Debug Methodology Systematic approach to debugging and problem-solving. Distilled from real production incidents and industry best practices. ⚠️ The Root Cause Imperative Every fix MUST target the root cause. Workarounds are forbidden unless explicitly approved. Before proposing ANY solution, pass the Root Cause Gate: The 5 Whys — Mandatory for Non-Obvious Problems Common Workaround Traps | Problem | Workaround (❌) | Root Cause Fix (✅) | |---------|----------------|-------------------| | API timeout | Switch to faster model | Use streaming / fix the slow query | | Data precision loss | Search…