Everything you need to get the most out of your prep — from how problems are picked, to how your score is calculated.
01 · THE METRIC
One score. Honest both ways.
Your Skill Score is the only number that matters on SkillFlow. It's a weighted composite of all 10 topic proficiencies, scaled 1–1000.
YOUR SKILL SCORE
412/ 1000
● APPRENTICE · 88 to Intermediate
↑It moves up when you pass.Solving a Challenge problem raises your score, weighted by its difficulty.
↓It moves down when you fail.Time out or score low? Your skill score drops. That's why it's a real signal.
=Practice doesn't move it.Unscored sessions never affect your score.
TIER PROGRESSION
Novice
1–200
● Apprentice
201–500
Intermediate
501–750
Advanced
751–900
Elite
901–1000
02 · TEN TOPICS
Every interview pattern, tracked separately.
SkillFlow tracks your proficiency in each of 10 topics, scored 1–100. Submit a problem in a topic and that topic's proficiency moves — independent of the rest.
Arrays & Strings
strong78
Linked Lists
strong71
Stacks & Queues
steady65
Graphs & Matrices
steady54
Binary Tree
steady48
Math
steady50
Backtracking
steady41
Heaps
weak32
Bit Manipulation
weak28
Dynamic Programming
weakest ←22
03 · THE ALGORITHM
Best Question. Picked for you.
Every Best Question is a Challenge-mode session — 45 minutes, scored, directly impacts your Skill Score. The algorithm picks the one problem with the highest learning lift for where you are right now.
How it picksalgorithm.ts
1
Find your weakest topic
The topic with the lowest proficiency score (or filtered by your topic selection).
2
Match difficulty to your level
Pick a difficulty band slightly above your topic proficiency — where growth lives.
3
Filter out seen problems
You'll never get a problem you've already attempted.
4
Surface the best fit
The remaining candidates are evaluated against your profile. The best one wins.
What it looks atinputs
📊
Topic proficiency
Your current 1–100 score in each of the 10 topics.
🕐
Recent history
Problems you've already seen so you're never repeating one.
🎯
Topic filter
Any topics you've toggled on the Dashboard narrow the pool.
⚡
Problem difficulty
Matched to where you are now — slightly above your level, where growth happens.
Limit Best Question to specific topicsDashboard control
✓ All topicsArrays✓ DPTrees✓ GraphsHeapsBacktrackingStacksLinked ListsBit ManipMath
By default Best Question pulls from all 10 topics. Toggle topics on or off from the Dashboard whenever you want to focus on a specific area — for example, drilling DP before a Google onsite.
04 · MODES
Two gears, same problems.
When you want to simulate, use Challenge. When you want to learn, use Practice. Same problem pool, different posture.
CHALLENGE MODE
Interview pressure.
45:00
⏱
45-minute timer
Live countdown. No pause. Time runs out = auto-submit.
★
Scored 0–100
Test cases, edge cases, runtime. Combined into a single score.
±
Affects Skill Score
Pass → skill up. Fail or time out → skill down. Real consequence.
🔒
Hints rationed
One hint every 5 minutes. They never cost you points — you just cannot lean on them early.
🔥
Counts toward streak
Challenge submissions count toward your daily streak.
PRACTICE MODE
Take your time.
∞
∞
No timer
Stop, think, look it up, walk away, come back.
=
No score impact
Your Skill Score stays exactly where it is. Experiment freely.
💡
Hints unlock instantly
No reveal delay — peek whenever you're stuck.
⌘
Solutions visible
Browse the optimal approach side-by-side with your code.
Best Question is always Challenge. To use Practice mode, browse the problem list and open any problem in Practice — your choice.
05 · DIFFICULTY
A 1–100 scale, not three tiers.
Every problem has a difficulty score from 1 to 100. We use a continuous scale (not Easy / Medium / Hard) so the algorithm can match problems to your exact level — and so a "Medium 65" is meaningfully different from a "Medium 38."
8
Two Sum
32
Climbing Stairs
58
3Sum
82
Word Ladder
EASY
1 – 40
MEDIUM
41 – 70
HARD
71 – 100
Bands are just for labels — the algorithm uses the underlying number. A problem at difficulty 28 is meaningfully easier than one at difficulty 38, even though both show as "Easy."
06 · SUBMIT & SCORING
What happens when you hit Submit.
Every submission goes through the same pipeline — test cases run first, then your code is graded, then (if it's Challenge mode) your scores update.
1
Test cases run
Your code is run against the visible examples plus hidden edge cases.
5 / 8 passed
→
2
Score is computed
Test results, runtime, and edge-case coverage combine into a 0–100 score.
87 / 100
→
3
Proficiency moves
The problem's topic gets a proficiency update, weighted by difficulty and score.
DP22→34+12
→
4
Skill Score recalculates
Your overall Skill Score updates — a weighted average of all 10 topic proficiencies.
Skill400→412
In Practice mode, steps 3 and 4 are skipped — you still see your score, but nothing on your profile changes.
FAQ
A few more answers.
What if I run out of time on Challenge? +
Your code auto-submits with whatever you've written. If it doesn't pass, your topic proficiency drops slightly — same as a low-scoring submission.
Do hints affect my score? +
No. Hints don't penalize you. In Challenge mode they're rationed (one per 5 minutes); in Practice mode they're instant.
What languages can I solve in? +
Python, Java, C++, and JavaScript. You set your default during onboarding; you can switch on any problem page.
Why a 1–1000 Skill Score? +
It's granular enough to feel like real movement (a +12 means something) but bounded enough that tiers stay meaningful. Same reasoning behind chess ELO.
That's the whole system.
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