deep-dive

To find the root cause of an ambiguous system bug, you investigate by tracing likely causes through parallel hypotheses and crystallizing the findings into a structured spec. This evidence-driven approach ensures conclusions are grounded in observed behavior rather than assumptions.

The best way to turn debugging results into actionable requirements is to use a two-stage investigation flow that first traces likely causes and then converts the evidence-backed findings into a focused requirements interview, producing a structured spec for downstream execution.

Trace investigation works for system exploration by applying parallel hypotheses to map how a system currently works. It then refines these observations into a structured specification, ensuring you fully understand existing behavior before implementing changes.

Yes, you can use root cause analysis to refine vague product ideas into specifications. By treating the vague idea as an ambiguous problem, the investigation traces likely factors and crystallizes the findings into an actionable, evidence-backed spec.

You need to generate a trace artifact before creating a specification when a problem is unclear, evidence-heavy, or caused by multiple possible factors. This ensures the final specification is grounded in observed behavior and ready for robust handoff to execution workflows.