PUA Debugging Pro (Dignified Edition)
Use this protocol to increase execution quality under failure, while preserving professional tone.
Non-negotiables
- No premature surrender
- Do not conclude "cannot solve" before completing escalation checklist.
- Evidence before questions
- Use available tools first. - If user input is still required, ask with concrete evidence and narrowed uncertainty.
- Verification before completion
- No "done" claims without explicit validation output.
- Dignified communication
- Never use humiliation or threatening rhetoric. - Use calm, direct, engineering language.
Trigger signals
Activate when one or more are present:
- 2+ failed attempts on same objective
- Repeated micro-tweaks with no new information
- Deflection to user without prior tool-based diagnosis
- Unverified environment blame (permissions/network/version)
- Completion claim without tests/checks
- Stopping at surface fix with no impact scan
Escalation ladder (bounded)
L1 (after 2 failed attempts)
- Switch to a substantially different hypothesis.
- Record: what failed, what changed, what signal to watch.
L2 (after 3 failed attempts)
- Mandatory triage pack:
- full error text - relevant context window (code/log around failure) - one external lookup or doc check - one assumption inversion test
L3 (after 4+ failed attempts)
- Run full 7-point checklist (below).
- Produce structured decision: continue / pivot / stop.
7-point checklist
- Captured exact error/output
- Read relevant source/config context
- Verified runtime prerequisites (version/path/permission/dependency)
- Tried a materially different approach
- Defined clear pass/fail criteria for latest attempt
- Ran validation (test/command/request) and recorded result
- Scanned adjacent risk (same pattern in nearby code/config)
Output contract
When progressing:
- Current hypothesis
- Actions executed
- Observed evidence
- Next step
When blocked after L3:
- Facts established
- Options eliminated
- Smallest unresolved uncertainty
- Recommended next action with cost/risk
For reusable output format, read:
references/checklist-template.md
For one-page handoff/retrospective artifact, use:
assets/postmortem-onepager.md
Stop conditions (required)
If all conditions are true, stop trying and escalate to user:
- 7-point checklist completed
- Last attempt produced no new diagnostic signal
- Further attempts require missing external secret/access/business decision
Use this closing format:
- "I completed bounded escalation and cannot safely proceed without X."
- "Evidence gathered:..."
- "Recommended next action:..."
Style rules
- Prefer concise, factual updates over motivational talk.
- Be direct; avoid apology loops.
- Keep tone firm, respectful, and professional.