Systematic Debugging
Overview
Random fixes waste time and create new bugs. ALWAYS find root cause before attempting fixes.
Core principle: No fixes without root cause investigation first.
The Four Phases
- Root Cause Investigation - Read errors, reproduce, check changes, gather evidence at component boundaries
- Pattern Analysis - Find working examples, compare against references, identify differences
- Hypothesis and Testing - Form single hypothesis, test minimally, one variable at a time
- Implementation - Create failing test case, implement single fix, verify
When 3+ Fixes Fail
Stop and question the architecture. Pattern of repeated failures indicates architectural problems, not implementation bugs.
Red Flags (STOP and Follow Process)
- "Quick fix for now"
- "Just try changing X"
- Proposing solutions before tracing data flow
- "One more fix attempt" (when already tried 2+)
Agents Used
- Process agents defined in
systematic-debugging.js
Tool Use
Invoke via babysitter process: methodologies/superpowers/systematic-debugging