Whether it’s a server error, a broken script, or a weird business result, I come back to the same three-step loop:
- Observe – What’s actually happening? (Numbers, logs, screenshots)
- Guess – What’s the simplest explanation that fits what I see?
- Test – What small, fast experiment would prove or disprove that guess?
Then I repeat.
Most people either skip “Observe” (and jump straight to guesses), or skip “Test” (and argue theories instead of running experiments). When I force myself through all three steps, the time-to-fix drops and the hand-waving goes away.