Challenge overview
Your mission
In this job simulation, you will assume the role of a Front-End Engineer at AirBnB, a global leader in the online marketplace. The scenario revolves around the company’s ambitious project to launch mini-websites in five different European markets – Germany, France, Spain, Italy, and the UK. The challenge lies in customizing the user interface for these markets while maintaining a standardized codebase. You will need to navigate diverse design requirements, manage efficient loading times for regions with slower internet speeds, and adhere to stringent legal and compliance requirements. Your mission is to devise a front-end strategy that meets these challenges, interacting with various stakeholders to understand their needs and constraints. The skills you will apply and develop include project management, problem-solving, communication, decision-making, and critical thinking, with a focus on front-end development strategies, user interface design, and stakeholder management.
Simulation details
AirBnB, a global leader in the online marketplace, operates in over 100,000 cities worldwide. The company’s primary function is to connect hosts and guests, facilitating over 500 million bookings since its inception. In addition to accommodations, AirBnB also curates unique experiences hosted by locals. The company’s technology stack is a robust combination of programming languages, frameworks, and tools, with a focus on front-end development. Performance metrics are a key focus, guiding strategic decisions. AirBnB’s design philosophy emphasizes intuitive navigation and a seamless user experience. The company is currently focusing on penetrating specific European markets with the launch of mini-websites.
The challenge is to customize the user interface for five different European markets – Germany, France, Spain, Italy, and the UK, while standardizing the codebase. The current codebase struggles with diverse design requirements and efficient loading times for users in regions with slower internet speeds. The development resources are stretched thin, and there are stringent legal and compliance requirements for each market. The timeline for the project is tight, with a deadline of six months to launch the mini-websites.
In this simulation, you will step into the shoes of a a Front-End Engineer at AirBnB. Your mission is to devise a front-end strategy for the launch of mini-websites in five European markets. You will interact with various stakeholders to understand their needs and constraints, and use this information to inform your strategy. Your action plan will involve conducting stakeholder consultations, developing a front-end strategy, and creating a detailed proposal outlining your strategy. You will encounter decision points such as choosing between different design options, deciding on the best approach for maintaining a centralized codebase, and determining how to efficiently launch the mini-websites.
This simulation will help you develop and enhance skills in project management, problem-solving, communication, decision-making, and critical thinking. You will also gain insights into front-end development strategies, user interface design, and stakeholder management.
How to complete this simulation
You are expected to produce a detailed proposal outlining the front-end strategy and a stakeholder consultation report. All final assets should be compiled into a single PDF and sent to your manager, Maria Rodriguez. Your goal is to create a comprehensive and feasible front-end strategy that meets the unique requirements of each market, can be efficiently implemented by the engineering team, and allows for quick launch of the mini-websites.
Make sure you include these three important aspects in your document:
1. Stakeholder consultation: recap of what you have learned from each stakeholder and how that has influenced your strategy.
2. Front-End Strategy proposal: put together a final proposal that answers all the main concerns raised by stakeholders and explain why you think that’s the best approach. Make sure this can be implemented as well by your engineering team.
Team
Who you will work with in this Simulation
Your team is 100% generated by AI – you will not interact with real people and no human will read your conversation.
Maria Rodriguez
Engineering Manager
Sofia Müller
Local Operations Manager
Luca Bianchi
UX/UI Design Team Lead
Emma Jørgensen
Senior Software Engineer
Pierre Lefevre
Product Manager
Ingrid Svensson
Legal and Compliance Officer
Alex Schmidt
Front-End Engineer
Organization
AirBnB, a global titan in the online marketplace, operates in a staggering 100,000 cities across the globe, with a significant presence in major cities like New York, Paris, and Tokyo. In these cities, AirBnB has over 10,000 listings each, with New York contributing to 20% of the company’s total revenue.
The company’s primary function is to bridge the gap between those who wish to rent out their homes and those in search of accommodations. It does so through a user-friendly platform that allows hosts to list their properties and guests to book them with ease. The platform has over 50 million active users and has facilitated over 500 million bookings since its inception.
Estimated time required: 3 hours
Difficulty level: Intermediate
Ideal for: Front-end Engineer, Lead Front-end Engineer
Skills covered: Front-End Development, Front-End Development Tools, ReactJS
