intro practice · system design prompt
STAR: acting on customer feedback
Write a STAR about a time you changed a roadmap based on a single customer signal. Address how you knew it would generalize.
The mechanism
Customer obsession is not saying yes to whatever they ask. It is taking their underlying problem seriously, sometimes by shipping something they did not ask for. One customer's complaint is a hypothesis, not proof — go check whether it generalizes.
Expected evidence
starStory() returns { situation, task, action, result, metric: { name, unit, before, after }, generalizationEvidence (array of 2+ pieces of disqualifying-or-confirming evidence) }. 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
- n=1 is a hypothesis, not a conclusion.
- Talk to the customer, then look at the data.