The Staff Interview Discussion — Framing Sort as a Cost Decision

At the staff level, the meta-skill being evaluated is whether you can frame technical decisions as business/cost tradeoffs. The interviewer isn't just checking if you know the algorithms — they're checking if you know how to decide when to invest in a sort optimization and when the cost isn't worth it. This section gives you the framing language for that discussion. The Cost Model for Sort Decisions When NOT to Sort — The Anti-Pattern