Mean vs. Median for API Response Times?
Tests if you know latency data has outliers. A good answer chooses median because it's robust to extremes. Explain that mean gets skewed by a few slow requests (e.g., GC pauses), hiding the typical user experience.
This tests your understanding that API latency is not normally distributed and has a long tail. A strong answer immediately chooses median, explaining it represents the typical user experience because it's insensitive to extreme outliers. Contrast this with the mean, which can be dramatically skewed by a single very slow request (e.g., a 10-second GC pause), misrepresenting the experience for 99% of users.
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