Use Practice Mode on any question page. Scratchpad text stays in memory. If enabled by you, the local queue stores only question ID, round mode, score, weak rubric dimensions, attempt count, and due date.
Round modes
ML breadth
8 minExplain the mechanism, why it works, when it fails, and one alternative.
- Mechanism
- Assumptions
- Trade-offs
- Follow-up depth
- Communication
ML implementation
40 minClarify the contract, implement a correct baseline, test edge cases, then optimize.
- Contract & examples
- Correctness
- Complexity
- Testing & debugging
- Communication
ML system design
40 minScope first; then cover data, baseline, model, evaluation, serving, monitoring, and iteration.
- Problem framing
- End-to-end architecture
- Evaluation & decision
- Operations & failure
- Communication
Project deep-dive
20 minGive a two-minute overview, then pressure-test decisions, failures, evidence, and ownership.
- Scope & stakes
- Personal ownership
- Decision quality
- Failure & recovery
- Impact & reflection
Behavioral / leadership
3 minAnswer the exact question in 90–120 seconds, then reserve detail for follow-ups.
- Question fit
- Ownership
- Stakes & conflict
- Evidence & result
- Reflection
Product & experimentation
20 minDefine the decision first, then design the measurement and enumerate validity threats.
- Problem framing
- Metrics
- Experiment design
- Decision rule
- Communication
Research depth
25 minState the claim, test its evidence, design discriminating experiments, and identify alternatives.
- Claim & hypothesis
- Evidence quality
- Ablations
- Limitations & transfer
- Communication
Systems / infrastructure
35 minQuantify the workload, identify the bottleneck, choose an architecture, and design failure recovery.
- Workload model
- Bottleneck reasoning
- Architecture & trade-offs
- Reliability
- Communication
Math / derivation
15 minState assumptions, derive cleanly, check dimensions or limiting cases, then interpret the result.
- Setup & assumptions
- Derivation
- Sanity checks
- Interpretation
- Communication
The attempt–diagnose–repair loop
- Attempt closed-book. Use the round timer and speak, derive, design, or code as the real format requires.
- Mark observable weak dimensions. “Felt bad” is not a diagnosis; “never defined the ship decision” is.
- Select overall evidence. Weak is due in two days; Review in one week; Confident counts toward (but does not complete) graduation.
- Read only to repair. Compare with the reference after scoring. Write the missing mechanism, decision, test, or story evidence.
- Retry after spacing. Use a changed follow-up or prompt. Immediate fluency after reading is not retained evidence.
- Interleave later. Verify the repair when the category is no longer predictable.
Graduation rule
For a critical question or pattern, require two successful closed-book attempts on different days, no critical rubric dimension marked weak, one unfamiliar follow-up, and survival in a later mixed session.
How to record yourself
- Record audio or screen locally; do not upload confidential project detail.
- Watch once for content: correctness, decisions, evidence, and omissions.
- Watch again for delivery: answer fit, structure, hedging, silence, and response to pushback.
- Write one corrective behavior. Do not produce a transcript of every imperfection.
- For L5/L6, ask a peer to challenge at least two assumptions rather than simply listen.
A standard 60-minute short-answer block
Closed-book answer
07 minRubric diagnosis
20 minTargeted repair
08 minRewrite outline from memory
12 minOne changed follow-up
05 minSchedule retry
Self-score limitation
A local score cannot calibrate L6 scope, story ownership, implementation correctness, or room presence by itself. Use at least one observed simulation and instruct the observer to push back.