Interview questions in Design Systems, page 3
Syncing design tokens from Figma to code
Export Figma variables to a token spec, transform with Style Dictionary into platform outputs, automate via CI.
Building a visual regression testing pipeline
Snapshot Storybook stories per PR, freeze nondeterminism, set diff thresholds, manage baselines via approvals.
Minimizing library bundle-size impact on consumers
Track size in CI with size-limit, support granular imports, externalize peers, lazy-load heavy parts, audit with bundle analyzers.
Managing keyboard focus in an accessible Modal
Move focus in on open, trap Tab inside, close on Escape, restore focus to the trigger on close.
Enforcing WCAG color contrast programmatically
Pre-validate token pairs, expose only safe semantic combos, lint and test contrast in CI.
ARIA roles and keyboard nav for a Tabs component
Tablist, tab, tabpanel roles with aria-selected and aria-controls; arrow keys move tabs, Tab moves to the panel via roving tabindex.
Enforcing an accessible name on icon-only buttons
Require aria-label via the type system for icon-only variants, warn at runtime, decorate the icon as aria-hidden.
Accessible toasts with ARIA live regions
A persistent live region, polite vs assertive by urgency, role status or alert, content injected after mount.
Adapting CSS for Forced Colors Mode
Use semantic HTML and system color keywords, the forced-colors media query, forced-color-adjust sparingly.
Shadow DOM accessibility: focus and cross-boundary ARIA
IDREF ARIA can't cross the shadow boundary, so aria-labelledby and aria-activedescendant break; delegatesFocus and ElementInternals/ARIAMixin help.
Core roles on a design system team
Name design, engineering, product/PM, and accessibility/docs roles with clear ownership.
Process for adding a new component
Triage need, design and spec, build with a11y and tests, document, version, and release.
Designing a contribution model with quality gates
Define a federated model, branch-and-PR flow, required reviews, and automated gates for tests, a11y, and visual regression.
Building a design system quarterly roadmap
Combine usage and adoption data, support tickets, stakeholder interviews, and a debt ledger into a scored backlog with a deliberate debt allocation.
Reversing stagnating design system adoption
Find friction via interviews, reduce it with DX, codemods, and docs, then prove value with adoption and velocity metrics.
Contributor workflow from proposal to merge
Proposal or RFC, design and core alignment, branch and build with tests and docs, review, then merge and release.
Deciding whether a one-off variant belongs in core
Weigh reuse and consistency against maintenance cost, then decide with a shared-need bar and escape hatches for local cases.
Purpose and key sections of CONTRIBUTING.md
It documents how to contribute; key sections are setup and dev workflow, contribution process and standards, and review and release expectations.
Classifying a visually breaking padding change
A layout-shifting padding change is effectively breaking, so major; release with visual diffs, a migration note, and a token or opt-in path.
Designing a component deprecation process
Announce with a replacement and timeline, mark deprecated with runtime and lint warnings, provide codemods, then remove only in a major release.
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