Bug Fix Verification

Systematic workflow for verifying bug fixes to ensure quality and prevent regressions.

When to Use This Skill

Use this skill when:

• Fixing a reported bug
• Creating PR for bug fix
• Need to document bug fix verification
• Want to ensure fix doesn't introduce regressions
• Need structured approach to bug resolution

Why Bug Fix Verification Matters

Problems It Solves

• ❌ Fixing symptoms instead of root cause
• ❌ Introducing new bugs while fixing old ones
• ❌ Incomplete testing of edge cases
• ❌ No proof that bug is actually fixed
• ❌ Poor documentation of fix reasoning

Benefits

• ✅ Confirms bug is truly fixed (not masked)
• ✅ Documents root cause analysis
• ✅ Prevents regression with tests
• ✅ Provides clear evidence for stakeholders
• ✅ Improves team knowledge of codebase

Bug Fix Workflow

Step 1: Reproduce Before Fix

Critical: Never fix a bug without first reproducing it.

Reproduction Checklist

• Document exact steps to reproduce
• Capture error message/behavior with screenshots
• Note frequency (100% reproducible, intermittent, etc.)
• Video recording if UI-related or complex interaction
• Identify affected versions/environments
• Note any workarounds users have found
• Verify bug exists in clean environment (not just local)

Reproduction Documentation Template

## Bug Reproduction

### Steps to Reproduce
1. Navigate to `/dashboard`
2. Click "Export Data" button
3. Select date range: Jan 1 - Dec 31
4. Click "Generate Report"

### Expected Behavior
- Report downloads as CSV file
- File contains all transactions for date range
- Download completes in < 5 seconds

### Actual Behavior
- Error appears: "Failed to generate report"
- Console error: `TypeError: Cannot read property 'map' of undefined`
- No file downloads
- Issue occurs 100% of the time

### Environment
- Browser: Chrome 120.0.6099.109
- OS: macOS 14.2
- User Role: Admin
- Data Size: ~10,000 transactions

### Screenshots
![Error message](screenshots/export-error.png)
![Console error](screenshots/console-error.png)

Step 2: Root Cause Analysis

Investigate WHY the bug occurs, not just WHAT happens.

Investigation Steps

1. Review Error Logs: Check server logs, browser console, error tracking
2. Trace Code Path: Follow execution from trigger point to error
3. Identify Breaking Point: Find exact line/function where bug occurs
4. Understand Context: Why does code behave this way?
5. Check Recent Changes: Did recent commit introduce this?
6. Review Related Code: Are there similar patterns elsewhere?

Root Cause Documentation

## Root Cause Analysis

### Investigation
- Error occurs in `generateReport()` function at line 45
- Function assumes `transactions` array always exists
- When date range returns no results, backend returns `null`
- Frontend doesn't handle `null` case, tries to call `.map()` on `null`

### Root Cause
- Missing null check before array operations
- Backend API doesn't return consistent data structure (sometimes `[]`, sometimes `null`)
- No validation of API response shape

### Why This Wasn't Caught
- Unit tests only covered happy path (data exists)
- Integration tests didn't test empty result scenario
- Backend inconsistency not documented in API contract

Step 3: Implement Fix

Fix the root cause, not the symptom.

Fix Guidelines

• Minimal Change: Fix only what's necessary
• Defensive Coding: Add validation/guards
• Consistent Patterns: Follow existing error handling patterns
• Type Safety: Use types to prevent similar bugs
• Documentation: Comment non-obvious fixes

Example Fix

// BEFORE (Bug)
function generateReport(transactions) {
  return transactions.map(t => ({
    date: t.date,
    amount: t.amount,
  }));
}

// AFTER (Fixed)
function generateReport(transactions) {
  // Guard against null/undefined from backend
  if (!transactions || !Array.isArray(transactions)) {
    console.warn('No transactions to export');
    return [];
  }

  return transactions.map(t => ({
    date: t.date,
    amount: t.amount,
  }));
}

Step 4: Verify Fix

Prove the bug is fixed through systematic testing.

