Can you describe a challenging software development project you recently completed and the results?

How to Answer
Answer Example

Ideally, you have encountered some of the same challenges that the organization has during your software developer experience. The interviewer hopes to confirm this. It demonstrates that you will address the challenges and problems they encounter and help them resolve them quickly. Organizations hire people to either fill a vacant role or expand their team. In either case, they expect the candidate to bring a fresh perspective to the organization and skills, experience, and knowledge they currently don't have on their team. Your answer to this and all the questions they ask should affirm this.

"The most challenging software project I've worked on recently involved an application to allow the company's personnel to self-manage their HR benefits. The challenge was that end-users had to have secure access to their own information without the HR staff intervening. This required me to implement several security features, including user authentication, password protection, and the ability for users to access the company's database behind its firewall via VPNs. Recognizing that I did not have recent experience in these technologies, I refreshed my skills by taking a short online course and collaborated with some of the other developers on our team on the project. Together we developed the software on schedule and under budget. I learned to recognize my shortcomings and bring in additional resources when needed."

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How to Answer: Can you describe a challenging software development project you recently completed and the results?

Advice and answer examples written specifically for a Software Developer job interview.

1. Can you describe a challenging software development project you recently completed and the results?

How to Answer

Ideally, you have encountered some of the same challenges that the organization has during your software developer experience. The interviewer hopes to confirm this. It demonstrates that you will address the challenges and problems they encounter and help them resolve them quickly. Organizations hire people to either fill a vacant role or expand their team. In either case, they expect the candidate to bring a fresh perspective to the organization and skills, experience, and knowledge they currently don't have on their team. Your answer to this and all the questions they ask should affirm this.

Written by William Swansen on August 20th, 2021

Answer Example

"The most challenging software project I've worked on recently involved an application to allow the company's personnel to self-manage their HR benefits. The challenge was that end-users had to have secure access to their own information without the HR staff intervening. This required me to implement several security features, including user authentication, password protection, and the ability for users to access the company's database behind its firewall via VPNs. Recognizing that I did not have recent experience in these technologies, I refreshed my skills by taking a short online course and collaborated with some of the other developers on our team on the project. Together we developed the software on schedule and under budget. I learned to recognize my shortcomings and bring in additional resources when needed."

Written by William Swansen on August 20th, 2021

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