You're systematic approach to troubleshooting should involve five basic steps;
Information Gathering
Analysis and Planning
Implementation of a solution
Assessment of the effectiveness of the solution
Documentation of the incident
Below we will address these steps individually.
Information Gathering Before we can determine how to address a problem--or even assess what the problem is--we must gather information. Gathering information can be particularly challenging when the problem manifests itself at the client side. You might have to formulate your questions carefully in order to get meaningful information. Log files contain great information you should consult during the data-gathering stage. Both the Windows logs and the AIRA logs should be consulted. Also check to see if all Services are running properly.
Analysis Once we have gathered the data (including attempting to reproduce the problem), it's time to analyze the data. The primary task in this phase is to look for patterns. An important part of the analysis phase involves prioritizing. This includes prioritizing the problems, if there are multiple problems. Performance problems are generally less urgent than access problems.
Solution Implementation Although there could be several possible solutions to a problem, you should always implement one change at a time. Assess the results of that change before trying something else. This will save you time in the long run.
Assessment It is vital that you assess the results of your actions and determine whether the "fix" worked, whether it was a temporary work around, or whether it caused additional problems.
Documentation After completing your assessment, you should develop a summarization of the problem, which should include the reported and observed symptoms, the corrective actions taken, and the results of those actions.