Abstract: According to one aspect of the invention, determination of data that allows conclusions to be drawn about the cause of a disturbance is activated. The cause of the disturbance is then determined by a diagnostic application that takes the data into account. Data determination is automatically deactivated by taking into account a configurable time limit or after a fixed period of time. Activation of data determination is chronologically closely linked to the occurrence of the disturbance such that particularly meaningful data is determined for determining the cause.