Batarang[0] is chrome plugin that vastly helps with debugging angular. I also highly recommend approaching it from a TDD standpoint. The seed[1] project comes with a baked-in testrunner. This also helps you move away from direct dom manipulation unless absolutely necessary: treat it like the definition of an html DSL specific to your app.

0. https://chrome.google.com/webstore/detail/angularjs-batarang...

1. https://github.com/angular/angular-seed