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| ### Next Steps Decide on Strategy for a Fix Reassign Bug |
| Locate Cause of Bug ( 3 : VER : 3 : 3.2 ) ( 5 : CAR : 1 : 1.2 ) Developer
Activity: Locate Cause of Bug
Developer
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|  | Participating Roles Responsible: Developer
### Overview When a bug work item is created and reproducible, the developer must find the cause of the bug. The developer can employ a number of tactics and tools to find the root cause of the bug. The strategy to fix the bug often becomes more apparent while locating the cause. Use development tools and resources such as event logs, a debugger, analysis of the code, or traces to pinpoint the cause of the bug. Once the cause is determined, document it in the bug work item. # Entry Criteria The bug is assigned to a developer and the same developer is locating the bug. The bug is assigned to a developer and the same developer is locating the bug. The test configuration is the same one used when the bug was found. The test configuration is the same one used when the bug was found. Up-to-date source code must be available. Up-to-date source code must be available. # Sub-Activities
1 | Isolate Functional Area | In the search for the offending area of code, eliminate areas in the code that do not involve the bug.
2 | Reassign Bug | Optional If the identified code is in another developer's area, reassign the bug to that developer. Provide information to help the next developer examine the bug. Update the Assigned To field in the bug work item with the appropriate developer.
3 | Trace Involved Code Areas | Using debugging tools, use breakpoints and variable watches to examine the identified code for any anomalies that cause the bug. Or mark the code sparingly with tags that provide visible output to a debugger or a log file.
4 | Analyze Product with External Tools | Optional In addition to tracing code, use other tools in the environment to gauge the effects on the product when certain identified areas are run.
5 | Pinpoint the Problem | Follow the steps to reproduce the bug as many times as necessary to pinpoint the lines of code causing the problem. Document the cause and location of the bug in the bug work item. If the larger root cause is identified, choose an appropriate value for the Root Cause field to assist with querying on all bugs that have this type of information available.
# Exit Criteria
| There is enough information from the identified bug location to develop a fix.
| The cause and location of the bug is documented in the bug work item.
| The root cause of the bug is documented, if it is determined.
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