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Microsoft Interview Questions

Review this list of 263 Microsoft interview questions and answers verified by hiring managers and candidates.
  • Microsoft logoAsked at Microsoft 
    11 answers
    +8

    "Clarification Questions What does it mean by Next Gen Elevator? → Next Gen Elevator means Elevator using new technologies. Where is this Elevator situated? → Skyscrapers, Commercial Buildings, Residential Buildings or Elevators to Space? Assuming it’s Commercial Buildings. What is the Goal of Making Next Gen Elevators? Is it improving Safety? User Experience? Assuming it’s User Experience _Goal: To design an elevator using emerging technologies to improve user experience in a C"

    Anonymous Muskox - "Clarification Questions What does it mean by Next Gen Elevator? → Next Gen Elevator means Elevator using new technologies. Where is this Elevator situated? → Skyscrapers, Commercial Buildings, Residential Buildings or Elevators to Space? Assuming it’s Commercial Buildings. What is the Goal of Making Next Gen Elevators? Is it improving Safety? User Experience? Assuming it’s User Experience _Goal: To design an elevator using emerging technologies to improve user experience in a C"See full answer

    Product Manager
    Product Design
  • Microsoft logoAsked at Microsoft 
    11 answers
    Video answer for 'Describe a time when your project failed.'
    +7

    "I feel this is more about "Describe a time when I failed or struggled" rather than "Project Failure"."

    Anjali V. - "I feel this is more about "Describe a time when I failed or struggled" rather than "Project Failure"."See full answer

    Product Manager
    Behavioral
    +5 more
  • Microsoft logoAsked at Microsoft 
    3 answers

    "Request inputs/feedback on my response below with regards to this question and ways to improve and if it looks apt for this question. As a TPM at xxx, I was responsible for delivering a feature that would provide prescription (medications) alternatives to users in the Prescription Shopping Consumer Experience App. The project had a tight deadline as it was something that our account management team promised to a client who wanted it for their employees. My goal was to ensure smooth development"

    Pavani B. - "Request inputs/feedback on my response below with regards to this question and ways to improve and if it looks apt for this question. As a TPM at xxx, I was responsible for delivering a feature that would provide prescription (medications) alternatives to users in the Prescription Shopping Consumer Experience App. The project had a tight deadline as it was something that our account management team promised to a client who wanted it for their employees. My goal was to ensure smooth development"See full answer

    Product Manager
    Behavioral
    +1 more
  • Microsoft logoAsked at Microsoft 
    63 answers
    Video answer for 'Design Facebook Messenger.'
    +58

    "Great explanation on each of the components and their use. During the interview would a PM candidate be expected to go in-depth for capacity estimation (e.g. storage estimation, bandwidth estimation etc.?)"

    A B. - "Great explanation on each of the components and their use. During the interview would a PM candidate be expected to go in-depth for capacity estimation (e.g. storage estimation, bandwidth estimation etc.?)"See full answer

    Engineering Manager
    System Design
    +1 more
  • Microsoft logoAsked at Microsoft 
    5 answers
    +2

    "Our application has millions of users and significant load on file upload feature. Situation : In our legacy application we had a particular page which was accepting file uploads and it had the legacy way of selecting file uploads and page would redirect you to the next page or show an error message on failure. Task : I had regular calls with the customer who had reported issue multiple times on this application area. In my calls my I also understood that client was expecting some inno"

    Karthik T. - "Our application has millions of users and significant load on file upload feature. Situation : In our legacy application we had a particular page which was accepting file uploads and it had the legacy way of selecting file uploads and page would redirect you to the next page or show an error message on failure. Task : I had regular calls with the customer who had reported issue multiple times on this application area. In my calls my I also understood that client was expecting some inno"See full answer

    Product Manager
    Behavioral
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  • Microsoft logoAsked at Microsoft 
    17 answers
    +14

    "I will divide my answer in 2 parts: Process I use for managing risks in any Project I will explain a real life situation where a Risk occurred and how I managed it Process for Risk Management can be broken down into 3 parts: Risk Identification: Risk identification is a team effort and is an ongoing process that happens throughout the Project. Technical Risks are usually identified during design/build/testing stage. I maintain a Risk register document to capture all the risks identified"

    Saket S. - "I will divide my answer in 2 parts: Process I use for managing risks in any Project I will explain a real life situation where a Risk occurred and how I managed it Process for Risk Management can be broken down into 3 parts: Risk Identification: Risk identification is a team effort and is an ongoing process that happens throughout the Project. Technical Risks are usually identified during design/build/testing stage. I maintain a Risk register document to capture all the risks identified"See full answer

    Technical Program Manager
    Behavioral
    +4 more
  • Microsoft logoAsked at Microsoft 
    14 answers
    Video answer for 'As CEO of Microsoft, how would you increase Internet Explorer usage?'
    +11

