Choosing the Best DevOps Test and Technical Screening Tool

From HackerRank Tests to CodeSignal and Codility Assessments

Selecting the most suitable DevOps assessment tool can be a daunting task, given the array of options available. From live interviews and paid assessment platforms to pair coding exercises, each method comes with its own unique format and set of advantages and drawbacks.

To help you make an informed choice, we've listed the most common DevOps tests and have provided insights from our DevOps expert, Maksym Lushpenko.

The Importance of Technical Assessments in DevOps Hiring

In the dynamic and ever-evolving world of engineering, the quality of a DevOps hire can make all the difference in the successful operation of your systems.

What is DevOps Testing?

Skills-based DevOps testing or assessments refer to the assessment and validation of an individual's skills and proficiency in various aspects of DevOps, including automation, continuous integration, and delivery, infrastructure as code, and collaboration, to ensure they possess the necessary competencies for DevOps roles.

DevOps and System engineers handle complex tasks, meaning the main goals of DevOps assessments are to efficiently filter out candidates who lack essential skills and ensure a fair and transparent hiring process.

Insights from a Senior DevOps Engineer

As a Senior DevOps Engineer with deep experience in hiring, I've had to give and take a DevOps technical interview or two (actually dozens!). Since I’ve been in charge of hiring DevOps and Cloud System engineers, I deeply understand the advantages and disadvantages of many types of assessments.

Assessments That Your Company Can Offer

Certifications help assess if a candidate meets the bare minimum

Screening Based on Certifications or Resumes

Screening based on certifications or resumes is a common method to evaluate candidates' qualifications and DevOps required skills. Screening allows employers to quickly identify potential candidates who meet minimum qualifications, possess relevant certifications or work experiences, and have some level of DevOps engineer skills.

Pros of Screening Based on Certifications or Resumes:

• Time-Saving

• Minimum Qualification Check

• Credential Validation

Cons of Screening Based on Certifications or Resumes:

• Limited Scope

• Lack of Context

• Credential Relevance

Take-home tests can add a burden for hiring teams to score

Take-Home Tests

Take-home tests are a DevOps quiz given to candidates as part of the hiring process. Candidates complete these tests in their own time and environment, addressing DevOps assessment questions and showcasing their DevOps engineer skills.

These tests allow candidates to showcase their skills without time pressure, providing employers with a deeper understanding of their abilities and problem-solving approach.

However, take-home tests can be frustrating and time-consuming for the hiring team, as creating and scoring tests can increase your overall DevOps hiring costs. Plus, it’s nearly impossible to ensure test authenticity since Chat-GPT or even another person can help a candidate cheat on their test.

Pros of Take-Home Tests:

• Flexibility and Convenience

• Realistic Evaluation

• Reduced Performance Pressure

Cons of Take-Home Tests:

• Potential for Plagiarism

• Time-Consuming Evaluation

• Limited Interactivity

Knowledge-Based DevOps Interviews

Knowledge tests or interviews for DevOps are your standard, real-time, question-and-answer format where the candidate reveals their knowledge about cloud platforms, technology, and coding, such as AWS DevOps interview questions. This allows the interviewer to assess whether they have the skills needed for DevOps roles.

Pros of Knowledge Tests or Interviews:

• Real-time Interaction

• Problem-solving Evaluation

• Personalized Assessment

Cons of Knowledge Tests or Interviews:

• Lacks a Real-World Element

• Adaptability

• Subjectivity

• Nervousness

Live coding or whiteboard interviews can help see if an engineer can think on-the-spot

Whiteboard Interviews or Live Coding

Whiteboarding or live coding is a dynamic evaluation method to assess candidates' problem-solving, coding, and algorithmic skills for DevOps roles. It helps evaluate whether a candidate can answer DevOps coding interview questions on-the-spot and if they have the skills required to become a DevOps engineer.

While live coding can be a quick way to see if an engineer generally knows what they’re doing, it can be insufficent to dig deep into an engineer’s day-to-day skills without a massive time commitment from both parties.

