How do you direct your team to identify and correct errors in their code?
Interviewers understand that nobody is perfect and errors will occur. They want to understand how you go about correcting these without discouraging the team members or lecturing them about their mistakes. Your answer to this question will help the interviewer determine your leadership qualities and how you can help mentor and develop junior team members.
"While there are several different automated tools that will help identify and correct errors during the software development lifecycle, there are some manual processes that I feel are just as effective. These include writing tests, wrapping the code to catch exceptions, using try/catch statements, and utilizing the Weak Operational Memory Module, or WOMM development process. I also prefer implementing software development within the Agile methodology. The advantage of Agile is that it identifies errors at each stage of the development process and enables the developers to correct them before they have a greater impact on the subsequent development activities. Even if not using Agile, I still check for errors throughout the entire software development lifecycle."
When describing how you direct your team to identify and correct the errors in their code, keep your answer upbeat and positive. Acknowledge that everyone occasionally makes an error, and the key is quickly identifying and correcting them. Emphasize how you turn this into a positive learning experience and use it to increase the skill sets of the junior members of your team.
Community answers are written by other candidates practicing this set. Reading how others frame the same question is one of the fastest ways to sharpen your own.
Anonymous Answer
I strongly encourage Test-Driven Development for my team and require unit tests to be implemented to test new code and changes to existing code. Unit testing is one of the best tools a developer can use to reduce errors in their code. And since I follow Agile principles, our daily standups and lines of communication between teams allow my team members to quickly address any errors that come up in their code. We also have integration and regression tests that are run against the software build to ensure existing functionality is not broken.
Amanda's Feedback
Well done! Your ability to clearly answer the question by explaining why you choose to use specific tools makes it clear that you have the kind of experience and confidence that an employer is looking for in a senior software engineer.
