A Project You Decided Not to Ship

Company: OpenAI

Role: Software Engineer

Category: Behavioral & Leadership

Difficulty: hard

Interview Round: Onsite

Quick Answer: This question evaluates judgment and ownership by asking about a project abandoned before release rather than one that shipped. It tests decision-making under sunk-cost pressure, the ability to set and apply clear release criteria, and stakeholder communication. Commonly asked as a behavioral and leadership question, it assesses practical judgment rather than technical execution.