Stage 2 · Lesson 6 of 8
Root causes over workarounds
A hides the symptom, for example retrying a until it passes. A fix removes the reason it happens, for example a test that depends on the current time. To find the root cause, keep asking "why?" until you reach something you can change.
This is called the five whys technique. A good answer stops the whole kind of failure, not just this one. Then add a check so it does not come back: a lint rule (an automatic code check), a test or an . This is what separates a fix that lasts from one that returns next quarter.
Common trapstopping at the first answer that sounds right, or at "human error", which is almost never a root cause: ask why the system made the error easy.
A question to check yourself, an AI practice session and 1 cheat sheet entry come with the full roadmap. Unlock
Resources for this stage
Start with· follow one of these
- BookFreeSoftware Engineering at Google
Titus Winters, Tom Manshreck and Hyrum Wright · Intermediate
The chapters on testing, CI and large-scale changes: fixing problems at team scale
- BookPaidThe Pragmatic Programmer
Hunt and Thomas · Intermediate · About $45
Automation, broken windows and orthogonality: the habits behind leverage