In this episode, Jacob Beningo discusses the importance of debugging in embedded development and shares several techniques to decrease debugging time. He highlights the statistic that development teams spend 20-40% of their time debugging, which equates to 2.5-4.5 man-months of development. Beningo emphasizes the use of test-driven development (TDD) as a way to prevent bugs and decrease debugging time. He also recommends mastering debugging techniques for microcontrollers, using profiling and monitoring tools, employing assertions, and utilizing on-host simulation. Beningo concludes by encouraging listeners to track their debugging time and implement strategies to decrease it.

Takeaways

• Development teams spend 20-40% of their time debugging, which can equate to 2.5-4.5 man months of development.
• Test-driven development (TDD) can help prevent bugs and decrease debugging time.
• Mastering debugging techniques for microcontrollers and utilizing profiling and monitoring tools can improve debugging efficiency.
• Using assertions and on-host simulation are additional techniques to decrease debugging time.
• Tracking debugging time and implementing strategies to decrease it can lead to increased productivity and innovation.