Debugging methodically: reproduce, isolate, fix, verify
For developers, automation engineers and senior support staff who fix bugs in scripts, internal tools and web applications. You should be able to read code in at least one language and use Git for basic commits; examples use Python, JavaScript in Chrome DevTools and git bisect. The course replaces trial-and-error with a repeatable method: write a report and a minimal reproduction, isolate the fault by bisecting history or dividing the problem, inspect state with a debugger, fix the cause rather than the symptom, and verify with the original reproduction and a regression test. It complements Hypothesis-driven troubleshooting, which applies the same thinking to support tickets. Ends with a supervisor-graded debugging case.
- Level
- Intermediate
- Length
- About 85 minutes
- Contents
- 5 lessons · final exam
- Status
- Published · updated 10 Oct 2026
Skills you'll practise
- Write a bug report and a minimal reproduction that fails on demand
- Isolate a fault by bisecting the change history with git bisect or by dividing the system or input
- Inspect program state with a debugger using breakpoints, stepping and the call stack
- Choose a fix that addresses the tested cause, avoiding coincidental and correlated explanations
- Verify a fix against the original reproduction and a regression test, and record the cause
Course outline
- 1.Write a bug report and a minimal reproductionLesson · 16 min
- 2.Isolate the fault: bisect history or divide the systemLesson · 18 min
- 3.Inspect program state with a debuggerLesson · 18 min
- 4.Choose a fix that addresses the tested causeLesson · 14 min
- 5.Verify the fix and record the causeLesson · 10 min
- 6.Debugging methodically: reproduce, isolate, fix, verify: knowledge checkKnowledge check · 15 questions
- 7.Debugging methodically: reproduce, isolate, fix, verify: practical exerciseKnowledge check · 1 question
- 8.Final exam10 questions · passing it completes the course, so people who already know the material can test out
Sources it draws on
The lessons and questions are written from these references, so learners can go back to the original.
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