What Is FMA SHERPA? A Practical Troubleshooting Method
FMA SHERPA organizes a technical problem into six areas: Service, Hardware, Environment, Reachability, Provisioning and Assessment. It helps you describe what failed, compare the affected scope and decide what to do next. You do not need to know the faulty component before starting.
The method guides observations. It is not a certification, automated scan or guarantee of diagnosis.
S: Service: what stopped working?
Name the task and service: browsing, business calls, device enrollment or a work application. Ask whether one application or several services fail. Check official status through a separate connection if needed.
Useful note: “The booking app fails, but other websites open.”
H: Hardware: what equipment is involved?
Record the affected device and relevant connection equipment. Check power, cables and visible errors using the correct manual. Coordinate restarts; avoid factory resets as a first reaction.
Useful note: “One laptop fails; another approved device on the same network works.”
E: Environment: what is different?
Identify location, timing, affected users and recent changes. A device move, new router or changed app can guide a comparison. Timing alone does not prove the cause.
Useful note: “The issue began after a dock change and only affects this desk.”
R: Reachability: which part of the path works?
Compare simple paths where safe: wired versus Wi-Fi, another device, or another approved application. A local network, or LAN, can still work while its external connection, or WAN, fails. Local printing does not prove internet access. A VPN showing connected does not prove the work application is reachable.
Useful note: “Ethernet reaches the cloud app; Wi-Fi on the same laptop does not.”
P: Provisioning: is the service configured for the intended use?
Have the authorized owner review relevant activation, licenses, profiles, assignments or enrollment restrictions. A device can be powered and connected while lacking the required service entitlement or application access.
Useful note: “The user can sign in; the administrator is checking enrollment eligibility.”
A: Assessment: what does the evidence support?
Summarize what works, what fails and what remains uncertain. Choose the next owner, such as the ISP, software vendor or local IT support. After any approved correction, test the original business task and document the result.
Useful note: “Two devices fail on wired and Wi-Fi; provider status needs confirmation. No configuration changes made.” All notes above are illustrative, not actual customer records.
Use SHERPA with FMA Connect✓
Start FMA Connect✓ for guided checks and a Connect Report of your observations. Review the report and decide what to copy, print or share. Keep passwords, MFA codes, account numbers, recovery details and confidential customer data out of the report.
Does Connect inspect my network or check live outages? No. It uses your answers and observations.
Does generating a report send it to FMA? No. Sharing is your choice. The email option opens a draft for you to review and send. A Connect ID by itself does not deliver the report.
For hands-on help, review Remote Help. For a rollout, migration or upgrade, request a project. Your report is optional; project scope is agreed before implementation.
Sources: FMA homepage and Connect; Project Request guidelines. SHERPA is FMA’s organizing method; it does not imply vendor endorsement.
