Capital One is a well-established financial firm known for its unique and innovative approach to finance and banking. It holds a diverse and dynamic position within the financial industry. As of January 2024, Capital One ranks as the 9th largest bank in the U.S. by assets, holding a significant $468.8 billion.

Steampunk is a disruptive force in the Federal contracting sector, specializing in offering cutting-edge solutions to Homeland, Federal Civilian, Health, and DoD sectors. As a Business Analyst, you'll join an Agile software development team focused on defining project scope, generating progress reports, and mitigating risks. The role demands expertise in various methodologies like Agile/Scrum and proficiency with tools such as JIRA and Salesforce. Our interview guide on Interview Query will help you navigate the interview processes and prepare for the role by providing insight into what to expect and how to excel. Ready to make a difference? Let's get started!

Submitting Your Application

The first step is to submit a compelling application that reflects your technical skills and interest in joining Steampunk.Com as a Business Analyst. Whether you were contacted by a Steampunk.Com recruiter or have taken the initiative yourself, carefully review the job description and tailor your CV according to the prerequisites.

Tailoring your CV may include identifying specific keywords that the hiring manager might use to filter resumes and crafting a targeted cover letter. Furthermore, don’t forget to highlight relevant skills and mention your work experiences.

Recruiter/Hiring Manager Call Screening

If your CV is selected, a recruiter from the Steampunk Talent Acquisition Team will contact you to verify key details like your experiences and skill level. Behavioral questions may also be a part of this screening process.

In some cases, the Steampunk Business Analyst hiring manager might join the screening round to answer your questions about the role and the company itself. They may partake in surface-level technical and behavioral discussions.

The entire recruiter call typically takes about 30 minutes.

Technical Virtual Interview

Successfully navigating the recruiter round will present you with an invitation for the technical screening round. The technical screening for the Business Analyst role at Steampunk.Com is usually conducted virtually through video conferences and screen sharing. Questions during this 1-hour long interview may revolve around Agile methodologies, software development life cycles, and project management tools such as JIRA.

In addition to these, you might also encounter questions on the Salesforce platform and your proficiency with it, as it is required for this role. Depending on the seniority of the position, case studies and similar real-scenario problems may also be assigned.

Onsite Interview Rounds

Following a second recruiter call outlining the next stage, you’ll be invited to attend the onsite interview loop. Multiple interview rounds will be conducted during your day at the Steampunk office, varying with the role. Your technical expertise—including familiarity with Agile methodologies, experience managing IT projects, and interpersonal skills—will be evaluated throughout these interviews.

If you were assigned take-home exercises, a presentation round might also await you during the onsite interview for the Business Analyst role at Steampunk.

Quick Tips For Steampunk.Com Business Analyst Interviews

• Master Agile Methodologies: Steampunk highly values knowledge and experience in Scrum and Kanban methodologies. Ensure you are well-versed in these frameworks.

• Know Your Tools: Familiarity with project management tools like JIRA and platforms like Salesforce can set you apart. Practice common use cases and functionalities of these tools.

• Show Flexibility: Steampunk values flexibility and the ability to work with different teams and stakeholders. Demonstrate your capacity to adapt and collaborate effectively.

Typically, interviews at Steampunk.Com vary by role and team, but commonly Business Analyst interviews follow a fairly standardized process across these question topics.

• How would you explain what a p-value is to someone who is not technical? Explain a p-value in simple terms to a non-technical person, focusing on its role in determining the significance of results in experiments or studies.

• Write a function to simulate coin tosses with a given probability of heads. Create a function that takes the number of tosses and the probability of heads as inputs and returns a list of 'H' or 'T' representing the outcomes of the coin tosses.

• How much do you expect to pay for a sports game ticket considering the risk of a scalped ticket not working? Calculate the expected cost of attending the game by considering the probability of the scalped ticket not working and the cost of buying a box office ticket if needed.

• What is the probability of drawing three cards in increasing order from a shuffled deck of 500 cards? Determine the probability that each subsequent card drawn from a shuffled deck of 500 cards will be larger than the previous one.

• How do you calculate the average lifetime value for a SAAS company with given metrics? Given the product cost, monthly churn rate, and average customer duration, calculate the formula for the average lifetime value of a customer.

• What metrics would you use to determine the value of each marketing channel? Given all the different marketing channels and their respective costs at Mode, a B2B analytics dashboard company, what metrics would you use to evaluate the value of each marketing channel?

• What would you do if friend requests are down 10% on Facebook? A product manager at Facebook informs you that friend requests have decreased by 10%. What steps would you take to address this issue?

• How would you improve Google Maps and measure the success of your improvements? As the PM on Google Maps, how would you improve the product? What metrics would you use to evaluate the success of your feature improvements?

