Do you try to understand the root cause for already solved problems?

Question

I just solved an authentication issue between Git and Jenkins using a lot of trial and error, semi random advice from SO and rolling back some code. It works now but I still don't fully understand why it works.This is not uncommon in devops and test, but happened to me more than once in embedded code and even in other places. Sometimes I spend some official or private time investigating it, sometimes I put it into a backlog and in some cases I don't even bother due to lack of time.How much time, if any, do you spend investigating something that is already working? Will you loose sleep over it?

PaulHoule · Accepted Answer

Depends how much else is on your plate.In a case like that you can document everything you know and hope you have more insight when the problem comes back.

selfhoster11 · Answer

It's a no-brainer. Your solution worked under very specific circumstances, but what if those change? It's better to find out why it worked, so you can adjust it later.Would I lose sleep over it? No. Nothing is worth that in IT. It's just a machine, and it's just a job.

Do you try to understand the root cause for already solved problems?

Depends how much else is on your plate.
In a case like that you can document everything you know and hope you have more insight when the problem comes back.

It's a no-brainer. Your solution worked under very specific circumstances, but what if those change? It's better to find out why it worked, so you can adjust it later.
Would I lose sleep over it? No. Nothing is worth that in IT. It's just a machine, and it's just a job.