Debugging & Technical Problem Solving (iDBG)
Determining the cause of technical problems and applying appropriate solutions.
LVL 2 - Engineer I
Inexperienced at debugging but able to fix simple problems with input from others.
- usually requires assistance to identify and address problems.
- attempts to recreate basic issues from bug reports provided by others.
LVL 3 - Engineer II
Using tools to investigate and fix common issues, collaborating with their team especially on complicated problems.
- investigates and fixes common issues, often needing help with more complex issues.
- capable of debugging simple programs, for example by reading through error logs and using step-through debugging.
- knows the appropriate tools and approaches when debugging code.
- reports and documents bugs for others, including how to recreate the issue.
LVL 4 - Senior I, TTL, SEM
Guiding their team to mitigate technical issues by guiding prioritisation, tooling, and approach. Taking the lead on resolving some difficult technical issues.
- capable of debugging complex end-to-end issues, sometimes needing to pair on very tough issues.
- has established approaches to diagnosing and narrowing-down causes by process of elimination.
- helps others solve problems with the goal of making them more independent for debugging tasks.
- ensures the relevant tools exist within the project and are available for use by the rest of the team.
- collaborates openly with bug reporters to try and narrow down hard-to-reproduce issues.
- triages open issues alongside new work, advising on priorities by considering risk and core journeys.
LVL 5 - Senior II
An authority for helping solve problems in their domain, even in unfamiliar contexts. Managing and mitigating problems with no simple solutions, and supporting others with their debugging techniques.
- capable of debugging almost any issue, given enough time.
- knows how to mitigate a problem where no solution can be found in a timely manner.
- has established approaches to diagnosing an issue that cannot be replicated in a test/development environment.
- regularly assists others with critical or tough issues.
- identifies, prioritises, and escalates problems within a project that need to be addressed in order to meet the clients' goals.
LVL 6 - Principal
Establishing our best practice for how we manage technical issues across our projects.
- an expert in helping others isolate issues and solve them quickly.
- helps teams establish strategies for debugging and diagnosing problems on the project.
- finds common patterns of problems across projects and proposing solutions to be implemented community-wide.
- advises on how teams should manage technical debt, and how to prioritise this work for clients.