# Investigate First

> Diagnose ambiguous failures before editing.

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

- Page: https://ss33.ai/skills/juliusbrussee/investigate-first-60803812181
- Publisher: juliusbrussee
- Category: [Software Development](https://ss33.ai/skills/category/software-development-t44z8z) › [Misc](https://ss33.ai/skills/category/software-development-t44z8z/misc-0pfo0b)
- License: Apache-2.0
- Source: https://github.com/juliusbrussee/caveman/blob/bad48a0e1df55e05e3f52249afa35ecc1909ee76/skills/investigate-first/SKILL.md

## Skill

SKILL.md: https://ss33.ai/api/v1/ss33/download/juliusbrussee/investigate-first-60803812181

# 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.