archieindian Systematic Debugging
Never guess at fixes. Find the root cause first.
Phase 1: Understand the Error
- Read the full error message
- Note the exact file, line, error type
- Reproduce the error reliably
- Write: 'The error is: [exact error] at [location] when [trigger].'
Phase 2: Hypothesize
Generate at least 2 hypotheses. For each: what evidence supports it? What would disprove it?
Phase 3: Test Hypotheses
Test each hypothesis with the minimum change to confirm or deny it.
- Add a log line, not a fix
- Test one variable at a time
Phase 4: Fix and Verify
- Write the fix
- Verify the original error is gone
- Verify no new errors
- Add a test that would have caught this bug