Behavioral

Share an instance where your decision wasn't well-received.

Design Verification EngineerEmbedded Engineer

Google

Lattice Semiconductor

Boeing

Rockwell Automation

Belkin

Polaris Industries

Did you come across this question in an interview?

Answers

Expert Answer

Anonymous

4.2Exceptional
As we approached RTL freeze, there were many pending deliverables along with ongoing regression debugging. I proposed a prioritization strategy to focus on new feature failures in regressions over legacy issues, as the legacy features had already been silicon-proven in previous tapeouts without reported bugs. My goal was to optimize debugging efforts and ensure that critical new functionality was verified before the RTL freeze deadline. I proposed that we focus first      on new feature regressions, since legacy features had already been running in      production.
  • However, my proposal wasn’t      well received because stakeholders felt that untested scenarios could      still expose latent bugs in legacy features, making it risky to de-prioritize      them.
  • Instead of pushing my      approach, I collaborated with cross-functional teams to gather data on      which legacy features had already been verified by other teams (such as validation or      software teams).
  • Using this data, I presented      a compromise      strategy:
  • Features already tested by       other teams were lowered in priority.
  • Unverified legacy features       remained in scope alongside new feature debugging.
  • This data-backed      compromise was accepted by management, ensuring new feature verification remained a      priority while      addressing concerns about legacy coverage.
  • We met the RTL freeze      deadline without      compromising verification quality.
  • This experience strengthened      my ability to handle pushback constructively and use data-driven      reasoning to drive alignment across teams.
  • Share an instance where your decision wasn't well-received.
  • Can you recount a situation where you chose an unpopular route?
  • Talk about a moment when you had to make a contentious decision.
  • I'd like to hear about a decision you made that wasn't favored by others.
  • Describe a scenario where you took a stand that was not popular.
  • Tell us about a time you went against the grain with your decision.
  • Recollect a moment when your decision met with resistance.
  • Reflect on a time when you had to make a choice that wasn't widely supported.
  • Can you elaborate on a situation where your decision was not well-liked?
  • Describe a time when you made an unpopular decision.
  • Share an experience where you made a decision that wasn't universally accepted.
Try Our AI Interviewer

Prepare for success with realistic, role-specific interview simulations.

Try AI Interview Now

Interview question asked to Design Verification Engineers and Embedded Engineers interviewing at Autoliv, Western Digital, Blue Origin and others: Share an instance where your decision wasn't well-received..