Taking a problem-solving/coding interview in 45 mins

Notes on my experiments with effective coding/PS interview.

1. Start with a rough problem statement.
2. Did candidate ask questions to clarify and establish scope?
3. Ask which data structure to be used? What other options are there? Why this one?
4. Did candidate use single class or decompose to multiple? OOP-thinking?
5. Ask scenarios. Types and counts of each type?
6. Did candidate think TDD? Were cover corner cases covered?
7. Test approach to solution.
8. First principles thinking?
9. Did candidate get biased by scenarios thought of earlier?
10. Does candidate get confused by counter questioning?
11. How is the confidence on approach taken?
12. Receptive to hints and feedback?
13. Make candidate write code.
14. Correct syntax & chosen language conventions followed acceptably.

Bonus:

1. Document code in Google docs. If offline, collect papers for later reference.
2. Open Google Timer setting it to 45 mins — check duration overflow.
3. Try to standardize evaluation metrics (depending on which round — coding, design, project, etc.) and keep them consistent across candidates.
4. Capture feedback as H/M/L rating and quick notes based on (2)

Remarkable how sometimes the most non-trivial problems need the simplest of solutions.

K.