The Scientific Method of Troubleshooting

This version of the talk was presented at New Relic on August 10, 2015.

Transcript

1. The
   Scientific Method
   of Troubleshooting
   

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2. @blithe
   

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4. Scientist
   

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5. PhD in
   Physical
   Chemistry
   

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6. Physics
   

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7. Chemistry
   

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8. 6 Years!
   

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9. Experiments
   

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10. Scientific
    Method
    

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11. Developer
    < >
    

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12. StackOverflow
    

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13. Problem solved?
    

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14. Learn anything?
    

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15. Most Important Part
    

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16. Scientific
    Method
    

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17. Set of Techniques
    For Acquiring
    Knowledge
    

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18. Methodical
    

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19. Systematic
    

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20. “Has anyone seen
    string interpolation
    fail?”
    

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21. Define
    the Problem
    2 3 4 5 6 7
    1
    

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22. Expected behavior?
    

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23. Expected behavior?
    Actual behavior?
    

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24. Expected behavior?
    Actual behavior?
    Criteria for success?
    

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25. Do Your
    Research
    3 4 5 6 7
    Define 2
    

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26. Know your
    environment
    

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27. Read the literature
    

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28. Discussions
    

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29. Make it fail!
    

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30. Establish a
    Hypothesis
    5 6 7
    Define Research 4
    3
    

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31. Design
    the Experiment
    6 7
    Define Research Hypothesis 5
    4
    

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32. Divide and conquer!
    

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33. Limit the variables
    

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34. Try something weird
    

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36. Hierarchy of Blame
    

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37. Gather
    Data
    6 7
    Define Research Hypothesis Experiment 5
    

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38. Current status?
    

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39. Read the error
    message!
    

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40. Analyze
    Your Results
    7
    Define Research Data
    Hypothesis Experiment 6
    

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41. Problem solved?
    Learn anything?
    

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42. Understand the Why
    

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43. Future Experiments
    

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44. Embrace the Success
    

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45. Keep a Good
    Lab Notebook
    Define Research Data
    Hypothesis Experiment Analyze 7
    

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47. You won’t
    remember
    

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48. Logs aren’t enough
    

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49. Commit Messages
    

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50. Update the Docs
    

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51. Contribute
    

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53. Share
    the
    Knowledge
    

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54. Questions?
    Thanks!
    @blithe
    

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