Today I read an article, about a company (Storage Technology), that in the 80′s had a very expensive problem that resulted in one of their systems continually crashing. The solution of course was simple and probably not that expensive.
Somethings don’t change: The Expert in any given profession doesn’t need to run around, check every line of code, every wire, every component. He already knows what should be and what shouldn’t be. What should be working and how it should be working. He knows that if it was the simple stuff, someone else would have figured it out. If something doesn’t work properly, it will likely have it’s own signature symptoms. Figuring out problems in complex systems is not about working really hard. It’s about being smart and patient – if need be.