Pros of Whiteboard Interviews or Live Coding:

• Direct Evaluation

• Technical Clarity

Cons of Whiteboard Interviews or Live Coding:

• Performance Pressure

• Limited Context

• Subjectivity

• Resource Intensive

Assessments Other Companies Can Provide

Screenshot from a Brokee Live-Environment Test

Performance-Based or Practical Assessments

Performance-based testing is an evaluation approach that assesses candidates' practical skills and abilities in real-world scenarios.

Unlike traditional theoretical tests, performance-based assessments require candidates to demonstrate their expertise through hands-on tasks and projects directly related to the DevOps field - from understanding DevOps architecture to proving the use of various tools.

This approach is well-loved by hiring teams because it offers a more authentic and accurate evaluation of candidates' capabilities and suitability for the role.

Pros of Performance-Based or Live Testing:

• Authentic Assessment

• Skill Validation

• Engaging for Candidates

• Format Prevents Cheating

Cons of Performance-Based or Live Testing:

• Resource-Intensive

• Time Constraints

• Format is Less Open

Multiple choice tests work well for theory but are limited in testing hands-on skills

Multiple Choice Tests

Multiple-choice tests for DevOps are standardized assessments that evaluate candidates' knowledge of key concepts and principles in the field.

While these tests efficiently assess theoretical knowledge and cover various topics, they usually do not capture practical abilities or problem-solving skills and can allow for guessing or Googling answers.

Pros of Multiple Choice Tests:

• Efficient Evaluation

• Broad Coverage

• Objective Grading

Cons of Multiple Choice Tests:

• Limited Practical Assessment

• Guessing Potential

• Lack of Depth

• Potential for Plagiarism

Pair coding allows for live feedback sharing and provides an evaluation of teamwork skills

Pair Programming or Collaborative Coding

Pair programming or collaborative coding is an interactive approach to evaluate candidates' technical skills and collaboration abilities for DevOps roles. It involves candidates working with an interviewer or team member on coding or problem-solving tasks.

Advantages include comprehensive evaluation of technical skills and teamwork, real-world simulation of DevOps work, and immediate feedback. Challenges include potential subjective assessment, resource intensity, and candidate nervousness impacting performance.

Pros of Pair Programming:

• Comprehensive Evaluation

• Real-world Simulation

• Immediate Feedback

Cons of Pair Programming:

• Subjective Assessment

• Resource & Time Intensive

• Performance Pressure

Brokee offers more features for assessing DevOps than our competitors, at a better price

Q&A with a DevOps Expert

Now, for the fun part. We sat down with Maksym Lushpenko, Senior DevOps Engineer, former hiring team member, and the founder of Brokee, the first-of-its-kind testing platform with broken live environments for candidates to fix. Here are his thoughts about DevOps Assessments.

What is the Best Method of Assessing DevOps Engineer Skills?

As a long-term DevOps hiring veteran, I highly prefer and recommend the technique of Performance-Based and Live Testing.

Why Performance-Based, Live Testing?

I find that this is the best method because it offers a comprehensive evaluation of candidates' practical skills and problem-solving capabilities in real-world scenarios, making it the preferred choice for hiring managers who care about the quality of their engineers. Plus, Brokee streamlines hiring - both in terms of cost and time for companies.

Thoughts on In-House Assessments, like Pair Coding and Take-Home Tests?

I appreciate pair programming in some ways because you can share live feedback on a candidate’s coding style and see if they are open to feedback, however, it can be stressful for some candidates. For example, I’ve met some engineers who are extremely talented when working individually but struggle in a pair programming environment.

Take-home tests, in my experience, are usually frustrating and time-consuming for the hiring team, as creating and scoring tests can take many hours of valuable work time. Plus, it’s nearly impossible to ensure test authenticity since Chat-GPT or even another person can help a candidate cheat on their test.

What Makes Brokee Different from the Competition?

As the CEO and Founder of Brokee, I’ve created a Performance-Based Live Testing Platform to take this method of assessment to the next level. Brokee stands apart from competitors, like HackerRank assessments and DevSkiller tests, by offering automated, affordable, and easy-to-use live broken environments that are Chat-GPT and Google-Proof.

Why Choose Brokee?

• Authentic and Accurate Assessment

• Interactive and Engaging

• Efficient and Uncheatable

• Helps companies save time and money

What are Other People Saying About Brokee?

