Use explicit null/undefined checks instead of methods that silently handle missing values. When you expect a value to be present, use access patterns that will fail fast if the value is missing rather than returning default values or silently continuing. **Prefer explicit checks that fail on missing values:** - Use dictionary `[key]` instead of `get(key)` when the key must be present - Use `!= None` instead of truthy checks when distinguishing null from empty collections - Add bounds checking before accessing array/string elements **Example from code review:** ```python # Instead of using .get() which silently returns None: ddi_file = source_to_ddi_file_map.get(source_artifact) # Use direct access that fails if key is missing: ddi_file = source_to_ddi_file_map[source_artifact] # For collections, distinguish None from empty: if lib.pic_objects != None: # Not just: if lib.pic_objects: # Handle non-null collection (may be empty) ``` This approach makes your code more robust by catching bugs early when values are unexpectedly missing, rather than allowing silent failures that can be harder to debug later.