In a recent job interview I was asked to build an elevator simulator. I was given the weekend to do it. I had never written a state machine before. It wasn't perfect but it passed all the tests I could come up with based on my own assumptions about the rules of behavior based on the following text from the interviewer:

Build an elevator simulator. It should have a UI that shows 5 floors, with the call buttons for each floor. The UI should also show the panel of buttons inside the elevator. As a user, I can press any floor call button (up or down), as well as elevator panel buttons to move the elevator. The elevator should move at a realistic speed (not just go instantaneously to the desired floor).

Evaluation criteria:

1. Accuracy of the elevator state machine with various button-press scenarios.
2. The object design of your project – how you organize the design into classes and their relationships, what design patterns you choose to use.
3. Coding style and clarity.
4. The UI doesn’t need to be fancy, but it needs to enable the functional requirements stated above. You can use any UI toolkit of your choice.
5. The code should be written in C#.

Unfortunately, my assumptions were not the same as the evaluation team's assumptions, so they found some "bugs" in the behavior of my elevator. Honestly, I was not surprised. In fact, when I submitted the code, I had offered the following observations:

I did not spend much time refactoring or documenting, so you're getting to see the "first draft" of the code.

Some refactoring that I would do:

1. Create tighter assurances in the tests with required sequence of logged events rather. In running the tests, I took a shortcut and debugged through the tests to review the log entries from the state machine to verify the sequence of actions. This should be corrected.

2. Clean up each of the two state machines, AtFloor and Moving. To simplify, I might create one or two more state machine classes to make the logic rules easier to follow and remove some of the "if" fall through logic states.

3. Tighten up UI with view data model to reduce the clutter in the code or perhaps even rewrite the UI in WPF with an MVVM architecture. My choice of Windows Forms was based on time limitations and my limited experience with WPF.

4. Review and tighten up naming and coding conventions for improved readability.

The "bug" in the elevator was not the reason I did not get the job. Fortunately, the recruiter sent me the feedback she received from the interview team. This is rare. I found it helpful and will certainly take it into account in the future.

The positive and exciting thing about this entire experience was having a reason to write my first state machine in a fun exercise which I want to share with you here. This was certainly the most comprehensive programming test I've ever been given in conjunction with an interview. I applaud the employer for having such a thorough and extensive evaluation process. And I thank the interview team for their feedback. Such thoroughness really helps to determine whether a person will be a good fit for the team. And above all else, that fit is of paramount importance.

Please download the code and let me know what you think. There are clearly flaws, as I would expect of any code thrown together over a weekend, especially where the particular pattern being implemented is a first attempt. When I have time, I may want to pull this off the shelf and do the refactoring I suggested when I submitted the code. But first, I need to find an employer and settle down. I think that will happen soon.

ElevatorControl.zip (29.94 kb)