systematic-debugginglisted

# Systematic Debugging Stops the "patch the symptom, ship, repeat" anti-pattern. ## The cycle ``` Symptom ↓ narrow (which input class / which code path) Reproducer (smallest input that triggers it) ↓ instrument (log / trace / debugger) Hypothesis (1 falsifiable claim) ↓ test the hypothesis directly Root cause (the WHY behind the WHAT) ↓ fix at root (not symptom) Regression test (locks behavior) ``` ## Anti-patterns | Anti | What it looks like | Cost | |---|---|---| | Try-this-try-that | "let me change X and rerun" | hours wasted, no learning | | Symptom patch | catch + log + return | bug returns elsewhere | | Print debugging at scale | scattered prints, none removed | noise, audit hits | | Fix without test | regression returns | infinite loop | ## Workflow 1. Capture the failure clearly (test name + error + line). 2. Narrow input class — what's special about the failing case? 3. Build a minimal reproducer (independent of the test suite). 4. Form ONE hypothesis. Test it. If wrong, revise. 5. Identify root cause; trace back to design / spec / data invariant. 6. Apply fix at root. 7. Add regression test that exercises the minimal reproducer. 8. Write DEBUG_LOG entry: symptom + reproducer + root cause + fix + test ref. ## Integration - Triggered by: test failure (Step 9), review feedback (Step 8), bug report, compliance gap (Step 10 → Step 11) - Output: DEBUG_LOG entries inform `memory-curate` (Phase 3 inference rederive) and `audit-snapshot` (prompts/debug_log/)