The author’s views on debugging as a learnable activity are presented in this article. O’Dell reviews literature from computer science (CS) and psychology and reaches the conclusion that debugging is not a black art, but a mental state and skill that can be practiced. The author bases much of his discussion on the work of Dweck [1]. O’Dell considers debugging to be a special case of problem solving. It is an application of the scientific method--a willingness to use incremental thinking to observe the system, perform experiments, and derive insights as more data becomes available.

O’Dell argues that if debugging is a learnable and hence teachable activity, then universities and colleges should include this skill in their curricula. Doing so would give practitioners a solid base on which to continue learning the skill.

I found this survey article interesting for its description of the psychological background to debugging and for its focus on practical outcomes. It is valuable to mentors, teachers, and managers who can use these insights to help others learn and improve on these skills.