Hotfix Pattern — Problem

Pattern: Hotfix
Component: problem.md
Version: 1.2 | Updated: 2026-07-29

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Statement

SEVs invite speculative coding and mass restarts: no IC, out-of-path edits, and evidence destroyed before RCA can start.

Measurable symptoms

Symptom	How you detect it
No IC	Multiple people mutate prod
Path explosion	Hotfix PR touches unrelated modules
Evidence wipe	Restarts before log capture
Customer data in chat	PII pasted into incident channels

Root cause

Incident adrenaline rewards visible action. Containment and evidence look passive even when they are the correct first moves.

What breaks when this pattern is skipped

• Blast radius expands during “fix”
• RCA impossible after the fact
• Repeat SEVs from the same hole

Non-goals of this pattern

• Not a feature delivery shortcut
• Not a full RCA (that follows containment)
• Not unscoped refactors during SEV

Related

• Failures — recovery table
• Workflow — ordered steps
• Checklist — exit criteria

Changelog

• 1.2 (2026-07-29): Hotfix problem page expanded with skip-impact and operator symptoms.