    "Clarification questions: What does an increase in usage mean? Microsoft wants to grow its market share in the browser segment Why do you want to increase the usage? Increase in IE usage would increase Bing advertising revenue Are you targeting any specific platforms to increase usage in? You tell me Are there any geo's of specific interest? worldwide Would it be fair to assume that the increase in usage is represented with an increase in the metrics - "Increase in no. of requ"

    P K. - "Clarification questions: What does an increase in usage mean? Microsoft wants to grow its market share in the browser segment Why do you want to increase the usage? Increase in IE usage would increase Bing advertising revenue Are you targeting any specific platforms to increase usage in? You tell me Are there any geo's of specific interest? worldwide Would it be fair to assume that the increase in usage is represented with an increase in the metrics - "Increase in no. of requ"See full answer

    Product Strategy
  • Microsoft logoAsked at Microsoft 
    13 answers
    Video answer for 'Design an alarm clock for blind people.'
    +10

    "Design an alarm clock for blind people Clarifying question: Does it have to be a physical product or software? Your call Do I need to think about the long-term implications of the product from a strategy perspective or a single product? single product What are the metrics this company will focus on? Engagement What industry are we in? (start-up, google/Amazon, etc) - Startup What do we mean by blind? - ppl who cannot see anything, or people who still have sense of"

    Manu G. - "Design an alarm clock for blind people Clarifying question: Does it have to be a physical product or software? Your call Do I need to think about the long-term implications of the product from a strategy perspective or a single product? single product What are the metrics this company will focus on? Engagement What industry are we in? (start-up, google/Amazon, etc) - Startup What do we mean by blind? - ppl who cannot see anything, or people who still have sense of"See full answer

    Product Design
  • Microsoft logoAsked at Microsoft 
    13 answers
    +8

    "Assumptions: Platform: iOS/Android and Web Application Service Type: Renting Bicycles (hourly, daily, weekly), possibility of buying or selling Geography: Focusing on Asian markets, e.g., India, where bicycles are a popular mode of transportation Role: Product Manager at Microsoft Objective: Design an app focusing on customer engagement and new customer acquisition Setting the Stage: Why a Renting Business? Market Potential: In Asian markets, a si"

    Nagendra S. - "Assumptions: Platform: iOS/Android and Web Application Service Type: Renting Bicycles (hourly, daily, weekly), possibility of buying or selling Geography: Focusing on Asian markets, e.g., India, where bicycles are a popular mode of transportation Role: Product Manager at Microsoft Objective: Design an app focusing on customer engagement and new customer acquisition Setting the Stage: Why a Renting Business? Market Potential: In Asian markets, a si"See full answer

    Product Manager
    Product Design
    +1 more
  • Microsoft logoAsked at Microsoft 
    4 answers
    +1

    "A good answer is describing an experience where you either proposed something that was selected after discussion or an alternate approach was taken, or you disagreed with a decision and argued for something else, either successfully or not. A good answer would be you had cogent arguments, the decision went another way for some reason, and you then fully backed the decision (agree to disagree is another way of stating it). You did not take it personally and you fully committed to the deci"

    Mrinalini R. - "A good answer is describing an experience where you either proposed something that was selected after discussion or an alternate approach was taken, or you disagreed with a decision and argued for something else, either successfully or not. A good answer would be you had cogent arguments, the decision went another way for some reason, and you then fully backed the decision (agree to disagree is another way of stating it). You did not take it personally and you fully committed to the deci"See full answer

    Engineering Manager
    Behavioral
    +3 more
  • Microsoft logoAsked at Microsoft 
    9 answers
    +6

    "Let's imagine you want to open Google Maps, you type maps.google.com and hit Enter. Here is what happens: You type maps.google.com into the address bar of your browser. Browser completes the address, for example, maps.google.com → https://www.maps.google.com [Address decoding] → browser breaks down the URL into parts ‘https://’: protocol → how the browser should connect to the website Default is HTTP (Hypertext Transfer Protocol) which shows up as ‘ http:/"

    Jasmin R. - "Let's imagine you want to open Google Maps, you type maps.google.com and hit Enter. Here is what happens: You type maps.google.com into the address bar of your browser. Browser completes the address, for example, maps.google.com → https://www.maps.google.com [Address decoding] → browser breaks down the URL into parts ‘https://’: protocol → how the browser should connect to the website Default is HTTP (Hypertext Transfer Protocol) which shows up as ‘ http:/"See full answer

    Security
    Technical
    +2 more
  • Microsoft logoAsked at Microsoft 
    36 answers
    +30

    "we can use two pointer + set like maintain i,j and also insert jth character to set like while set size is equal to our window j-i+1 then maximize our answer and increase jth pointer till last index"

    Kishor J. - "we can use two pointer + set like maintain i,j and also insert jth character to set like while set size is equal to our window j-i+1 then maximize our answer and increase jth pointer till last index"See full answer

    Software Engineer
    Data Structures & Algorithms
    +4 more
  • Microsoft logoAsked at Microsoft 
    6 answers
    +3

