Their answers are in bold, acceptable answers have a ✓ next to it.

Machine Learning/Artificial Intelligence needs a lot of data to be able to work well. Having all my data mined and cross-analyzed is a small price to pay to get these amazingly smart products and services.

• Agree
• Disagree

Importance: Mandatory

After all the usual formalities, what is the first thing you like to do when starting a new job?

• Getting to know the code
• Getting to know the people
• Getting to know the backlog
• Getting to know the company handbook

Importance: Slightly Important

Working in a team following Scrum is:

• Like democracy: the worst form of Project Management, except for all others that have been tried.
• Like religion: too many ceremonies and endless promises
• Like rugby: fun and dangerous

Importance: Somewhat Important

What qualities do you prefer for an application development framework?

• "Convention over Configuration", flexibility
• Battle-tested libraries, a big community
• Industry Validation and high demand in the market

Importance: Very important

The Product Manager brings you a task that is easy to implement, but somewhat user-hostile - they want to stop users for being able to download images from your website by "right-clicking" into it. You know that in reality the "feature" can be circumvented in many different ways and motivated users will find a way to bypass it anyway. What's your response?

• You accept the story as is. It will be good to have some quick win on the sprint.
• You try to educate management on the issue and ask for more time/details so that the team can implement a proper solution
• You reject the story. Users come first!

Importance: Mandatory

Do you like to write code as a hobby?

• No, after all the time coding at work I prefer to use my creative energy for other things
• No, I don't even like to write code at work!
• Yes, I even contribute to open source projects when I can
• Yes, I am always making some small tools and tinkering with new languages

Importance: Very important

All else being equal, what kind of offer from a new company would make you consider leaving a job that you are otherwise perfectly happy with?

• A substantial pay raise
• A less stressful industry/job
• A position that can advance my career
• A hot startup with a good equity package
• The chance to work with some new tech

Importance: Somewhat Important

Do you have a blog? Do you like to write about technical topics?

• I used to, but I moved on to other types of social media.
• I used to, but I don't write anymore.
• I have a blog, but not for technical/work topics.
• No. I think that whatever technical topic I could write about has already been covered by other people.
• No. I never got the appeal of it.
• Yes, I enjoy writing whenever I can.

Importance: Irrelevant

At work, what would you rather be known for?

• The jack-of-all-trades, someone who can talk with different teams and perform multiple jobs
• The guru, someone who is tasked with solving the hardest problems and comes out ahead
• The catalyst, the ones who can always support the co-workers and help the team work like a precision machine

Importance: Slightly Important

What’s the highest level of formal education you’ve completed?

• Junior High (6-9 years)
• High-School (9-12 years)
• University/College (12-16 years)
• Graduate School (16+ years)

Importance: Very important

Apple?

• Overpriced products; nothing but hype
• Makes all the devices I own and love
• I use or have used their products, but it's just another brand to me

Importance: Somewhat Important

What is your opinion on pair-programming?

• I really like it. I wish we could do it 100% in our team.
• Not a fan. It's so much harder to focus when someone else is splitting the computer with me.
• OK on specific occasions (e.g. help one colleague stuck on a problem), but not something to have as a structured practice.
• Not something to do full-time, but it's a good way to start the day and get to focus on work.

Importance: Very important

In order to work as a software developer, you need some kind of formal training or education

• No, that's nonsense.
• Depends on the field.
• Yes, without any formal study it's a lot harder to develop high-quality software

Importance: Slightly Important

How do you feel about the idea of working in the finance industry?

• It's just like any other industry
• I'd only take a job if the pay was a lot higher than in other industries
• It would be great! The type of environment and challenges are super interesting
• I'd rather change careers than working in a bank!

Importance: Slightly Important

What do you value the most when choosing the tech stack for your next project?

• Freedom: Open Source Licensing, avoiding vendor-lock in.
• Consumer Market: what can reach the most people
• Developer Experience: what makes our work easier/most efficient
• Stability: what has proven to work before
• Marketability: it's hard to work and attract good developers if you use boring technology

Importance: Somewhat Important

How fast are you to introduce new technologies into your work?

• My work is to create the new tech. "The best way to predict the future is to invent it."
• As early as possible, I want to try everything that can give improve my workflow and productivity
• I am open to new ideas, but it needs to prove itself before getting into any of my critical projects
• Good tech is only good when it is old enough to drink."If it's working, don't touch it."

Importance: Mandatory

What is your preferred style of communication?

