Harness the Power of Debugging!

28th March 2023
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Kiruthika Ganesan's profile
Kiruthika Ganesan

Head of Quality Assurance

Harness the Power of Debugging! image
Talk Description
This talk is a reflection on how debugging has changed my life and empowered me to navigate the various challenges in my career. 

I started debugging as part of analysing bugs, then used it to understand and read code. Later got involved in writing automated checks which in turn gave me the tools to expand my testing and look at software implementations with a different perspective. Following the positive results, I have tried to employ the same routine on other problem areas. From my experiences, I have found that one could debug a production issue to do root cause analysis, debug a process to identify gaps, debug an idea/problem to understand the scope, debug an initiative to explore the possibilities and many more.

The whole journey takes a different turn when done alone, when done with someone or a group, when different tools and techniques are used. It is interesting to see how the different phases of debugging change with respect to the context too. In the talk, I would like to share my debugging routine for technical and people problems and go over the similarities and differences. 

I feel like critical thinking and curiosity can accelerate the journey and reduce the iterations needed to find the solution or reach the destination. There is also a caveat of overdoing it and stepping into the overthinking mode which becomes a vicious circle from which one can't escape. So, some tips from my end to identify patterns and proceed with caution while debugging. 
What you’ll learn

By the end of this talk, you'll be able to:

  • This session will warm people to the idea of usual software debugging if they are new to it. Give them some useful resources on how to get started and employ it in their daily work. They could try the techniques alone or with their team even on a remote set up
  • Next would be to encourage people to try the same debugging techniques with a small twist on other problem areas outside of the codebase. Debugging is an important transferable skill one can leverage when making the leap to a leadership role from that of a solo contributor
  • Finally some tips to identify patterns and not to overdo it
Kiruthika Ganesan's profile'

Kiruthika Ganesan

Head of Quality Assurance

I am someone who is passionate about testing and approaches testing with a holistic view. I have over 17 years of experience in the IT industry, working as a tester, developer and a trainer. I believe in the power of people and collaborating to build a safe environment where the teams can thrive and work on creating great software. I enjoy teaching and getting involved in community activities like speaking at conferences, delivering workshops. I am one of the tutors in the Coders Guild and a core member of Synapse QA-a testing community. Also, a keen advocate of Women in Tech initiatives and a global ambassador! When I am not working, I love spending time with my kids and enjoy writing short stories.
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