Systematic Debugging Strategy

Initial Assessment

Before diving in, gather context:

1. What changed? - Recent code changes, deployments, dependencies
2. When did it start? - Timeline helps narrow scope
3. Reproducible? - Consistent vs intermittent affects approach
4. Error messages? - Exact text, stack traces, logs
5. Environment? - Dev/staging/prod, OS, versions

Debugging Hierarchy (Work Through In Order)

1. Read the Error Message

• Parse the FULL stack trace
• Note the originating file and line number
• Look for "Caused by" chains
• Search error message verbatim if unclear