Contact us

That Time I Spent Hours Fixing a Problem I Created Myself

by Arif Ikhsanudin, Backend Developer

We’ve all been there: staring at the screen, exhausted, only to realize we’re the reason the system broke. Here’s my story of self-inflicted chaos.

The “Simple” Change

It started with what I thought was a minor tweak.

  • Just a small refactor.
  • Code looked cleaner.
  • Tests passed locally.

I pushed it to staging, feeling proud. Famous last words.

The Mystery Bug Appears

Within minutes, reports started rolling in:

  • API endpoints returning errors.
  • Some users couldn’t log in.
  • Logs full of exceptions I didn’t recognize.

My stomach sank. I hadn’t changed much—or so I thought.

Hours of Investigation

I dove into debugging mode:

  • Checked recent commits.
  • Reverted caches and environment configs.
  • Tested edge cases repeatedly.

Nothing seemed to fix it. My confidence was crumbling. The problem felt like an unsolvable puzzle.

The Moment of Truth

After hours of frustration, I retraced every step slowly. And then I saw it:

  • A tiny variable name typo in the refactor.
  • That one small mistake caused the entire feature to break.

All that panic and effort—caused by me. Classic.

Lessons Learned the Hard Way

Spending hours fixing a self-made problem taught me:

  • Double-check your changes. Even small tweaks can ripple.
  • Use automated tests. They catch the typos you overlook.
  • Take a breath before panicking. Often, the problem is simpler than it seems.
  • Document carefully. Refactors should be easy to trace back.

Final Thoughts

Fixing a problem you created yourself is humbling, exhausting, and educational all at once.

Next time I break something: I’ll blame the code less, and check my own changes more. It’s faster, and honestly, less painful.

Scale Your Backend - Need an Experienced Backend Developer?

We provide backend engineers who join your team as contractors to help build, improve, and scale your backend systems.

We focus on clean backend design, clear documentation, and systems that remain reliable as products grow. Our goal is to strengthen your team and deliver backend systems that are easy to operate and maintain.

We work from our own development environments and support teams across US, EU, and APAC timezones. Our workflow emphasizes documentation and asynchronous collaboration to keep development efficient and focused.

  • Production Backend Experience. Experience building and maintaining backend systems, APIs, and databases used in production.
  • Scalable Architecture. Design backend systems that stay reliable as your product and traffic grow.
  • Contractor Friendly. Flexible engagement for short projects, long-term support, or extra help during releases.
  • Focus on Backend Reliability. Improve API performance, database stability, and overall backend reliability.
  • Documentation-Driven Development. Development guided by clear documentation so teams stay aligned and work efficiently.
  • Domain-Driven Design. Design backend systems around real business processes and product needs.

Tell us about your project

Say Hej

Our offices

  • Copenhagen
    1 Carlsberg Gate
    1260, København, Denmark
  • Magelang
    12 Jalan Bligo
    56485, Magelang, Indonesia

More articles

Centralized Configuration in Spring Boot Microservices Is Not Optional

Scattered environment variables and per-service property files work fine for one service. At ten services, they become an operational liability. Here is what a real configuration strategy looks like and why most teams implement it too late.

Read more

Why Documentation Is More Important Than Code in Large Systems

Code builds the system. Documentation keeps it alive. When things scale, what you write about the system matters more than the code itself.

Read more

Eventual Consistency: The Trade-off You Make When You Scale

Eventual consistency is a specific, well-defined trade-off — not a vague guarantee. Understanding what you are actually agreeing to when you accept it prevents a category of bugs that are hard to find and harder to fix.

Read more

Git Bisect: The Fastest Way to Find Which Commit Broke Everything

When a regression appears and you don't know which of the last fifty commits caused it, git bisect performs a binary search through your history and finds the culprit in six or seven steps.

Read more