computer, cleared the browser cache, and tried in an incognito window. Same error in all cases"
• "I have not tried anything yet because I did not want to make it worse"

Both of these are perfectly fine answers.

Your device info

Include your operating system and version, and if it is a browser issue, which browser you are using. IT needs this to look up the right instructions and check for known issues.

• "MacBook Pro, macOS Sequoia 15.3, Chrome 131"
• "Windows 11 23H2, Outlook desktop app (Microsoft 365)"
• "iPhone 16, iOS 18.2, Safari"

You do not need to include your serial number or detailed specs unless IT asks. Operating system, version, and browser cover most situations.

Example: bad ticket vs good ticket

Bad ticket:

Subject: HELP computer broken!!!

My email isnt working. Please fix ASAP.

IT now has to reply asking: What email client? What happens when you try to use it? What error do you see? What device? When did it start? That is at least one round trip wasted.

Good ticket:

Subject: Outlook desktop - error sending emails with large attachments

When I try to send an email with a PDF attachment larger than about 10 MB in Outlook desktop, I get the error "Message size exceeds fixed maximum message size." The email stays in my outbox and does not send. Emails without attachments or with small attachments send fine.

This started today (Tuesday). I have not changed any settings. I restarted Outlook and tried resending but got the same error.

Windows 11 23H2, Microsoft 365 Outlook (Version 2412), connected to office WiFi.

IT can immediately see this is probably a mailbox size limit issue and can check the Exchange settings without asking a single follow-up question.

Screenshots are worth a thousand words

When in doubt, take a screenshot. A picture of an error message, a broken layout, or unexpected behavior saves a lot of back-and-forth description.

• Include the full window or screen, not just a tiny crop. Context matters
• If the error disappears quickly, try to record your screen to capture it
• Annotate if helpful — circle the error or draw an arrow to the problem area

Be specific, not vague

Here are some common vague descriptions and what IT actually needs instead:

| Vague | Specific | |---|---| | "It's slow" | "Pages take about 15 seconds to load. Normally it's instant" | | "It doesn't work" | "I click the Submit button and nothing happens. No error, no loading, just nothing" | | "I can't log in" | "I enter my password and get 'Invalid credentials.' I reset my password yesterday and the new one is not working either" | | "The internet is down" | "WiFi is connected but Chrome shows 'No internet.' Other devices on the same network are working" | | "My files are gone" | "The Documents folder on my desktop is empty. It had about 50 files in it yesterday. Nothing is in the Recycle Bin" |

Quick checklist

Copy this into your next ticket and fill it in:

1. What happened? Describe the problem in one or two sentences
2. Error message? Paste the exact text or attach a screenshot
3. When did it start? Today, this week, after an update?
4. Can you reproduce it? Every time, sometimes, only once?
5. What have you tried? Restart, cleared cache, reinstalled, nothing yet?
6. Device info: OS and version, browser if relevant

That is it. Six things. Including all of them in your first message means IT can start working on your problem immediately instead of spending a day asking clarifying questions.