Comparison Card 145 — API Design / Check
Situation
API design rounds test the ability to define boundaries, contracts, and failure behavior. In this setting, the active interview task is happening now, not in the past.
Why BASIC fits better here
During Check, BASIC asks the candidate to verify correctness, quality, and risk. BASIC works because API design is a live specification and trade-off activity. That matches the live technical work of the round, because the interviewer is evaluating present-tense reasoning, not only narrative polish.
What goes wrong with a STAR-shaped response
STAR can describe an old project, but it does not help generate a clean interface for the current prompt. If a candidate leans too hard on a story-shaped answer in this moment, they may sound organized while still leaving the technical core underdeveloped.
What the interviewer is really seeing
Interviewers reward explicit scope, reasonable models, and clarity about contract behavior. The BASIC move at this stage is to review and stress-test before you hand the answer over. That gives the interviewer concrete evidence that the candidate can think, choose, build, and verify under pressure.
Practical script
“In this api design situation, I’m using the Check step to review and stress-test before you hand the answer over. The main question I need to answer is: Does the answer actually satisfy the prompt, handle edge cases, and survive scrutiny?”