A familiar diagnosis can encourage people to reuse a prior fix before they have checked whether the current case actually has the same shape.
Compare the old repair with the current conditions
A familiar symptom can invite a familiar fix. Before reuse, list the conditions that made the earlier repair correct and verify which of those conditions are actually present now.
The same root-cause label may describe cases with different shapes. Similarity is a reason to investigate, not permission to apply the last repair again.
Where AI fits
AI can compare current evidence with the assumptions that made an earlier repair valid and surface a possible match or mismatch.
The human decision
People inspect the case, choose the repair, and approve any change. AI can expose a misleading analogy but cannot treat similarity as permission.
The lesson
The same symptom can need a different repair when the conditions beneath it are different.
The Build Log companion shows two cases with the same symptom and root-cause label that required opposite repairs.
AI Skills
Use this lesson with the AI assistant you already use
The same symptom can need a different repair when the conditions beneath it are different.
Paste the prompt, share only the context needed to answer it, and treat the result as a draft for your review. Do not include confidential information or let an AI assistant make changes without your approval.
Optional: for a visual report and saved memory, run /dxdev first.
Don’t have it? Get it at dxdev.com/skills/dxdev. The prompt works without it.
dxdev LESSON · paste into your AI agent
LESSON: 2026-04-30_verify-the-specific-case
WHAT TO SHARE:
A de-identified current case, a past repair, and the conditions that made the earlier repair appropriate.
ASK YOUR AGENT TO:
1. Separate confirmed facts from assumptions and unanswered questions.
2. List the assumptions behind the past repair.
3. Compare them with evidence in the current case.
4. Flag matches, mismatches, and questions for a human decision.
RETURN:
A prior assumption, current evidence, match or mismatch, and decision table.
BOUNDARY: Do not change records, contact anyone, route work, publish content, or act in an external system. A person must review the evidence and approve every consequential step.
