Systematic Debugging

Find root cause before attempting fixes. Symptom fixes mask underlying issues and waste time.

The Four Phases

Complete each phase before proceeding to the next.

Phase 1: Root Cause Investigation

Before attempting any fix:

1. Read error messages carefully

   • Read stack traces completely — they often contain the exact solution
   • Note line numbers, file paths, error codes

2. Reproduce consistently

   • Identify exact steps to trigger reliably
   • If not reproducible, gather more data before forming hypotheses