3 A Framework For SD Interviews

Question 1

What are the strong signals?

Answer 1

C, P, R, AQ
C - ability to collaborate
P - to work under pressure
R - resolve ambiguity constructively
AQ - ask good questions

Question 2

What are typical red flags?

Answer 2

OE, S, QA
OE - over engineering
S - stubbornness
QA - quick answer without good understanding of the requirements

Question 3

What is the list of the typical questions to ask?

Answer 3

1 What specific features are we going to build?
2 How many users does the product have?
3 How fast does the company anticipate to scale up? What are scales in 3, 6 month, one year etc?
4 What is the company tech stack? What existing services you might leverage to simplify the design?

Question 4

You are asked to design news feed system

Answer 4

1 Is this a mobile app, web app or both?
2 What are the most important features for the product?
3 Is the news sorted in the reversed chronological order or in particular order?
4 How many friends can user have?
5 What is the traffic volume?
6 Can feed contain images, videos or just text?

Question 5

4 Step Process

Answer 5

1 Understand the problem and establish design scope
2 Propose high level design and get buy-in
3 Design deep dive
4 Wrap up