Career Services in Coda! [Katie Rivard]

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Career Services in Coda! [Katie Rivard]

Career Services in Coda! [Katie Rivard]

Whiteboard & Take-Home Challenges

Lesson: Whiteboard Challenges

10 minute read

If you get called in for an in-person interview, there's a high likelihood that you may get to experience the often dreaded whiteboard challenge. Have no fear as we'll review steps to help you prepare and execute these challenges with the confidence you need and the know-how to impress.

What is a whiteboard challenge?

The definition of a whiteboard challenge is pretty much what it seems: you conduct a design exercise using a whiteboard and markers. This isn't always the case, as some interviewers may just ask you to speak on behalf of the challenge versus drawing or writing anything out.

Typically a whiteboard challenge is a way for a hiring manager to gauge how you think as a designer. The process lasts approximately 20 minutes, and you're given a challenge to assess and determine a solution for within the time allotted.

To get better acquainted with the method, let's review how to plan and practice for these challenges.

Plan

When you're in a room with the interviewer, they will provide you with a task to assess and determine a solution for. This might be written out on the board or verbally communicated to you.

The most important thing you can do during this process is ask questions. Lots of them. Act out the scenario with the interviewer, referring to them as the stakeholder or user of the project at hand.

A few questions to consider asking are:

What is the product trying to do?

What is the user's goals? What are the business goals?

Why is the product necessary? What does it improve?

What does a successful product look like to a stakeholder?

Just as you would research for any project, take time to ask questions to get to the meat of the problem. Once you have the problem defined, determine the goal you're trying to achieve.

Ask questions around the users of the product. Determine who the audience is, what they need the solution for, and if there are different groups of users.

Once you have the problem and users defined, you should consider any constraints to your process or the product. Determine when, where, and why this solution is needed. Ask questions around any potential constraints due to technology or user limitations.

Once you have this information, you can begin jotting down ideas. Develop a list of possible solutions or flows to solve the problem.

The most important thing to remember during this entire process is to think out loud. Always talk through your thinking process. It's easy to shut down and just try and solve the problem. But if you continue talking during the exercise, you may discover a solution based on the conversation that happens.

As you begin to define your solution, begin sketching it out on the board. Use different colored markers to call out key elements in the design. You can draw out a concept and erase if you choose. You should try to rework your ideas as you continue in the process to refine and improve upon it.

Practice

Before going into your first whiteboard challenge, you should practice, practice, practice. Practice makes perfect. While you won't be 100% perfect in all instances, it's important to attempt these on your own to try and gain a better understanding and composure while constraining yourself to a time-boxed exercise.

Remember as you practice that it's ok to take short breaks as you think through the process. Remember to take deep breaths along the way to help you concentrate, and don't get overly concerned if you start to feel yourself failing. The purpose of these exercises are to see your design thinking in motion, not perfect a solution ready for implementation.

You won't always be asked to go to the board to concept out an idea, so be prepared to just talk through the challenge at hand. Remember to:

Ask questions to specify the challenge and don’t move on until you are clear on your task.

Ask about the users and their context

Write down the main steps of the story to help you maintain your focus and guide the design

Draw a few critical screens

Summarize the story, talk about alternatives, improvements or other use cases

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