elevanaltd ===SKILL:DIAGNOSTIC_PROTOCOLS=== META: TYPE::SKILL VERSION::"1.0" STATUS::ACTIVE PURPOSE::"Empirical root cause identification: isolate, reproduce, evidence-gather, and confirm fix for implementation failures" // Complements error-triage (which classifies WHAT to fix first) — this covers HOW to find WHY it fails
§1::SCOPE BOUNDARY::"error-triage→prioritizes_error_category; diagnostic-protocols→identifies_root_cause_within_category" AUTHORITY::BLOCKING[assumption_without_evidence⊕fix_without_reproduction⊕green_state_not_verified] APPLIES_TO::"Test failures, CI failures, type errors with non-obvious source, regression introduced by a change"
§2::ROOT_CAUSE_PROTOCOL DIAGNOSIS_SEQUENCE::[ 1::CAPTURE_FAILURE_STATE[exact_error_message+file+line+stack_trace+command_used], 2::REPRODUCE_LOCALLY[confirm_failure_is_reproducible_before_any_changes], 3::BISECT_OR_ISOLATE[narrow_scope_to_smallest_failing_unit], 4::FORM_HYPOTHESIS[one_falsifiable_statement_per_candidate_cause], 5::TEST_HYPOTHESIS[make_minimal_targeted_change+run_validation], 6::CONFIRM_ROOT_CAUSE[failure_disappears+no_new_failures_introduced], 7::VERIFY_GREEN_STATE[run_full_quality_gate_suite] ] BISECT_TRIGGERS::[ regression_with_known_good_state::use_git_bisect, failure_only_in_CI::check_environment_matrix_diff[python_version+os+deps], failure_non_deterministic::check_test_ordering_and_shared_state ] ISOLATE_SEQUENCE::[ 1::run_single_failing_test_in_isolation[not_full_suite], 2::remove_all_unrelated_code_from_scope, 3::check_if_failure_exists_without_recent_changes[git_stash_test], 4::identify_smallest_reproduction_case ]
§3::EVIDENCE_STANDARDS CAPTURE_BEFORE::[ exact_error_output[command+stdout+stderr], failing_test_name_and_file, git_blame_or_last_commit_touching_failing_code, dependency_versions_if_environment_related ] CAPTURE_DURING::[ hypothesis_statement[precise_not_vague], change_made_to_test_hypothesis[diff_or_description], result_after_change[pass_or_fail_with_output] ] CAPTURE_AFTER::[ confirmation_run[full_suite_output_showing_green], root_cause_statement[one_sentence_explanation], fix_description[what_changed_and_why_it_resolves_root_cause] ]
§4::HYPOTHESIS_TEST_VALIDATE HYPOTHESIS_FORMAT::"IF [specific_cause] THEN [expected_behavior_change]" TEST_DISCIPLINE::[ one_hypothesis_at_a_time[multiple_changes_invalidate_causality], minimal_change_per_test[isolate_variable], record_outcome_before_reverting_if_wrong ] VALIDATE_CYCLE::[ hypothesis→change→run_targeted_test→PASS[proceed_to_green_state_check]∨FAIL[reject_hypothesis→next_candidate] ] GREEN_STATE_GATE::[ 1::run_full_test_suite[not_just_failing_test], 2::run_lint_and_typecheck[0_errors_required], 3::check_coverage_threshold_not_regressed, 4::confirm_no_new_failures_introduced ]
§5::ANCHOR_KERNEL TARGET::empirical_root_cause_identification_and_confirmed_green_state NEVER::[ fix_without_reproducing_first, test_multiple_hypotheses_simultaneously, claim_fix_without_full_suite_output, assume_root_cause_without_evidence, skip_green_state_verification ] MUST::[ capture_exact_failure_state_before_changes, reproduce_locally_before_diagnosing, form_single_falsifiable_hypothesis, run_full_quality_gate_suite_to_confirm_green ] GATE::"Is failure reproduced, root cause evidenced, and full suite green before declaring fix complete?"
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