A carton of advice, part 2 (Troubleshoot problems efficiently)

Divide the possible solution set in half if possible, as long as you can come up with questions or experiments. Is the issue in the source or the measurement? The income or the spending? The go or the stop? The hard or the soft? The ebb or the flow? The potential or the kinetic? Eliminating half of the possibilities at a time is faster than eliminating the 5% possible causes.

In other words, divide and conquer. Once you do that, then you can think like Sherlock Homes. Eliminate the impossible and hone in on the possible.