Verification Checklist

• Follow same reproduction steps
• Confirm bug no longer occurs
• Test edge cases around the fix
• Verify no new errors introduced
• Check fix works across environments (dev, staging)
• Validate fix matches expected behavior

Verification Documentation

## Fix Verification

### Testing Performed
1. ✅ Followed original reproduction steps - bug no longer occurs
2. ✅ Tested with empty date range - shows "No data to export" message
3. ✅ Tested with valid date range - exports successfully
4. ✅ Tested with large dataset (50k+ transactions) - works correctly
5. ✅ Tested in Chrome, Firefox, Safari - all working
6. ✅ Tested on staging environment - fix confirmed

### Edge Cases Tested
- Empty result set → Shows appropriate message
- Null response from API → Handled gracefully
- Single transaction → Exports correctly
- Malformed transaction data → Logs error, doesn't crash

### No New Issues
- ✅ No console errors
- ✅ No memory leaks
- ✅ No performance degradation
- ✅ Other export features still work

Step 5: Add Tests to Prevent Regression

Critical: Every bug fix must include tests.

Test Requirements

• Test that reproduces original bug (should pass after fix)
• Tests for edge cases discovered during investigation
• Integration test if bug involved multiple components
• Update existing tests if they need to handle new scenarios

Example Tests

describe('generateReport', () => {
  // Test that reproduces original bug
  it('should handle null transactions gracefully', () => {
    const result = generateReport(null);
    expect(result).toEqual([]);
    expect(console.warn).toHaveBeenCalledWith('No transactions to export');
  });

  // Edge cases
  it('should handle undefined transactions', () => {
    const result = generateReport(undefined);
    expect(result).toEqual([]);
  });

  it('should handle empty array', () => {
    const result = generateReport([]);
    expect(result).toEqual([]);
  });

  it('should handle single transaction', () => {
    const transactions = [{ date: '2025-01-01', amount: 100 }];
    const result = generateReport(transactions);
    expect(result).toHaveLength(1);
    expect(result[0]).toEqual({ date: '2025-01-01', amount: 100 });
  });

  // Original happy path (should still work)
  it('should transform multiple transactions correctly', () => {
    const transactions = [
      { date: '2025-01-01', amount: 100 },
      { date: '2025-01-02', amount: 200 },
    ];
    const result = generateReport(transactions);
    expect(result).toHaveLength(2);
  });
});

Step 6: Document in PR

Comprehensive PR description for bug fixes.

PR Template for Bug Fixes

## Bug Fix: [Brief Description]

**Ticket**: #123 / ENG-456 / JIRA-789

### Problem
[Clear description of the bug]

### Reproduction Steps (Before Fix)
1. [Step 1]
2. [Step 2]
3. [Error occurs]

**Expected**: [What should happen]
**Actual**: [What happened instead]

### Root Cause
[Detailed explanation of why bug occurred]

- Where: `src/utils/report.ts`, line 45
- Why: Null check missing before array operation
- Impact: Affects all users trying to export with empty date ranges

### Solution
[Explanation of how fix works]

- Added null/undefined check before array operations
- Return empty array instead of crashing
- Added user-facing warning message
- Updated API response handling to be more defensive

### Fix Verification (After)
1. ✅ Followed reproduction steps - bug no longer occurs
2. ✅ Tested edge cases (null, undefined, empty array)
3. ✅ Tested across browsers (Chrome, Firefox, Safari)
4. ✅ Verified on staging environment
5. ✅ No new console errors or warnings

### Test Coverage
- Added unit tests for null/undefined handling
- Added tests for empty array edge case
- Updated integration tests for export feature
- All existing tests still passing

**Coverage**: +15 lines covered, 0 lines uncovered

### Regression Prevention
- [x] Tests added that would catch this bug if reintroduced
- [x] Similar patterns checked in codebase (found 2, fixed in this PR)
- [x] Documentation updated to note API response inconsistency

### Screenshots/Evidence
**Before (Bug)**:
![Error state](screenshots/before-error.png)

**After (Fixed)**:
![Success state](screenshots/after-success.png)
![Empty state](screenshots/after-empty.png)

### Deployment Notes
- No migrations required
- No environment variable changes
- Safe to deploy immediately
- Rollback: Revert this commit

