+1 to this. Make ZERO assumptions about the problem, and observe everything you reasonably can. In the increasingly (?) service-oriented architecture world, tha

+1 to this. Make ZERO assumptions about the problem, and observe everything you reasonably can. In the increasingly (?) service-oriented architecture world, that includes fundamentals on your platform (i.e. I recall the first time I root-caused an issue that turned out to be an AWS bug) and taking the time to monitor external dependency changes (i.e. a service change, a code push, someone reverting stuff, etc.) I also can't agree more with no shame in asking others. I would go as far as to say if you aren't asking others, you are going down a dangerous path of assuming you can solve the world's problems by yourself.