That is an absolutely stellar quote!
It's also more broadly applicable to life / problem solving / goal setting (if we replace the word 'bug' with 'problem' in the above quote):
"There’s a problem! And it is sort-of obvious how to fix it. But if you don’t laser-focus on that, and try to perceive the surrounding context, it turns out that the problem is valuable, and it is pointing in the direction of a bigger related problem."
In other words, in life / problem solving / goal setting -- smaller problems can be really valuable, because they can be pointers/signs/omens/subcases/indicators of/to larger surrounding problems in larger surrounding contexts...
(Just like bugs can be, in Software Engineering!)
Now if only our political classes (on both sides!) could see the problems that they typically see as problems -- as effects not causes (because that's what they all are, effects), of as-of-yet unseen larger problems, of which those smaller problems are pointers to, "hints at", subcases of, "indicators of" (use whatever terminology you prefer...)
Phrased another way, in life/legislation/problem solving/Software Engineering -- you always have to nail down first causes -- otherwise you're always in "Effectsville"... :-)
You don't want to live in "Effectsville" -- because anything you change will be changed back to what it was previously in the shortest time possible, because everything is an effect in Effectsville! :-)
Legislating something that is seen that is the effect of another, greater, as-of-yet unseen problem -- will not fix the seen problem!
Finally, all problems are always valuable -- but if and only if their surrounding context is properly perceived...
So, an an excellent observation by the author, in the context of Software Engineering!