git:20260507.56f011d to git:20260507.8dfdcb4

6 added, 16 removed. Audit A to C.

---

name: systematic-debugging

description: Use when encountering any bug, test failure, or unexpected behavior, before proposing fixes. Requires root cause investigation first.

- graph:

- domains: [domain:software-engineering]

- ---

- # 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

- 1. **Root Cause Investigation** - Read errors, reproduce, check changes, gather evidence at component boundaries

+ graph:

+ domains: [domain:software-engineering]

+ skillAreas: [skill-area:agentic-loops, skill-area:orchestration-loop]

+ workflows: [workflow:feature-development]

+ topics: [topic:developer-experience]

+ roles: [role:tech-lead, role:backend-engineer]

2. **Pattern Analysis** - Find working examples, compare against references, identify differences

3. **Hypothesis and Testing** - Form single hypothesis, test minimally, one variable at a time

4. **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`