Core principle

ALWAYS find root cause before attempting fixes. Symptom fixes are failure.

Violating the letter of this process is violating the spirit of debugging.

The Iron Law

NO FIXES WITHOUT ROOT CAUSE INVESTIGATION FIRST

If you haven't completed Phase 1, you cannot propose fixes.

Workflow: The Five Phases

You MUST complete each phase before proceeding to the next.

Phase 0: Context Gathering (MANDATORY)