How do you approach debugging a production issue that cannot be reproduced in lower environments?

Question

Accepted Answer

I analyze logs, gather metrics, and collaborate with teams to identify and resolve elusive production issues.

Review application logs for error messages or unusual patterns. For example, check for stack traces that indicate where the issue might originate.
Analyze performance metrics and monitoring tools to identify anomalies. For instance, look for spikes in CPU or memory usage around the time of the issue.
Engage with users experiencing the issue to gather detailed information about their environment and actions leading up to the problem.
Implement additional logging or monitoring in the production environment to capture more context when the issue occurs again.
Consider environmental differences between production and lower environments, such as data volume, configuration settings, or third-party integrations.

Interview Questions Asked to Advanced Software Engineer at Other Companies