### Related Issues
- Closes #123
- Related to #456 (similar null handling issue)

Common Pitfalls to Avoid

During Investigation

• ❌ Assuming you know the cause without verifying
• ❌ Fixing symptoms instead of root cause
• ❌ Not checking if similar bugs exist elsewhere
• ❌ Skipping reproduction in clean environment

During Implementation

• ❌ Making changes beyond fixing the bug
• ❌ Refactoring unrelated code in bug fix PR
• ❌ Adding features while fixing bugs
• ❌ Not handling all edge cases discovered

During Verification

• ❌ Only testing happy path after fix
• ❌ Not testing in multiple environments
• ❌ Skipping regression testing
• ❌ Not documenting what was tested

During Documentation

• ❌ Vague PR descriptions ("Fixed bug")
• ❌ Not explaining root cause
• ❌ Missing before/after evidence
• ❌ Not linking to original bug report

Bug Fix Quality Standards

Minimum Requirements

• ✅ Root cause identified and documented
• ✅ Fix is minimal and targeted
• ✅ Tests added to prevent regression
• ✅ Verification documented with evidence
• ✅ No new bugs introduced
• ✅ Works across all supported environments

Excellence Indicators

• ✅ Similar patterns checked and fixed
• ✅ Multiple edge cases tested
• ✅ Performance impact measured
• ✅ Team knowledge shared (wiki/docs updated)
• ✅ Preventive measures suggested

Automation Support

Bug Fix PR Template

Create .github/PULL_REQUEST_TEMPLATE/bug_fix.md:

## Bug Fix

**Ticket**: [Ticket number/link]

### Problem
[Description of bug]

### Reproduction Steps (Before Fix)
1.
2.
3.

**Expected**:
**Actual**:

### Root Cause
[Explanation of why bug occurred]

### Solution
[How fix works]

### Verification (After)
- [ ] Original reproduction steps no longer trigger bug
- [ ] Edge cases tested
- [ ] Tested in multiple browsers/environments
- [ ] No new errors or warnings

### Test Coverage
- [ ] Tests added for bug scenario
- [ ] Tests added for edge cases
- [ ] All existing tests passing

### Screenshots
**Before**: [Screenshot]
**After**: [Screenshot]

GitHub Actions for Bug Fix PRs

name: Bug Fix Verification
on:
  pull_request:
    types: [opened, synchronize]

jobs:
  verify-bug-fix:
    if: contains(github.event.pull_request.labels.*.name, 'bug')
    runs-on: ubuntu-latest
    steps:
      - uses: actions/checkout@v4

      - name: Check PR description
        run: |
          PR_BODY="${{ github.event.pull_request.body }}"
          if [[ ! "$PR_BODY" =~ "Root Cause" ]]; then
            echo "::error::Bug fix PR must document root cause"
            exit 1
          fi
          if [[ ! "$PR_BODY" =~ "Verification" ]]; then
            echo "::error::Bug fix PR must document verification steps"
            exit 1
          fi

      - name: Run tests
        run: npm test

      - name: Check test coverage
        run: |
          COVERAGE=$(npm test -- --coverage --json | jq '.total.lines.pct')
          if (( $(echo "$COVERAGE < 90" | bc -l) )); then
            echo "::warning::Test coverage is below 90%"
          fi

Success Criteria

Bug Fix is Complete When

• ✅ Bug can no longer be reproduced
• ✅ Root cause is understood and documented
• ✅ Fix is minimal and targeted
• ✅ Tests prevent regression
• ✅ Edge cases are handled
• ✅ Works in all environments
• ✅ PR documentation is comprehensive
• ✅ No new issues introduced

Related Skills

• universal-verification-pre-merge - Pre-merge verification checklist
• universal-verification-screenshot - Visual verification for UI bugs
• universal-debugging-systematic-debugging - Systematic debugging methodology
• universal-debugging-root-cause-tracing - Root cause analysis techniques
• universal-testing-testing-anti-patterns - Testing patterns to avoid