Fast Bug Fixes: How We Triage Like Adults

The Problem with Panic Debugging

When something breaks in production, the natural instinct is to jump in and start changing things. This almost always makes things worse.

We’ve seen teams turn a 30-minute fix into a three-day nightmare because someone pushed a “quick fix” without understanding the root cause.

Our Triage Process

Step 1: Reproduce the Bug

Before writing a single line of code, we reproduce the issue. Every time. No exceptions.

If we can’t reproduce it, we can’t verify we’ve fixed it. Simple as that.

We ask:

• What are the exact steps to trigger this?
• What environment is it happening in?
• Is it consistent or intermittent?

Step 2: Isolate the Cause

Once we can reproduce it, we narrow down where the problem lives. This usually involves:

• Checking recent changes (git blame is your friend)
• Adding targeted logging
• Binary searching through commits if needed
• Testing components in isolation

Step 3: Understand Before Fixing

We don’t just patch symptoms. Before writing a fix, we understand:

• Why is this happening?
• What else might be affected?
• Is this a symptom of a larger problem?

Step 4: Fix and Verify

The fix should be as small as possible while fully addressing the root cause. Then we:

• Write a test that would have caught this bug
• Verify the fix in a staging environment
• Document what happened and why

What We Don’t Do

• Guess and check: Throwing code at the wall wastes everyone’s time
• Blame people: Bugs happen. Learning from them matters more.
• Skip testing: “It works on my machine” isn’t verification
• Rush to production: A careful fix now beats a hotfix-of-a-hotfix later

Why This Matters for You

When you hire us to fix a bug, you get:

• A clear explanation of what went wrong
• A minimal, targeted fix
• Tests to prevent regression
• Documentation of the issue and solution

No mystery. No drama. Just clean fixes.

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Need something fixed? Tell us what’s broken and we’ll take it from there.