Underperforming Frontend Developer

Scenario

Your junior frontend developer, Samantha, has been with the team for 6 months. She's responsible for delivering key user-facing features for a high-priority product release. However, over the last few weeks, Samantha's work has fallen behind schedule, and the quality of her code has been subpar, leading to production issues.

Background

The product you're working on is a new mobile app for a financial services company. It's a strategic initiative to expand the company's digital customer experience. Your team has been tasked with delivering the MVP in the next 8 weeks to meet an important product launch date.

Objectives

Diagnose the root cause of Samantha's underperformance
Propose a clear action plan to get Samantha back on track
Ensure the project deliverables are met on time and with high quality

Constraints

The product launch date is fixed and cannot be delayed
Your team's budget and headcount are limited, so you can't simply add more developers
Samantha is a junior-level engineer, so extensive mentoring and support may be required

Stakeholders

Javier, VP of Digital Products - Owns the overall product and release timeline
Emilia, Engineering Manager - Manages the engineering team and resources

Criteria

You will be evaluated on the following competencies:

{ "prioritization_skill": { "description": "The ability to identify and focus on the most important issues to resolve the performance problem", "positive_feedback": "Clearly prioritized the key issues and proposed an action plan that directly addresses the root causes", "negative_feedback": "Failed to identify or address the most critical factors contributing to the performance problem" }, "stakeholder_management": { "description": "The ability to effectively engage with and manage the expectations of key stakeholders", "positive_feedback": "Demonstrated strong communication and stakeholder management skills, keeping key stakeholders informed and aligned", "negative_feedback": "Did not effectively manage stakeholder expectations or communicate the proposed plan" }, "technical_team_leadership": { "description": "The ability to provide technical guidance and coaching to a junior-level team member", "positive_feedback": "Provided clear, actionable feedback and a structured plan to help the junior developer improve their skills and performance", "negative_feedback": "Failed to identify the technical skills gaps or provide adequate support and guidance to the junior developer" } }