    "Conflict is a GREAT opportunity to really demonstrate that you care about someone and, through effective conflict resolution, build stronger authentic relationships with the people you work with. When faced with conflict, I prioritize understanding all perspectives involved. I start by actively listening to the other parties: asking clarifying questions to pinpoint the source of the conflict, reflecting back what I'm hearing to make sure I understand them correctly, and ultimately identify"

    Zakery K. - "Conflict is a GREAT opportunity to really demonstrate that you care about someone and, through effective conflict resolution, build stronger authentic relationships with the people you work with. When faced with conflict, I prioritize understanding all perspectives involved. I start by actively listening to the other parties: asking clarifying questions to pinpoint the source of the conflict, reflecting back what I'm hearing to make sure I understand them correctly, and ultimately identify"See full answer

    Software Engineer
    Behavioral
    +5 more
  • +2

    "Referring to https://www.forbes.com/sites/forbesbusinesscouncil/2022/03/23/15-strategies-for-balancing-competing-stakeholder-priorities/?sh=7c82aa68262f Understand the conflicting priorities and align it with the goal/ objectives and the company mission. Start with the Least Common Denominator between the conflicting priorities to come to a commonality and start from there to objectively approach the next imp priority Always keep communication on and be transparent with 'equality' an"

    Pramod V. - "Referring to https://www.forbes.com/sites/forbesbusinesscouncil/2022/03/23/15-strategies-for-balancing-competing-stakeholder-priorities/?sh=7c82aa68262f Understand the conflicting priorities and align it with the goal/ objectives and the company mission. Start with the Least Common Denominator between the conflicting priorities to come to a commonality and start from there to objectively approach the next imp priority Always keep communication on and be transparent with 'equality' an"See full answer

    Product Manager
    Behavioral
    +6 more
  • Microsoft logoAsked at Microsoft 
    8 answers
    Video answer for 'Tell me about a time when you managed an end-to-end program.'
    +4

    "In my organization, I was given a initiative to improve the time spent by users on web application so that we can improve the quality of engagement on the website. Overview of a business model: We are a research organization that delivers where users (B2B clients) consume research content in form of research reports. Clients has specifically subscription for a year and if clients engage continuously and they spend more time on research they will retain. Success metrics: Improve time spe"

    Harshit J. - "In my organization, I was given a initiative to improve the time spent by users on web application so that we can improve the quality of engagement on the website. Overview of a business model: We are a research organization that delivers where users (B2B clients) consume research content in form of research reports. Clients has specifically subscription for a year and if clients engage continuously and they spend more time on research they will retain. Success metrics: Improve time spe"See full answer

    Technical Program Manager
    Behavioral
    +2 more
  • Microsoft logoAsked at Microsoft 
    4 answers
    +1

    "Situation - A time I dealt with conflict while on a team was while I was working at Shopify on physical and digital gift card refund point of sale solutions. The situation was that we were dealing with complex technical constraints including not changing particular UI components behavior to act as they should be intended. On the refund screen, the existing design was using a toggle on the same screen to bring up a modal for gift card selection to either select digital or physical options. Thi"

    Ben G. - "Situation - A time I dealt with conflict while on a team was while I was working at Shopify on physical and digital gift card refund point of sale solutions. The situation was that we were dealing with complex technical constraints including not changing particular UI components behavior to act as they should be intended. On the refund screen, the existing design was using a toggle on the same screen to bring up a modal for gift card selection to either select digital or physical options. Thi"See full answer

    Engineering Manager
    Behavioral
    +5 more
  • Microsoft logoAsked at Microsoft 
    Add answer
    Software Engineer
    Data Structures & Algorithms
    +1 more
  • Microsoft logoAsked at Microsoft 
    2 answers

    "The interviewer was interested how the system design would be for files, directories, symbolic links. After proposing my idea, I was asked to print all files for a given path."

    B. T. - "The interviewer was interested how the system design would be for files, directories, symbolic links. After proposing my idea, I was asked to print all files for a given path."See full answer

    Software Engineer
    System Design
  • Microsoft logoAsked at Microsoft 
    3 answers
    Video answer for 'How do you prioritize features for your engineering team?'

    "A mature manager. Great conversational answer. I wish more sessions with him"

    LateArriver - "A mature manager. Great conversational answer. I wish more sessions with him"See full answer

    Engineering Manager
    Behavioral
    +1 more
  • Microsoft logoAsked at Microsoft 
    34 answers
    +28

    "#inplace reversal without inbuilt functions def reverseString(s): chars = list(s) l, r = 0, len(s)-1 while l < r: chars[l],chars[r] = chars[r],chars[l] l += 1 r -= 1 reversed = "".join(chars) return reversed "

    Anonymous Possum - "#inplace reversal without inbuilt functions def reverseString(s): chars = list(s) l, r = 0, len(s)-1 while l < r: chars[l],chars[r] = chars[r],chars[l] l += 1 r -= 1 reversed = "".join(chars) return reversed "See full answer

    Software Engineer
    Data Structures & Algorithms
    +4 more
Showing 21-40 of 263
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