Chapter 16. Fixing Things Once

Fixing something once is better than fixing it over and over again. Although this sounds obvious, it sometimes isn’t possible, given other constraints; or, you find yourself fixing something over and over without realizing it, or the quick fix is simply emotionally easier. By being conscious of these things, you can achieve several goals. First, you can manage your time better. Second, you can become better SAs. Third, if necessary, you can explain better to the customer why you are taking longer than expected to fix something.

Chapter 15 described a systematic process for debugging a problem. This chapter is about a general day-to-day philosophy.

16.1 The Basics

One of our favorite mantras is “fix things once.” ...

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