Brokee is way better than using coding challenges or multiple choice questions for infrastructure oriented roles - Milton Torasso, DevOps Engineer at Kiwibot.

We are a performance-based remote hiring platform, and by seeing how candidates perform on Brokee's hands-on real-work, real-environment tests, we can predict their on-the-job performance. Brokee's support and communication have been amazing since day one. - Co-Founder of Flatworld.

Brokee's test evaluates your hands-on experience with issues that could occur in a real production application in k8s. Luis Nuñez, Senior Software Engineer at GitHub.

The test is interesting; while taking it, I discovered new problems that I wasn't yet familiar with. Brokee's tests are not just a knowledge check but serve as independent training. Yulia Krasikova Senior DevOps Engineer at Accenture.

Final Word

The success of the hiring process hinges on understanding the unique goals and requirements of each organization.

Whether it's Maksym, our DevOps pro's favorite - Performance-Based testing - or other methods like pair coding or knowledge tests, choosing the right assessment method should be based on the specific demands of the position and company culture.

By choosing the right DevOps assessment technique, you can ensure that the best talent possible joins your ranks, which will drive innovation, efficiency, and success in your company.

We’re Offering Free Service to Ukrainian Companies!

Photo by Max Kukurudziak / Unsplash

Our Offer to Ukrainian Companies

We will provide free Brokee testing services on a first-come, first-served basis. The number of places is limited and will depend on the available funds and demand.

Our Mission:

As a leading tech hub in Europe, Ukraine boasts an impressive tech workforce of approximately 300,000 professionals. This thriving tech ecosystem is home to global companies like Grammarly, GitLab, and Wix, which were all founded in Ukraine.

The highly skilled tech professionals in Ukraine are making a significant impact on the global economy and technology landscape through the innovative solutions they create.

We at Brokee are proud to be a Ukrainian-built company, and much of what we do is inspired by our support for the Ukrainian tech sector. Recently, Brokee launched an initiative to offer our solution - which is an alternative to DevOps engineer assessments - for Ukrainian companies free of charge.

Who Qualifies for Free Brokee Testing Services?

- Ukrainian startups, especially those still in the very early stages of development and who have not received funding.

- Ukrainian IT companies or IT recruiting agencies affected by the war.

- IT schools with a social component - if you are teaching people for free or helping Ukraine in some other way, we are happy to help you.

- Large Ukrainian IT companies: Brokee’s services are affordable, so we do not expect that payment for our services will be a problem for large IT companies. However, we are happy to provide a free trial, especially for companies that donate to Ukraine’s defenders or other Ukrainian charities.

What is the Duration of This Offer?

We plan to provide free testing for qualified companies for approximately six months, or until Ukraine’s victory. On average, we help reduce DevOps hiring costs by over $3000 and several weeks per role.

Brokee is a startup currently without funding, and I personally have been using any profits and my own savings to keep it operating.

I believe in Brokee and what it can provide companies, so I developed this program to support Ukraine's tech sector. Our service has helped multiple companies streamline their DevOps hiring.

How to Get Started

Book a call with us using this link or fill out the contact form on the Brokee website. If you are a DevOps or Cloud Systems Engineer and would like to try out challenges - such as Amazon DevOps, GPT, Linux, Ingnx, and more - please indicate which test you are interested in and we will send you an invitation.

For anyone interested in collaborating or working with Brokee, don’t hesitate to reach out.

Slava Ukraini!

Photo by Yurii Khomitskyi / Unsplash

Case Study: DevOps Assessments Streamlined EclecticIQ's Hiring Process

About the Client

EclecticIQ is a global provider of threat intelligence, hunting, and response technology and services, headquartered in Amsterdam. Founded in 2014, EclecticIQ is a top European cybersecurity vendor operating worldwide with offices and teams across Europe, North America, India, and via value-add partners.

Client History

Brokee’s CEO, Maksym Lushpenko, had worked previously at EclecticIQ as a Senior Cloud Engineer. During his tenure at EclecticIQ, the cloud operations team faced a major challenge: evaluating the skills of DevOps and Cloud system engineers without wasting the time of their Engineering Team.

In 2021, EclecticIQ was the first company to adopt Brokee’s innovative DevOps assessments to evaluate their system engineer candidates. Since then, Brokee’s platform played a key role in the way EclecticIQ hires cloud engineers and technical support engineers, optimizing their hiring process.

