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The Forge Protocol
Traditional platforms test for syntax. We test for survival. Here is exactly how we grade the 4 pillars of the forge.
01
Incident Response Simulation
"Candidates must diagnose critical failures from system logs and architectural clues."
Grading Criteria
- Diagnostic AccuracyDid they correctly pinpoint the failure source (e.g. database lock vs network partition) based on the provided logs?
- Investigation LogicWe evaluate their step-by-step reasoning. Did they check CPU metrics first, or jump straight to restarting services?
02
System Design
"Architecting scalable solutions for millions of users, graded by AI."
Grading Criteria
- Bottleneck IdentificationCan they spot the single point of failure in a proposed topology? (e.g. A single NAT Gateway for 3 AZs).
- Data StrategyJustification for choosing DynamoDB vs RDS vs Redshift based on access patterns (Read heavy vs Write heavy).
03
Cost Optimization
"Refactoring infrastructure to reduce mocked cloud bills."
Grading Criteria
- The Savings %We simulate a $10,000/mo bill. Candidates must reduce it by at least 30% without degrading performance.
- Lifecycle PoliciesImplementation of S3 Intelligent-Tiering and Spot Instance interruption handling.
04
Communication
"Negotiating requirements with difficult AI stakeholders."
Grading Criteria
- Requirement ExtractionThe "Client" is vague. Did the candidate ask the right clarifying questions to unblock themselves?
- Pushback AbilityDid they professionally say "No" when the client requested an insecure feature (e.g. opening port 22 to the world)?