The analyst has performed initial, internal troubleshooting steps: using print statements for debugging, conducting a peer review, and verifying software compatibility and versioning. When these methods fail, the next logical step in a standard troubleshooting methodology is to broaden the search for a solution by consulting external resources. Researching the issue online provides access to official documentation, knowledge bases, and community forums where similar problems and their resolutions are often documented. This step is a crucial part of due diligence before escalating the issue or resorting to workarounds.

A. This is a temporary workaround, not a troubleshooting step to solve the current problem. It avoids the issue rather than addressing it.

B. It is premature to declare a software bug and contact IT. The analyst should first exhaust self-service resources, as the issue might be a known problem with a documented solution.

C. Escalating to a manager is inappropriate for a technical problem at this stage. This step should only be taken after standard technical troubleshooting and escalation paths have been exhausted.

1. Sommerville

I. (2016). Software Engineering (10th ed.). Pearson.

In Chapter 8

Section 8.4 on "Debugging

" the text describes the process of locating and repairing defects. A key part of locating a defect is information gathering. When initial hypotheses fail

a developer must gather more information

which in a modern context includes searching for known issues in external knowledge bases before escalating. This aligns with researching the problem online.

2. Zeller

A. (2009). Why Programs Fail: A Guide to Systematic Debugging (2nd ed.). Morgan Kaufmann.

Chapter 1

"Isolating Failure Causes

" emphasizes a scientific method for debugging: observe

hypothesize

test

and repeat. When a programmer's own hypotheses are exhausted (as in the scenario)

the next step is to gather more data or see if others have already solved the problem. The book implicitly supports consulting external documentation and community knowledge as part of the observation/information-gathering phase.

3. Ko

A. J.

& Myers

B. A. (2004). A framework and methodology for studying the causes of software errors in programming systems. Journal of Visual Languages & Computing

15(1)

41-84. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jvlc.2003.07.004

This paper discusses the cognitive processes of debugging. It highlights that a major part of resolving errors involves "information seeking." After failing to find information through code inspection (as the analyst did)

a programmer naturally progresses to external information sources like documentation or online communities. This supports online research as the next logical action.