What factors are contributing to the sudden 30% spike in customer support tickets for Broadcom's CA Clarity PPM software in the last month?

Introduction

The sudden 30% spike in customer support tickets for Broadcom's CA Clarity PPM software is a critical issue that demands immediate attention. This analysis will systematically identify, validate, and address the root cause while considering both short-term fixes and long-term strategic implications.

I'll approach this problem by first clarifying key details, ruling out external factors, and then diving deep into product understanding, metric breakdown, and data analysis. From there, I'll form hypotheses, conduct root cause analysis, and propose validation methods and solutions.

Step 1

Clarifying Questions (3 minutes)

• Looking at the timing, I'm thinking there might be a recent product update. Has there been any significant change or release in the last 1-2 months?

Why it matters: Recent changes often correlate with support ticket spikes. Expected answer: Yes, a major update was released. Impact on approach: If yes, I'd focus on change-related issues; if no, I'd look at external factors or gradual degradation.

• Considering user segments, I'm curious about the distribution of these tickets. Are they coming from a specific user group or spread across all users?

Why it matters: Helps identify if it's a targeted issue or a system-wide problem. Expected answer: Tickets are primarily from enterprise users. Impact on approach: If targeted, I'd focus on that segment; if widespread, I'd look at core functionality issues.

• Thinking about the nature of support tickets, I'm wondering about their content. What are the top 3 categories of issues being reported?

Why it matters: Reveals the most problematic areas and guides our focus. Expected answer: Performance issues, data integration problems, and UI navigation complaints. Impact on approach: Would help prioritize which areas of the product to investigate first.

• Considering potential system changes, has there been any recent infrastructure or backend modifications that might affect the software's performance?

Why it matters: Backend changes can often lead to unexpected user-facing issues. Expected answer: A recent database migration was completed. Impact on approach: If yes, I'd investigate the impact of these changes; if no, I'd focus more on frontend or user behavior issues.