Fighting Fires at Fyle: My Journey in Bug Triaging
Sparking Interest: Who I Am and What This Is About
Hey, what's up? I'm Aniruddha Shriwant, and I work as a frontend developer at Fyle. Now, you might be thinking I spend all day messing around with code and making things look pretty. But hold on a sec, 'cause I've got another hat I wear at work—I'm also kinda like a firefighter. Yeah, you heard that right! I've been at Fyle for around a year, and let me tell you, one of the most thrilling parts of my job is being part of the Fire Brigade Team.
So, you're probably wondering, 'Fire Brigade? What's that?' Nah, we're not running around with hoses or anything like that. But indeed, we do put out 'fires,' by which I mean bugs that could potentially disrupt our customer experience. Trust me, in a startup that moves as fast as Fyle, bugs are like party crashers you didn't invite, and it's our job to show them the door.
Why do we call ourselves the Fire Brigade? Because when bugs decide to make a scene, we triage all the reported bugs and handle the rescue operations to unblock our customers. Sound cool? Well, strap in, because I'm gonna take you on a journey through the fast-paced, challenging, and super rewarding world of bug triaging.
Into the Fire: My Entry into the Bug Triage Team
Imagine this: You're new to Fyle and still figuring out the ropes of the codebase and features. Out of the blue, you get placed on the Fire Brigade Team. Yep, you're now on the frontline, but not in the way you'd expect. At Fyle, we engineers do more than just work on design docs and project boards. We also get a chance to dive into a different, action-packed role for six months - handling bugs.
At first, I was both thrilled and a bit nervous. Why? Because bugs can pop up anywhere in our product, not just in the frontend where I usually work. That includes backend service glitches, worker issues, and more. When my manager introduced me to the team, I had a ton of questions: 'Can I really handle these bugs? Is it possible to find quick fixes or even whip up some database scripts on the fly?'
And that's how I started my journey in the Fire Brigade—a role that's equally challenging and rewarding, where each bug reported is a new mission.
Juggling Flames: Extinguishing Chaos in Bug Triage Moments
Mornings at Fyle usually kick off with a bit of firefighting. Each ticket raised with our Customer Success Team, if identified as a bug, lands in a queue for the Fire Brigade team to triage. Our primary mission? Unblock our customers as quickly as possible. We aim to clear this queue daily, providing resolutions that our Customer Success Team can then relay back to our customers.
First things first, we delve into the bug descriptions, videos, or screenshots provided by customers. Our objective is to reproduce the issue and determine if it's something familiar. Sometimes, this involves writing quick SQL queries to unblock customers who are facing critical issues. If the bug affects multiple users, we escalate it to P0 status, alerting engineering managers and the respective engineering team to prioritize this critical issue.
But here's the twist: while firefighting at Fyle keeps me on my toes, it's not my only gig. I also work on my own initiatives, requiring a delicate balance between firefighting and advancing my projects—a tightrope walk that demands sharp focus and effective time management.
My challenges often include crafting SQL queries to diagnose issues, diving into logs from various services—be it service pods or worker logs—and sifting through database tables in Athena. I am not going to lie - as someone who is fairly new at Fyle, it did seem overwhelming initially
Bonus Insight: As part of our ongoing efforts to enhance the bug-triaging process, we maintain a playbook. This growing repository of product information, internal KBs, and quick references to previous issues of a similar kind aids in more efficient future bug triaging. It's a work in progress, but every addition fortifies our process.
So that's what it's like to be part of Fyle's Fire Brigade. It's a mix of high-stakes challenges and satisfying rewards—whether I'm putting out fires or pushing my own projects forward
Sparks of Wisdom: What I've Learned in the Fire Brigade
Triaging bugs offers a unique set of challenges but also serves as a treasure trove of learning opportunities. One unexpected perk? Discovering new bugs while investigating others. It's akin to peeling an onion—each layer unveils something new.
My learnings extend beyond just technical skills. While I've certainly honed my debugging abilities and gotten better at SQL queries, I've also started to get a glimpse into our product's infrastructure. Though reading logs from service pods and workers primarily helps in pinpointing errors, it also provides some clues into how different components of our system interact. So, it's not just about fixing bugs; it's about starting to understand the bigger picture of how everything is connected.
Communication has been crucial. My role in the Fire Brigade has improved my relationship with our Customer Success Team and taught me the art of effective communication. This broader perspective has not only made me a more competent Fire Brigade member but has also enriched my approach to my own initiatives.
Let's talk about product knowledge. While I may not be the sole go-to person for identifying problem areas, our collective experience in the Fire Brigade provides invaluable insights into recurring issues. This is not just beneficial for us as engineers; it also offers critical data for our Product Team, who can then prioritize initiatives that will reduce bugs and enhance the user experience.
In summary, my time in the Fire Brigade has been a crash course in:
Enhancing cross-team communication
Debugging and troubleshooting
SQL Querying and log analysis
Gaining a holistic understanding of the product
Balancing firefighting with other initiatives
Each of these learnings has shaped me into a more well-rounded engineer, capable not just of putting out fires but also of preventing them.
Cooling the Embers: Wrapping It Up
After this whirlwind journey, it's clear that being a member of Fyle's Fire Brigade is not just about putting out fires; it's about growth, teamwork, and a wealth of learning. I've not only sharpened my technical skills but also picked up invaluable lessons in communication and product understanding. Engineering, as I've come to realize, isn't just about coding in isolation; it's about collaborating to solve real-world problems and making a meaningful impact on users' lives. So, thank you for accompanying me on this eye-opening journey through the highs and lows of life in Fyle's Fire Brigade Team. Learning never stops, and this experience has been a testament to that.