• Synchronous/Blocking: a quick chat can unstuck a colleague, and the small interruptions do not affect me.
• Asynchronous/Non-blocking: too many context switches kill my productivity
• Batched: save all queries for specific time of the day, then rip through them all at once

Importance: Somewhat Important

What's your LEAST favorite way to be interviewed on your technical skills?

• Writing code on a whiteboard: no one works like that in the real job
• "Take home" exercises: they feel like unpaid work
• "Quiz" style questions: it's always useless trivia and things people can search online

Importance: Slightly Important

Choose your ideal scenario for your work arrangement?

• I feel the best at the office. it's good to be physically close to your teammates and it helps me to separate work and personal lives
• I would choose a hybrid WFH/office schedule. The flexibility is nice, but I also see the importance of having some period to sync up in person
• Give me a full-remote option, please. My teammates and I can be halfway around the world as long as everyone is doing their work properly

Importance: Somewhat Important

Working with Javascript is...

• something I never done, and never intend to do.
• come back in six months when the ecosystem has changed again.
• one of the best things about my job!
• enjoyable, but only for the environments where there are no better choices.

Importance: Slightly Important

Releasing on a Friday...

• Do you like to live dangerously?
• Does it really matter? This is why we have a CI/CD system, right?
• it is the best way to start the Monday with lots of bug reports.

Importance: Irrelevant

What is the size of your ideal company, in terms of number of people?

• Ideally? I'd be a company of one, self-employed.
• 2-3 people, working out of a garage or coffee shop.
• A small-but-established company of 5-25 people, where you know everyone by name.
• A growing startup that is looking for ways to deal with their 100th employee
• A big company, 100-1000+, every month with new faces
• A multinational with tens of thousands of employees around the world

Importance: Slightly Important

Your development environment:

• is one single IDE. Compilers, linters, debuggers, code browser, SCM, execution shell...if it does not work there, I don't use it.
• separate tools, that I manage through the shell.

Importance: Irrelevant

"There are too many stories of developers of Free/Open Source Software who are not properly rewarded by their work, while big companies make huge profits from them. There should be a license system that forbids this."

• Disagree. Free Software that discriminates is not Free
• Agree. If the developers want to make money of it, they should not release their work as free software.

Importance: Mandatory

Do you financially contribute/sponsor any free software project?

• No, if the developers want to make money out of the software, they should have a commercial product.
• Yes, when sponsors get some extra or "premium" features.
• Yes, if it provides some form of technical support.
• Yes, even if there is no direct reward to me or my business.

Importance: Very important

Are you willing to relocate for a new job?

• No, with remote work it makes no sense to move into a place just because of the job.
• If it meant a substantial financial jump over my current job, and the employer afforded all the relocation costs.
• Yes, I would appreciate a change of scenery.
• No, I am settled where I live and relocation does not make sense for me.

Importance: Irrelevant

Do you tend to speak up against company policies or management decisions that you don't agree with?

• Yes, I'm always questioning things at least to understand why such decision was taken.
• Yes, when these decisions affect me or my team directly.
• Yes, but only after checking with my peers if they also see any issue that should be discussed
• Not anymore. It has gotten me in trouble before.
• No, but I support those that take any initiative.
• No, I don't like to be a troublemaker.

Importance: Very important

When facing a new and complex problem, what is your preferred strategy to solve it?

• Study the underlying theory, design one system that can solve the general case. implement it.
• Trial-and-error. Implement something that passes the first test-case, go back to the drawing board only when hitting a wall.
• Break the problem apart, take existing solutions for these smaller problems, implement whatever glue is required to connect these subsystems together.

Importance: Somewhat Important

Open-plan office spaces:

• help with team communication
• are an abomination that benefit only the companies who need to save on real estate.
• are okay, as long as there are some other place if I need more focus

Importance: Very important

Your comment: Let me find the 78156 studies and articles that show how harmful to concentration and counter-productive they are...

Should the manufacturers of "self-driving" cars be legally liable for any accident caused by the AI?

• No, the human in the car is the ultimate responsible for what happens.
• Only if/when the company advertises "full self-driving" capabilities.
• Yes, no matter what.

Importance: Very important

Your comment: Unless they are fully liable for it, their marketing will always make claims that are not real, and they will escape from any responsibility by disclaimers and small print.

The thing lacking for most open source developers:

• Funding
• Professionalism
• Taste

Importance: Irrelevant

Should companies put together April Fool's jokes on their online services?

• Yes, it is good to see that some people can keep a sense of humor and whimsy.
• Yes, it is always a good opportunity for creating publicity and marketing.
• No, it only disrupts the users and customers of the services.
• Only in places/countries that traditionally celebrate the day.
• No, they are never funny or authentic.

Importance: Slightly Important