0:00-0:02: choose exactly one DSA problem and one system-design prompt from the menus below.
0:02-0:05: answer the warm-up MCQs. At minute 5, the DSA timer starts.
0:05-0:50 — DSA round: 0:05-0:07 say pattern, brute force, better approach, time, and space; 0:07-0:50 code without solution text. If stuck at 0:30, reread only the pattern name and restart your explanation.
0:50-1:35 — System-design round: no break. 0:50-1:00 requirements and scale; 1:00-1:10 API and data model; 1:10-1:25 boxes; 1:25-1:35 bottleneck and failure modes.
1:35-2:05 — Behavioral round: no break. 1:35-1:41 write conflict STAR, then 1:41-1:44 tell it; 1:44-1:50 write failure STAR, then 1:50-1:53 tell it; 1:53-1:59 write deep-dive STAR, then 1:59-2:02 tell it; 2:02-2:05 trim the longest answer.
2:05-2:10: score the self-check gate. Every miss gets one WA: <root cause> line.
The problem menu
Pick exactly one DSA row for the 45-minute coding round. Explain aloud before typing.
Source invariant: “Under a strict timer, state your approach and its complexity out loud before you write a line of code — the talking is the skill being tested.”
2. A learner codes silently, then explains after passing. What broke?
Source invariant: “Under a strict timer, state your approach and its complexity out loud before you write a line of code — the talking is the skill being tested.”
3. The DSA timer hits 25 stuck minutes. What now?
Source invariant: “Under a strict timer, state your approach and its complexity out loud before you write a line of code — the talking is the skill being tested.”
4. When does a failed DSA problem leave the queue?
Source invariant: “Re-solve your weakest problems from a blank file with no hints; a problem only counts as revised when it compiles and passes on the first or second run.”
5. Which DSA row enters the next revision list?
Source invariant: “Re-solve your weakest problems from a blank file with no hints; a problem only counts as revised when it compiles and passes on the first or second run.”
6. What does the behavioral block test?
Source invariant: “Under a strict timer, state your approach and its complexity out loud before you write a line of code — the talking is the skill being tested.”
Self-check gate
Pass bar
DSA started by minute 5, used a strict 45-minute timer, and began with approach plus complexity aloud.
System design used all seven steps in 45 minutes and named one bottleneck trade-off.
Behavioral produced three STAR stories: conflict, failure, deep-dive. Each spoken version stayed under 3 minutes.
No round borrowed time from the next round. No solution text was opened during the DSA timer.
Failure path: add the failed DSA problem to the next revision list with WA: <missed invariant or bug>. Add the weakest system-design prompt with its missing step. Rewrite and retell any STAR story that crossed 3 minutes.