The same issue keeps reopening. What are we doing wrong?
Symptom-only resolutionCheck whether the previous fix addressed the underlying cause and whether closure evidence was adequate. Repeated reopening often requires a broader corrective action, not another temporary patch.
What to do now
- Review previous fixes and evidence
- Reproduce the recurrence
- Identify the underlying cause
- Verify the permanent correction under realistic conditions
When to escalate
Escalate when
Repeated failure threatens a critical service or commitment.
Who decides
The issue owner or delegated decision authority
Example
A recurring export failure is traced to inconsistent source data rather than repeatedly restarting the export job.
Mistake to avoid
Calling a workaround a permanent resolution.
Prevent a repeat
Track unresolved decision age and verify the outcome before treating an issue as closed.
Suggested ApprovedFlow setup
- Tasks
- Documents
- Approvals
Record the issue and next action on an owned task, attach evidence, and route the unresolved decision to the proper authority. See the platform
Related cases
- How do we distinguish an issue from a change request?Resolution-versus-baseline decision
- We log issues, but none get closed. What should change?Issue tracking without resolution
- A stakeholder keeps reopening decisions. How can we stop endless debate?Unstable decision agreements
- We discover the same risk in every project. How do we stop repeating it?Uncorrected systemic risk