Guidewire Software·Software Engineer·Technical Phone Screen·Intermediate

Intermediate

Apr 2026

Summary

One question, 40 minutes, no camera, no screen share. Pretty chill setup for Guidewire. The problem itself was a greedy placement puzzle, not the kind of thing that requires any exotic CS knowledge, just clear thinking about coverage.

Questions Asked (1)

Given a row of seats where some positions are occupied by girls (in clusters or alone, separated by gaps), find the minimum number of boys to place so that every girl has at least one boy sitting directly next to her.

Algorithms & Data Structures

Author's notes

The example they gave was something like a row with a lone girl, then a pair of girls a few seats over, and you had to figure out the fewest placements to cover everyone.

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AI HintsAI Generated

Suggested Approach

Model the row as a string or array where girls are marked and gaps are empty. Use a greedy strategy: scan left to right, and whenever you encounter a girl without a boy neighbor, place a boy at the next available seat to her right (or left if at the end), ensuring coverage for consecutive girls. Count the boys placed.

Pro tip: Clarify edge cases upfront, such as a single girl at the end of the row or all seats occupied by girls, and mention that the greedy choice is optimal because placing a boy to the right covers the current girl and potentially the next one.

1. Understand the problem and constraints

Restate the problem: given a row of seats with girls at certain positions, find the minimum number of boys to place so that each girl has at least one adjacent boy. Clarify that boys can be placed in any empty seat and that a boy can cover at most two girls (left and right).

2. Identify the greedy strategy

Recognize that to minimize boys, we should place a boy as far right as possible while still covering the current girl. This covers the current girl and may also cover the next girl if she is immediately to the right.

3. Walk through the algorithm

Iterate through the seats. When you find a girl without a boy neighbor, place a boy in the next seat to her right (if available and empty). If she is at the last seat, place a boy to her left. Count each placement.

4. Handle edge cases and validate

Consider cases like a single girl at the end, consecutive girls, and all seats occupied by girls. Verify that the greedy approach yields the minimum by arguing that each boy can cover at most two girls and we place boys only when necessary.

5. Analyze complexity and conclude

State that the algorithm runs in O(n) time and O(1) extra space. Conclude that the greedy solution is optimal and provide the final count.

Key Points to Mention

Greedy algorithm: place a boy to the right of an uncovered girl to maximize coverage.
Optimality argument: each boy can cover at most two girls, and the greedy choice never reduces future coverage.
Edge cases: single girl at the end, consecutive girls, all girls, no girls.
Time and space complexity: O(n) time, O(1) space.
Implementation details: use a boolean array or string to represent seats, track placed boys.
Clarify assumptions: boys can only be placed in empty seats, and a boy can cover at most two girls (one on each side).

AI-generated suggestions, not part of the candidate's original notes. May be inaccurate — verify before relying on them.