INTRODUCTION

Whiteboard challenge is a design challenge where you walk through your design process, traditionally using a whiteboard and marker. Nowadays with remote interviews, using Figma is common. This challenge typically lasts one hour. The interviewer will be typically a lead designer, product manager, or hiring manager.  They will evaluate your product thinking, design thinking, and soft skills in a short amount of time. Depending on their style, they may be more engaged or laid back.

GOAL

This challenge is more about getting a glimpse into your design approach than accounting for all the nuances of the design process.  You are looking to achieve an optimal balance between talking, writing, and facilitation.

STYLES

From having done many whiteboard challenges, I've defined two styles of whiteboard challenges. 

COLLABORATIVE

This is the most common style for tech companies and startups. The interviewers will often roleplay as team members and share as much context as needed. Sometimes, they even have a one or two page brief that they give you beforehand.

The prompts often mirror problems that their product has encountered. This is not ideal as interviewers may be predisposed towards a solution, but unfortunately this is still extremely common. 

Example: Detailed brief

BLUE SKY
The second type of whiteboard challenges are blue sky, which is popular at big tech companies like FAANGA (aka MANGA). The problem itself can be wide in range and random at times, hence the name.

The interviewer will more often roleplay as a client. They can ask you to design a digital or physical product. Interviewers will give you little context and constraints. They will sit back to observe how you tackle ambiguity.

Example: Design an alarm clock.