• How do you calculate the average lifetime value for a SAAS company? For a SAAS company with a product costing $100 per month, a 10% monthly churn rate, and an average customer lifespan of 3.5 months, how would you calculate the average lifetime value?

• How would you analyze the churn behavior of Netflix users on different pricing plans? Netflix has two pricing plans: $15/month or $100/year. An executive wants you to analyze the churn behavior of users on these plans. What metrics, graphs, or models would you use to provide an overarching view of subscription performance?

• Write a Python program to check if each string in a list has all the same characters. Given a list of strings, write a Python program to check whether each string has all the same characters or not. Determine the complexity of this program.

• Write a function to determine if a string is a palindrome. Given a string, write a function to determine if it is a palindrome or not. A palindrome reads the same forwards and backwards.

• Create a function to simulate coin tosses based on a given probability of heads. Write a function that takes the number of tosses and a probability of heads as input and returns a list of randomly generated results representing the outcomes of coin tosses.

• Develop a function to perform bootstrap sampling and calculate a confidence interval. Given an array of numerical values, bootstrap samples, and size for a confidence interval, write a function to perform bootstrap sampling and calculate the confidence interval.

• Write a program to determine the term frequency (TF) values for each term in a document. Given a text document in the form of a string, write a program in Python to determine the term frequency (TF) values for each term in the document. Round the term frequency to 2 decimal points.

• What metrics would you use to track accuracy and validity of a spam classifier for emails? Assume you have built a V1 of a spam classifier for emails. What metrics would you use to track its accuracy and validity?

• How would you evaluate the suitability and performance of a decision tree model for predicting loan repayment? You are tasked with building a decision tree model to predict if a borrower will repay a personal loan. How would you evaluate if a decision tree is the correct model? How would you evaluate its performance before and after deployment?

• What is Linear Discriminant Analysis (LDA) in machine learning and its use cases? Explain the concept of Linear Discriminant Analysis (LDA) in machine learning. What are some practical use cases for LDA?

• How would you collect and aggregate unstructured video data for an ETL pipeline? You are designing an ETL pipeline for a model that uses videos as input. How would you collect and aggregate data for multimedia information, specifically unstructured data from videos?

• How would you determine which search engine performed better and which metrics to track? You are working on building a better search engine for Google. After building it, how would you determine if it serves better results than the existing one in production? Which metrics would you track?

What is the average salary for a Business Analyst at Steampunk.Com?

Q: What experience is required for the Senior Business Analyst position at Steampunk?

To qualify for the Senior Business Analyst position at Steampunk, you should have 3+ years of experience with Scrum/Kanban methodologies and 3+ years of experience serving as a Product Owner, Scrum Master, or Business Analyst. A Bachelor's degree in Business Administration, Computer Science, MIS, or an equivalent combination of education and experience is required. Business Analyst certification(s) and proficiency in JIRA are also preferred.

Q: What will my contributions be as a Business Analyst at Steampunk?

As a Business Analyst at Steampunk, you will lead the collection, capture, and management of mission user needs, apply techniques to facilitate meetings and workshops, create shared understanding with stakeholders, and engage team members to produce product and portfolio roadmaps. You will also define project scope and schedule, manage risks and issues, maintain stakeholder communications, and assist in team development.

Q: What skills are essential to succeed in the Business Analyst role at Steampunk?

Essential skills for succeeding in the Business Analyst role at Steampunk include strong interpersonal and communication abilities, the capacity to establish immediate credibility with clients, proficiency in developing user stories and epics, and the ability to work effectively with various teams. Expertise in Agile methodologies, problem-solving, and decision-making skills are also crucial.

Q: What makes Steampunk a unique place to work?

Steampunk is a Change Agent in the Federal contracting industry, merging human-centered design and traditional government contracting. As an employee-owned company, Steampunk invests in its employees by enabling them to achieve the greatest work of their careers and rewarding outstanding contributions. The company thrives on disrupting the status quo and empowering employees to find creative solutions to complex problems.

Q: How can I prepare for an interview at Steampunk?

To prepare for an interview at Steampunk, research the company and its core values, familiarize yourself with Agile methodologies and project management practices, and refine your technical skills. Reviewing commonly asked questions on Interview Query can also help in your preparation. Be ready to discuss your past experiences and how they align with the responsibilities and contributions of the role you are applying for.

If you're excited about the blend of human-centered design and impactful government contracting, Steampunk is the place for you. Our Senior Business Analyst and Business Analyst/Scrum Master roles offer dynamic challenges, fostering innovation and growth within an employee-owned company. From managing Agile projects to developing strategic insights, employees are empowered to make significant contributions. For comprehensive preparation and to navigate the interview process confidently, explore the Steampunk.com Interview Guide on Interview Query. It’s your go-to resource, packed with interview questions and tailored insights to set you up for success. Dive in and equip yourself with the tools needed to excel in your interview. Good luck!