Toward Tool-Agnostic Guidelines for Expert Debugging Strategies
Homayoun Safarpour · 2025
Debugging is an essential but not fully understood component of the software development life cycle. Although developers utilize diverse strategies-from manual code inspections to sophisticated AI-assisted techniques-the cognitive processes underlying expert debugging remain ambiguous. This research seeks to elucidate the cognitive and behavioral patterns that inform expert debuggers' decision-making and convert these insights into tool-agnostic guidelines. By adopting a Design Science methodology [1] and integrating think-aloud protocols, cognitive modeling (e.g., using ACT-R), and comparative analyses, we aim to generate actionable principles that enhance debugging efficiency and consistency. These guidelines will be iteratively refined through empirical validation in collaboration with cognitive psychology experts, and the outcomes will be disseminated through both conferences and high-impact journals. Our contributions are intended to assist researchers in reducing bias during tool evaluation and to provide developers and educators with robust, human-centered debugging practices.