Problem Decomposition and Incremental Development Questions
Covers the ability to break complex, ambiguous problems into smaller, well defined components and then implement solutions iteratively. Includes techniques for identifying root causes versus symptoms, structuring analysis frameworks appropriate to the problem type, and mapping dependencies and interfaces between components. Emphasizes starting with a simple working solution or prototype, validating each subcomponent, and progressively adding complexity while managing risk and integrating pieces. Candidates should demonstrate how they prioritize subproblems, estimate effort, choose trade offs, and use incremental testing and verification to ensure correctness and maintainability. This skill applies across algorithmic coding problems, system design, product or business case analysis, and case interview scenarios.
MediumTechnical
0 practiced
Describe framework options to decompose systems: domain-driven design (DDD), layered architecture, event-driven decomposition, modular decomposition, and divide-and-conquer. For each framework explain the kinds of problems it's best suited for, an example scenario, and the signals that indicate you should choose it.
MediumSystem Design
0 practiced
You need to decompose a monolithic e-commerce checkout into separate services (cart, pricing, inventory, payment, order, notification) for a platform handling 100k orders/day. Provide an incremental extraction plan using the strangler pattern: list the extraction order, data synchronization strategies, API contracts for each service, and a rollback plan. Describe how you'd validate correctness at each step and keep user experience stable.
HardSystem Design
0 practiced
Design a dependency-mapping tool to visualize and reason about service and code dependencies to aid decomposition decisions. Define the data model (nodes, edges, metadata such as owners and SLAs), methods of data collection (static analysis, runtime tracing, build graphs), UI features for filtering and impact analysis, and an incremental roll-out plan to integrate into CI and on-call playbooks.
MediumTechnical
0 practiced
As a senior engineer leading a cross-team feature, outline how you would decompose the work into milestones, define acceptance criteria for each milestone, assign testing responsibilities, and establish a communication plan. Include how you would handle blocked dependencies, measure team progress, and what rituals you would run to keep cross-team coordination efficient.
HardSystem Design
0 practiced
When decomposing transactions spanning multiple services, compare SAGA (orchestration and choreography) versus two-phase commit. For a payment and inventory business flow, propose an incremental migration plan to sagas with compensating actions, describe testing strategies for compensations, and explain how you'll monitor and detect incomplete sagas in production.
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