Note: As of April 2021, CodeSignal's virtual whiteboard is powered by Miro, a tool we chose for its intuitive user experience and rich set of features well-suited to collaborative, live technical interviews (details below).
Summary: This article provides an overview of the CodeSignal virtual whiteboard and how it can be leveraged during system design interviews.
The CodeSignal virtual whiteboard is a feature available within CodeSignal Interview. This digital equivalent of a traditional whiteboard enabled candidates to effectively communicate their ideas, thought processes, and knowledge of system design visually.
Whiteboard sessions can take place in real-time over a video call, and you can work simultaneously in our whiteboard and state-of-the-art IDE. No need to download additional software or switch between multiple applications! Interviewers can collaborate with candidates on designs, or guide and instruct candidates through various exercises.
The interface is simple and intuitive to use, offering a stellar candidate experience and allowing talent to demonstrate their full potential by worrying less about learning how to use a potentially new platform and focusing more on the content of their work.
Feature Highlights
During your live interview session, simply click the OPEN WHITEBOARD button at the bottom of the window to switch from our state-of-the-art IDE and unlock your candidates’ creative potential with our feature-rich whiteboard.
Working with the whiteboard
You can drag and resize the whiteboard to suit your working style. You can also work within the IDE while the whiteboard is open. Below is a short video to explain how you can work with the whiteboard.
Responsive arrow tool for flowchart creation
Candidates can select from a variety of shapes to create flowcharts and more in the virtual whiteboard. In system design interviews, candidates or interviewers can easily move elements of the flowchart, and the connecting lines and arrows automatically adjust accordingly.
Wireframes and templates
To save time, interviewers or candidates may choose to use a wireframe or template instead of placing each element onto the whiteboard one at at time. Templates offered by Miro include: flowchart, app wireframe, UML diagram, and more.
The wireframe library includes a variety of elements useful for frontend design: phone, tablet, and browser frames; buttons; dropdown menus; image, video, and avatar placeholders; tabs, and more.
Write
Use the Comment, Pen, or Text feature to add comments or text elements to your design.
Review the whiteboarding session after the interview
Option 1: Your interviewing team can review the whiteboard after the interview via a read-only link to the Miro board.
Option 2: Export as a PDF. To export a candidate's board from Miro, you'll first need to create a Frame around the content you want to export. Then, you will Export as image and save as a Vector - PDF file.
Questions? Contact support@codesignal.com.