I work developing software for a mid-sized company. From time to time we get a problem that would seem to be intractable; many fine pointy heads get blunted by the problem that just will not be solved.

I'd like to give RV a try the next time one of these beasties shows up. But how to cue the problem properly?

The company uses an open-source bug-tracking system called "Bugzilla". Internal to the company all of the information relating to a particular problem is stored in the "bug" in Bugzilla (assuming people are doing their job and reporting things properly). So everybody in the company knows what "Bug 1275" is, or knows where to go to get up to speed.

Frequently (all too frequently), the bug description/subject is just wrong; it describes symptoms but is never modified to reflect the root cause. So cueing on the description/subject is absolutely the wrong thing to do because the assumptions of the author could be wrong. But the problem is related to that abstract number assignment "Bug 1275" where everybody knows to go to communicate.

So assuming that I'd like to find the solution (or at least a clue to a solution) on the intractable "Bug 1275", I assume that this can be formulated as a "topical search" (where <> would be replaced with the appropriate descriptive names):

[xxxx/yyyy] <company-name-here> / <project-name-here> / "Bugzilla Bug 1275" / optimum solution

Certainly lots of fodder for testing: pick a bug number at random and see what comes out of the session...

That's a good idea of where to start, I'd say. Give it to someone as a blind target and see how it works. But off the top of my head, I would encourage the use of target reference material in this case, to firmly establish what you are asking the Matrix about. I would print out some sort of hard copy of the bug in question. Preferably some sort of 'cover page' that has the official name of the bug as well as the author's notes about the symptoms that you mentioned. If they wrote anything about a possible cause, I might delete that part. Underline the part that says Bugzilla Bug 1275. Then I would use

[xxxx\yyyy] Bugzilla Bug 1275/optimum solution

Write the TRNs/cue on paper and include it in a folder with the TRM. Write the TRN's on the outside of the folder. Here's a couple of other cue ideas to be used with the same TRM:

[xxxx\yyyy] Bugzilla Bug 1275/primary cause
[xxxx\yyyy] Bugzilla Bug 1275

A cause could very well show up in that second cue, if you are able to identify it. At the very least, you'd get an idea of how the Matrix identifies a term such as this, which could help you in the future with software/engineering RV issues.

I'm wondering if there may be an alternative, 'holistic' approach to this, similar to an optimum health trajectory for your company's project. If I come up with anything, I'll come back.

I'm interested to see how this turns out. Keep us posted.

Gad! that is simple and straightforward and should have been obvious.

Print out the first page with the header and description and nothing else, prepare it as TRM, and do the session! Duh!

Thanks for helping pull my truck out of the ditch (or some other appropriate metaphor...)