In November, we launched some exciting new product features and continued to improve UX in key areas. We also fixed some bugs, of course. Some of the highlights we launched include:
- Creating custom database tasks (new!)
- Loading test sessions in CodeSignal Interview (new!)
- Redesigned Test Center for improved candidate experience
Create custom database tasks written in PostgreSQL, MySQL, or Microsoft SQL
While our content library already had a number of database tasks to choose from, customers using Test or Interview can now design their own SQL questions and use them in any live interview or an automated assessment. This is especially useful for developing assessments for data engineer or analyst roles.
- Select the SQL environment for the task (PostgreSQL, MySQL, or Microsoft SQL).
- Add setup and teardown scripts, any tables that should be visible to the candidate, and test cases
- Optionally include default starter code and/or an author solution for the task
Load a candidate’s completed test session during a live interview session
For customers using both automated assessments and live interviews in CodeSignal, interviewers can now pull up a candidate’s code for their automated assessment during their live interview session. While the “interviewer” role in CodeSignal, by default, does not provide test access, customers can easily create a custom role that includes this permission.
- Open a new Interview session and choose TASKS in the bottom left corner
- We’ve added a new TESTS tab to the right of the QUICKSTART and SELECT TASKS tabs in the Tasks window
- TESTS will display a list of recently completed tests, which can be searched or sorted
- LAUNCH a test to view the candidate’s code for each task of their assessment
Redesign of Test Center for improved UX
We’ve redesigned the Test Center to provide candidates a cleaner, easier-to-navigate user experience - particularly for sharing coding reports from certified assessments.
- “University Beta” has been removed from the Test Center
- Candidates can no longer share older, non-certified assessment results with companies that require a certified assessment
Other updates
Here's a comprehensive list of everything we pushed live in November, grouped by product area:
Certify
- The test start page now includes a link to an FAQ about Coding Score.
- Grace period updates:
- We now show a five-minute warning to test-takers.
- Once the grace period starts, we show the 1-minute period as a separate countdown to make it clear that it's not part of the test time.
- It will now be possible to override the duration of an individual test session when sending an invitation, or while it's in the pending table.
- Proctoring:
- Proctored assessments will no longer show a Mac-specific message to users who cancel screen share on a Windows device.
- The network connection check has been removed from proctoring setup.
- We redesigned the active test session page. Candidates can now more easily see the “submitted” status of each task in their active test.
- We redesigned the Test Center to provide candidates a cleaner, easier-to-navigate user experience.
- We’ve improved the CSV download performance.
Test
- Grace period updates:
- We now show a five-minute warning to test-takers.
- Once the grace period starts, we show the 1-minute period as a separate countdown to make it clear that it's not part of the test time.
- It will now be possible to override the duration of an individual test session when sending an invitation or while it's in the pending table.
- The UI of the tasks table used for task selection while creating or editing a test has been updated to match the new tasks table used in the Task Library and in Interview.
- Search query will be remembered between tabs on the single-test dashboard.
- We redesigned the active test session page. Candidates can now more easily see the “submitted” status of each task in their active test.
Interview
- Customers can now load a test session in an interview.
- Bug with cursor jump issues has been fixed.
Tasks
- The "Edit" button (or "Request Edit") will now always appear outside of the "three-dots" menu.
- Customers can now create custom database tasks written in PostgreSQL, MySQL, or Microsoft SQL.
- Customers can now duplicate SQL tasks created by the content team.
IDE
- Replays:
- If a customer drags to a spot in the replay before hitting "play" for the first time, playback will now start at the selected time instead of jumping back to the beginning.
- We fixed a bug where DB output was not displayed correctly in replays.
- Terminal commands are now replayed for tasks that feature a terminal (Test only).
- SQL column header names will no longer be included when checking SQL output. (This does not work for multiple tables if the user's query returns multiple tables worth of output.)
- We updated phrasing of runtime error and output limit exceeded verdict messages to be clearer for candidates.
Infrastructure
- Coroutines will now be supported in Kotlin.
- Coderunners should no longer log errors and go into "bad state" as a result of receiving erroneous "plaintext" run requests.
- Language version updates:
- Mongo 4.4, PostgreSQL 13, Java 15, Kotlin 1.4
- Added packages:
- Ruby gems for active model/record and making HTTP calls
- We’ve added server support for T-SQL/Microsoft SQL.
API
- Lever integration metadata can now be queried on company test sessions and certification requests.
- We now automatically convert email addresses for test invitations and certification requests to lowercase - even if they come in from the API.
- GraphQL schema docs in GraphQL Playground will now include rate limits, cost directives, and internal-only annotations.
- GraphQL schema for querying integrations on company test sessions, certification requests.
Admin
- Company admins can now reactivate expired team member invitations.
- Several features - "shouldBypassProctoring", "skipInterviewerFeedback", and "skipInterviewCandidateFeedback" - can now be configured by a CodeSignal Customer Support Manager by customer request.