AdvancedStaffAPIs, Events & Integration55 minutesPro answer

SDV-028

Coordinate a long-running workflow across unreliable external partners

Model durable state, deadlines, ambiguous outcomes, compensation, and operator intervention for workflows that outlive requests and deployments.

Distributed TransactionsIdempotencyReconciliationApi Design

Interview prompt

Problem context

A travel booking spans airline, hotel, payment, and identity providers. Calls can time out after success, confirmations arrive hours later, and compensation policies differ. Design the orchestration and customer experience without pretending the partners share a transaction.

Skills being evaluated

workflow orchestrationunknown outcomescompensationcustomer state design

The full reasoning guide is part of Pro

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What the full guide covers

Clarify the decision
Establish scale assumptions
Functional and non-functional requirements
High-level architecture
Data model and flow
Consistency and transaction boundaries
Failure modes and recovery
Security and privacy
Observability and SLOs
Capacity and cost
Alternatives and trade-offs
Evolution and migration
What Staff and Principal candidates should emphasize