intro practice · system design prompt
STAR: cross-team collab
Write a STAR about a project that needed another team’s buy-in. Show how you got it without escalation.
The mechanism
Collaboration means making the other person's job easier than they were expecting. Most cross-team friction is really unclear ownership and unspoken expectations — fix those before worrying about chemistry.
Expected evidence
starStory() returns { situation, task, action, result, metric: { name, unit, before, after }, alignmentSteps (array of 3+ distinct steps) }. The checker enforces structure only: four distinct sections of 20+ words, action the longest, 150+ words total, before ≠ after, and the result section must name the metric and state its after value. Aim for 250-350 words — that is the interview bar, not the checker’s.Try this drill in the practice workspace →
Hints when you need them
- Make the other team’s win visible up front.
- Async > sync for written alignment.