Provyn Prep · Data Structures and Algorithms competency
Structures & algorithms in the Data Structures and Algorithms assessment
Structures & algorithms is one of the areas a Provyn Data Structures and Algorithms credential scores separately, so a recruiter can see it on its own rather than averaged into one number. This guide explains what it covers, how it is tested and what to practice.
What it covers
Choosing and using the right data structure and technique: hashing, trees, heaps, graphs, two pointers, sliding windows and dynamic programming.
Topics in the practice set for this area
- hashing
- graph traversal
- trees
- heaps
- pointer techniques
- dynamic programming
- graphs / shortest path
- union find
- tries / strings
- data structure design
- sliding window
- linked lists
- graphs
How it is tested
In the timed assessment, questions in this area use these formats: code you write, matching, multiple choice, short answer. Each attempt draws its own set of questions, and this area gets its own sub-score on the credential when the attempt includes enough questions from it. The assessment questions themselves are never published; the practice set below is written separately for study.
What to practice
- Solve one problem per technique and write down the signal in the problem that pointed to it.
- Implement breadth-first and depth-first search on the same graph and compare the order visited.
- Turn a recursive solution into a memoized one, then into a bottom-up table.
Try a practice question
From the free practice set (14 questions in this area). Answers and explanations are in the practice set.
- Hash-map average-case lookup:
- BFS uses which data structure?
- DFS naturally uses:
Practice before the real thing
Both are free and use practice questions only, never questions from the real assessment.
More Data Structures and Algorithms study guides
Last reviewed 2026-10-06.