1 min lesson
Where the time goes
Compare two rows from "Where the time goes", then say when each one fits.
Step 1 of 2
Where the time goesThree-hour budget
- Block
- Skeleton + adapter interface
- Time
- ~30 min
- Done means
- Two adapters behind one interface, happy path streams end to end
- Block
- Timeouts, retries, failover
- Time
- ~60 min
- Done means
- Kill Provider A, requests still succeed via B, failover counter ticks
- Block
- Admission control
- Time
- ~40 min
- Done means
- Spike test sheds excess with 429s instead of unbounded queue growth
- Block
- Metrics + README
- Time
- ~50 min
- Done means
- Percentiles emitted, README states design, tradeoffs, gaps, next steps
| Block | Time | Done means |
|---|---|---|
| Skeleton + adapter interface | ~30 min | Two adapters behind one interface, happy path streams end to end |
| Timeouts, retries, failover | ~60 min | Kill Provider A, requests still succeed via B, failover counter ticks |
| Admission control | ~40 min | Spike test sheds excess with 429s instead of unbounded queue growth |
| Metrics + README | ~50 min | Percentiles emitted, README states design, tradeoffs, gaps, next steps |
If you fall behind, cut the stretch, not the failure handling.
Watch out
The classic take-home failure is gold-plating the happy path and never killing a provider. If your submission has a beautiful adapter layer but you never tested what happens when Provider A returns 503 mid-stream, you've optimized the part nobody is grading. Spend your last 30 minutes breaking your own system and showing it recovers.
Learn more
Full explanation
Self-rubric
Self-rubricGrade like the reviewer
- Dimension
- Production quality
- Pass
- Config-driven, no hardcoded provider URLs, clean shutdown
- Red flag
- Demo-grade with TODOs in the hot path
- Dimension
- Correct failure handling
- Pass
- Failover verified by an actual fault-injection test
- Red flag
- Failover code exists but was never exercised
- Dimension
- Readable
- Pass
- A reviewer can trace a request in five minutes
- Red flag
- Logic smeared across files with no seams
- Dimension
- Honest about gaps
- Pass
- README names the cut corners explicitly
- Red flag
- README oversells; reviewer finds the gaps for you
| Dimension | Pass | Red flag |
|---|---|---|
| Production quality | Config-driven, no hardcoded provider URLs, clean shutdown | Demo-grade with TODOs in the hot path |
| Correct failure handling | Failover verified by an actual fault-injection test | Failover code exists but was never exercised |
| Readable | A reviewer can trace a request in five minutes | Logic smeared across files with no seams |
| Honest about gaps | README names the cut corners explicitly | README oversells; reviewer finds the gaps for you |