Timed mock (60 minutes)

Out-of-order + stress + debug one injected bug.

Timer breakdown

1. 0–10 min: OOO scoreboard by ID sketch

2. 10–25 min: Predictor + exp/act paths

3. 25–40 min: Stress sequence outline (many outstanding)

4. 40–50 min: Injected bug triage (path or compare)

5. 50–60 min: Coverage hook on mismatch type

RUBRIC (score 1–5 each)

  Mechanism accuracy — correct UVM pattern, no magic
  Communication — narrates while sketching
  Pitfalls — cites unprompted
  Test mindset — smoke test + regression hook

STRONG HIRE: mechanism + pitfall + test without prompting
NO HIRE: silent coding, wrong TLM direction, no test plan

Interviewer follow-up traps (sample 10)

• FIFO overflow policy?

• Stale ID timeout?

• Predictor drift detection?

• Soft vs hard mismatch?

• Regression seed strategy?

Strong hire signals

• Narrates DECLARE→TEST without prompting

• Names pitfall unprompted

• Smoke test and regression hook stated

• Asks clarifying protocol questions early

No hire signals

• Silent coding

• Wrong TLM direction on diagram

• No test plan after sketch

• Cannot recover when stuck

CODE LAB FOLLOW-UP: uvm-l10-mock-scoreboard

Key takeaways

• Complete mock in 60 min wall clock.

• Self-score rubric honestly.