investigate-first

investigate-first

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Diagnose ambiguous failures before editing. Use for unknown causes, intermittent behavior, performance regressions, or investigations needing evidence-ranked hypotheses.

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Updated 8/13/2026
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investigate-first
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Diagnose ambiguous failures before editing. Use for unknown causes, intermittent behavior, performance regressions, or investigations needing evidence-ranked hypotheses.

Investigate first

Gather evidence before changing product code.

  • Separate observed symptom from inferred cause.
  • Trace inputs, state transitions, ownership boundaries, and failure output.
  • Rank hypotheses by evidence and cheap falsification value.
  • Do not edit until one credible mechanism explains evidence.
  • Stop exploration when evidence is sufficient to name cause or exact blocker.

Report cause and proof. Make no fix unless task authorizes implementation.