In every engineering team’s office around the world, you’ll find whiteboards. Covered in scribbled diagrams, wire-frames, and database tables, whiteboards and engineers go hand in hand. It’s no wonder that for years whiteboards have been the status quo when it comes to running technical onsite interviews.
Canvas is the latest feature added to our remote interviewing product CodeLive. Using the Canvas, both interviewer and candidate can quickly draw diagrams and shapes to translate technical questions on a high level.
In Canvas interviewers and candidates can:
- Draw free form objects with a pencil, pen, and other stroke types in any color
- Add text boxes, resize text, and format with color
- Draw and use lines to connect objects together
- Create circles, rectangles, and other shapes
- Add sticky notes with additional notes
- Upload photos and screenshots to draw on top of
- Upload PDFs and PowerPoint slides for more complex systems
- Resize and move objects around
- Undo, clear, and pan around the Canvas
- Use arrows, shapes, system icons (Azure, AWS, Cisco etc), wireframe templates and easily connect them together to create quick and clear diagrams.
- Use copy/paste or drag to bring external images into your canvas easily and quickly as needed
After enabling CodeLive Canvas, you will be able to use it in every CodeLive interview.
You'll be able to add your own public Miro board when creating the CodeLive interview:
You can also add your own board during an interview. When choosing the Canvas tab on the right-hand side, you can select "Use Existing Board" or if you only need a blank canvas, "New Miro Board."
What can I draw in CodeLive Canvas?
Currently, CodeLive Canvas gives you the possibility to upload your own images, PDF, and PPT files and draw basic shapes. You can also add a sticky note. If you can't find the desired shape in default options, then you can always pick either pen or marker and draw it yourself. You can add templates and tables and use arrows, shapes, system icons (Azure, AWS, Cisco, etc) to easily connect them together to create quick and clear diagrams.
Can I customize my drawings?
When looking at customization, you can pick stroke thickness and color. You can move already present objects by either grabbing the object you want or selecting first if you want to grab more than 1 object.
If you've made a mistake, then you can either undo your last action or click the item and delete it.
Can I review the Canvas Board after the interview has ended?
When the interview is completed, the Candidate Report will display the candidate's board so you can review at a later time.
If you prefer, you can export the Canvas board, as well. You'll need to be logged in to Miro before you start the interview. Before closing the interview, you'll be able to click on two down arrows next to the Miro icon in the upper-left side of the Canvas window to go to the board in Miro. Then export the board to either JPG or PDF.
I want to use CodeLive Canvas in my interviews. How can I go about it?
If you don't have access to Canvas, please reach out to your Customer Success Manager or support@codility.com - we will be happy to help!
If you have Canvas enabled on your account but it seems inaccessible, there is a chance your IT team needs to allow access for certain domains so you could work with Canvas properly. Codility uses Miro in our Canvas feature, and you can find domains that need to be allowed here.
If you have any additional questions about CodeLive Canvas or would like to leave your feedback, please contact us at support@codility.com.