The Art and Skill of Troubleshooting
A Guide to Troubleshooting
Inevitably, solutions seldom work first time. All the circuits, code and other systems you develop to solve problems may have the correct essence of the solution: but the actual implementation will need some work. Troubleshooting, or the art of correcting errors in an implementation, is therefore a core skill for all engineers. There is a challenge here as well, in that
Troubleshooters must be able to determine the cause or causes of a problem simply by examining its effects. Rarely does the source of a problem directly present itself for all to see. Cause/effect relationships are often complex, even for seemingly simple systems, and often the proficient troubleshooter is regarded by others as something of a miracle-worker for their ability to quickly discern the root cause of a problem. While some people are gifted with a natural talent for troubleshooting, it is a skill that can be learned like any other.
Learning to troubleshoot takes both time and experience. You will develop core troubleshooting skills by practice, examining situations where things don’t work.
As well as exposing yourself to problems, there are also key strategies that guide your attempts to find solutions. In Troubleshooting, linked below, Tony Kuphaldt offers a valuable tour of key troubleshooting strategies, based on his own experience developing these skills for students in engineering courses. These strategies are also distilled into the Troubleshooting How To for quick reference.
