In IT, a grey problem (or, gray problem) is a problem where the causing technology is unknown or unconfirmed.
Common grey problems are: Because the causing technology is not clear, IT departments often find it difficult to allocate the problem to a Technical Support Team (platform team).
Combining frequency and causing technology information can provide a view of the complexity of a problem and so indicate how difficult it will be to investigate (see Figure 1).
The problems in each quadrant have certain characteristics: Grey problems have a significant impact on IT service, and: ITIL Service Operations implies that grey problems should be handled through a Problem Solving Group under the direction of the Problem Management function.
In practice, even those IT organisations that have adopted ITIL rarely have a procedure to handle a grey problem, leaving it to bounce between Technical Support Teams as each denies that their technology is to blame.