Gotchas & Pitfalls

Scope creep: trying to build too much in one week and finishing nothing. How to avoid: define your MVP on day one and only add features after the core pipeline works end to end.

Picking a data source that is unreliable, requires paid access, or has strict rate limits. How to avoid: verify your data source works locally on day one; have a backup dataset ready in case the primary source fails or gets rate-limited.

Skipping local testing: deploying to Azure before verifying the container runs locally. How to avoid: always run docker build and docker run locally first and confirm the output before pushing to ACR.

Forgetting documentation: a project without a README is hard to evaluate and present. How to avoid: start the README on day one with headings for setup, architecture, and decisions; fill it in as you build.

Last-minute deployment: leaving Azure setup to the final day and running into configuration issues. How to avoid: deploy a minimal "hello world" container to Azure on day one or two so you know the infrastructure works.

Not preparing for the interview: having a working project but being unable to explain your decisions. How to avoid: practice talking through your architecture diagram out loud before the interview; prepare concise answers for "why did you choose X?"

Gotchas & Pitfalls

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