Product Perfect

Argus is a high-level programming language developed at MIT in the 1980s, designed to support the construction and execution of distributed programs. Named after Argus Panoptes from Greek mythology, it was created by Barbara Liskov and her team as an extension of CLU, another programming language she developed. The primary feature of Argus is its support for "guardians" - autonomous objects that maintain specific service despite failures in other parts of the system. It also introduced concepts like atomic actions and nested transactions which have influenced subsequent languages such as Java and C#. Information about Argus can be found in various academic papers published by MIT during its development period.

Ask the right questions secure the right Argus talent among an increasingly shrinking pool of talent.

First 20 minutes

General Argus app knowledge and experience

The first 20 minutes of the interview should seek to understand the candidate's general background in Argus application development, including their experience with various programming languages, databases, and their approach to designing scalable and maintainable systems.

What is your understanding of Argus Safety Database?

Argus Safety Database is a pharmacovigilance software solution used to ensure compliance with global regulations, integrate safety and risk management, enable comprehensive analysis and reporting, and manage adverse event reporting.

How would you describe your experience with Oracle Argus Safety Suite?

I have extensive experience with Oracle Argus Safety Suite, having used it for case processing, periodic reporting, and signal detection in my previous roles. I'm comfortable with its functionalities and features.

What are the key features of Argus Safety Suite that you've used in your previous roles?

The key features I've used include case processing, periodic reporting, signal detection, and risk management. I have also used its integrated modules for product complaint handling and medical device reporting.

Describe the difference between Argus Safety and Argus Interchange.

Argus Safety is a database for storing safety data while Argus Interchange is a tool used for electronic submissions of the data stored in Argus Safety.

How would you handle a situation where Argus Safety's performance is slow?

I would first identify the cause of the slowness, which could be due to a number of factors such as database issues, network issues, or server issues. I would then address the problem accordingly, whether it's optimizing queries, increasing server resources, or resolving network problems.

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What you’re looking for early on

Does the candidate have a strong understanding of Argus software?

Has the candidate demonstrated problem-solving skills?

Is the candidate capable of working in a team?

Does the candidate have experience with data analysis?

Next 20 minutes

Specific Argus development questions

The next 20 minutes of the interview should focus on the candidate's expertise with specific backend frameworks, their understanding of RESTful APIs, and their experience in handling data storage and retrieval efficiently.

What are the steps to create a periodic report in Argus Safety?

The steps include defining the report, selecting the cases, scheduling the report, generating the draft, performing quality checks, and then finalizing and distributing the report.

Describe the difference between null and zero value in Argus Safety.

In Argus Safety, a null value means that the field has been left blank or the value is unknown, while a zero value means that the field has been filled and the value is zero.

How would you ensure data integrity in Argus Safety?

I would ensure data integrity by implementing appropriate validation checks, maintaining strong access controls, conducting regular audits, and implementing a robust backup and recovery strategy.

What is the role of Argus Console in Argus Safety?

Argus Console is the administrative module of Argus Safety. It's used for system configuration, user management, code list management, and other administrative tasks.

How would you handle a situation where there's a need to customize Argus Safety to meet specific business needs?

I would first understand the specific business needs, then evaluate the feasibility of customization within Argus Safety. If feasible, I would plan and implement the customization in a test environment before deploying it in the production environment.

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At this point, a skilled Argus engineer should demonstrate strong problem-solving abilities, proficiency in Argus programming language, and knowledge of software development methodologies. Red flags include lack of hands-on experience, inability to articulate complex concepts, or unfamiliarity with standard coding practices.

Digging deeper

Code questions

These will help you see the candidate's real-world development capabilities with Argus.

What does the following simple Argus code do?
begin
  write('Hello, World!');
end;
This code simply prints the string 'Hello, World!' to the console.
What does the following Argus code do?
procedure increment(var x: integer);
begin
  x := x + 1;
end;
This code defines a procedure named 'increment' that takes an integer variable 'x' as an argument and increments its value by 1.
What will be the output of the following Argus code?
var arr: array[1..5] of integer;
i: integer;
begin
  for i := 1 to 5 do
    arr[i] := i * i;
  for i := 1 to 5 do
    write(arr[i]);
end;
This code initializes an array of 5 integers, then populates it with the squares of the indices. It then prints each element of the array, so the output will be '1491625'.
What does the following Argus code do?
var x: integer;
begin
  x := 1;
  fork begin
    x := x + 1;
  end;
  write(x);
end;
This code initializes an integer variable 'x' to 1, then forks a new thread that increments 'x'. The final value of 'x' that gets printed could be either 1 or 2, depending on the timing of the threads.

Wrap-up questions

Final candidate for Argus Developer role questions

The final few questions should evaluate the candidate's teamwork, communication, and problem-solving skills. Additionally, assess their knowledge of microservices architecture, serverless computing, and how they handle Argus application deployments. Inquire about their experience in handling system failures and their approach to debugging and troubleshooting.

What are the steps to migrate data from a legacy system to Argus Safety?

The steps include data mapping, data extraction from the legacy system, data transformation, data loading into Argus Safety, and data verification.

Describe the difference between Argus Safety and Argus Insight.

Argus Safety is a pharmacovigilance software solution used for safety data management, while Argus Insight is a business intelligence tool used for analyzing the data stored in Argus Safety.

How would you ensure compliance with global regulations in Argus Safety?

I would ensure compliance by configuring the system according to the regulations, implementing appropriate validation checks, conducting regular audits, and keeping up-to-date with the latest regulatory changes.

Argus application related

Product Perfect's Argus development capabilities

Beyond hiring for your Argus engineering team, you may be in the market for additional help. Product Perfect provides seasoned expertise in Argus projects, and can engage in multiple capacities.

Argus Consultive assessments

Argus Application Conversion Assessment Argus Application Integration Assessment Argus Data & Database Integration Assessment

Custom Argus development projects

Custom Argus App Conversion Argus Custom App Development Process App UI Design for Argus Facelifts

Hiring guide for Argus Engineers

Argus Developer Hiring Guide

What you’re looking for early on

The ideal back-end app developer

What you’re looking to see on the Argus engineer at this point.

Argus Consultive assessments

Custom Argus development projects