The Problem

Just like many other IT companies, EclecticIQ's DevOps teams were overloaded with work. They faced a conundrum: The team needed to hire more engineers to share the workload, but qualifying and hiring new engineers took a huge chunk of time from the team members' already limited time.

Read More: How Much Does Hiring DevOps Cost?

For EclecticIQ, hiring one DevOps engineer takes more than 45 hours of a senior DevOps engineer's valuable time. This includes the time spent on individual DevOps testing for every candidate and subsequent group discussions with those who pass the initial technical screening call. This could cost a Dutch company – like EclecticIQ – up to $2500¹ in employee hours to fill one role.

Plus, due to the critical role DevOps engineers play, scheduling interviews around their schedules can be a formidable task for companies, given the demanding nature of their work.

The Solution: DevOps Assessment Software

Brokee provided EclecticIQ with an efficient way to screen DevOps candidates, making their hiring process fast and simple.

DevOps Assessments for Better and Faster Hiring

Brokee provides a platform for evaluating candidates on needed DevOps engineer skills. Compared to other DevOps Engineer Assessments, each of Brokee's test truly reflects the day-to-day tasks that engineers regularly work on, by using broken environments that they have to fix. Passing one of Brokee's evaluations proves that the candidate has the needed DevOps skills for the job.

Brokee's DevOps testing platform was an ideal solution because it freed up the DevOps team's time, allowing them to work on critical projects, while helping to hire engineers who could jump right in to help ease the team's workload.

EclecticIQ DevOps Team employed Brokee's Kubernetes with Nginx ingress Assessment to evaluate potential DevOps candidates, expediting the process of hiring essential team members.

The Word is Spreading: Skill Tests Result in Better Hires

EclecticIQ's Technical Support Team heard great things about Brokee from their DevOps team, so they also expressed interest in adopting this efficient approach for their hiring process.

We developed a Linux Assessment based on the DevOps assessment questions that the Technical Support Team normally asks during technical interviews. The Linux Assessment has already yielded success by helping the Technical Support Team qualify and hire several talented support engineers.

The Benefits

Through Brokee, EclecticIQ has already hired several high-performing Cloud and Technical Support Engineers.

These engineers managed to complete Brokee’s tests and immediately showed themselves to be proactive and skilled workers on their teams, which reduced the amount of time the new hires and the teams spent on technical onboarding.

New hires were able to take on projects independently and help their colleagues with difficult tasks from day one, thanks to Brokee's highly applicable live environment.

When a candidate completes Brokee's test – which takes about one hour – the results are sent to HR and the relevant hiring team, saving all parties the whole first week of interactions.

EclecticIQ gained multiple benefits from using Brokee

By using Brokee’s DevOps Test, EclecticIQ benefitted from:

• Standardized, consistent, and bias-free approach to technical assessments

• Comprehensive candidate reports are automatically sent to Slack and Email

• Hiring risk reduced by 47%

• 2x reduction in tech interviews

• Saved HR and Tech Hiring Teams the first week of interactions with candidates

• $2500 worth of Senior DevOps hours saved per role (45 hours)

• Candidates who pass the test should be able to adequately perform DevOps work from day one

• Shorter technical onboarding time

• A simple, clean, and easy-to-use evaluation platform

• Less frustrated DevOps teams

• Tests for Kubernetes, Amazon DevOps, Linux, GPC, Inginx, and more

Conclusion: DevOps Assessments Boost EclecticIQ's Hiring Process

We have greatly enjoyed growing side-by-side with EclecticIQ, and are excited to continue working with them in the future.

Brenda Szongoth, the Talent Management Partner at EclecticIQ, said she was very satisfied using Brokee due to its "usability, great customer support, and relevant selection tool".

Brokee's platform has good usability, great customer support, and relevant selection tool.

We've been told by the teams at EclecticIQ that the performance and quality of the candidates EclecticIQ hired through Brokee have been “excellent”.

If you are interested in a faster and better way to hire DevOps, Cloud, or System engineers, Brokee will help you improve your process. Please contact us to get started saving time, money, and peace of mind when hiring.