Skill Test: Tutoring Business Model

In a previous post, I discussed the use of fictitious situations to use as a discussion platform to "test drive" the skills and thought processes of a potential candidate during an interview. The example below details the aspects of a solution for Private Tutors.

• Discussion Topic:  Private Tutoring Services
• Context:
• Erica is very good at Math and loves the subject. She is a junior in college and has realized that she can help others by sharing what she knows. Two months ago she helped one of her friends with some aspects of a Calculus assignment. She explained the concepts to her friend and was able to get a better grade. Better yet, her friend understood the principles. She credited Erica for it and told many of her friends.  Now Erica's phone is ringing off the hook.  There are several people that would like her help.  Erica thinks that, like her, there are probably many other people around the nation's colleges and universities who could be helping others get better grades.  
• Pretend, you are Erica's friend who is a candidate for a M.S. Computer Science and she approaches you about how to build a system that can bright students around the country to 
• advertise their tutoring services
• set prices for hours of tutoring
• keep a calendar of appointments
• collect payments
• publish content relevant to a topic in their area of expertise
• What to ask the candidate
• System Analysis and Design Track
• please construct a UML Use Case diagram that shows the main aspects of the system that could satisfy the most of Erica's needs
• please construct a UML conceptual model diagram that shows all the aspects of the house in the "tutoring services" portion above.
• please construct a UML class diagram that represents the home described above
• Data Modeling Track
• please, construct an entity relationship diagram (ERD) that can be used to represent the home described above
• What to look for
• assuming that you know UML, compare and contrast what the candidate came up with and what you would have come up with
• pay extra attention to the assumptions that the candidate made. If they do not mention any assumptions, please, simply ask them: What assumptions did you make as you were thinking about this problem?
• Use this opportunity to ask questions and experiment / explore what it would be like to work with this individual