Find minimum cost in grid
Last updated: March 9, 2026
Quick Overview
Given a grid of non-negative integers representing costs, find the minimum cost to traverse from the top-left corner to the bottom-right corner, moving only down or right. The output should be the minimum cost value required to reach the destination. You may assume the grid is not empty and has at least one cell.
ServiceNow
March 9, 202612
13
4,046 solved
Given a grid of non-negative integers representing costs, find the minimum cost to traverse from the top-left corner to the bottom-right corner, moving only down or right. The output should be the minimum cost value required to reach the destination. You may assume the grid is not empty and has at least one cell.
Coding interviews at ServiceNow focus on problem-solving approach as much as the final solution. The interviewer wants to see you break down the problem, consider edge cases, and optimize iteratively. Communication throughout the process is key.
What the Interviewer Expects
- Recognize the underlying problem pattern (sliding window, two pointers, BFS/DFS, etc.)
- Discuss multiple approaches and trade-offs before coding
- Implement an optimal solution with clean, production-quality code
- Handle all edge cases including boundary conditions and invalid input
- Optimize both time and space complexity with clear justification
- Test your solution systematically with well-chosen examples
Key Topics to Cover
How to Approach This
- Clarify input constraints and edge cases before writing code.
- Walk through your approach verbally and confirm with the interviewer before coding.
- Start with a brute force solution, then optimize. Mention time and space complexity.
- Test your solution with examples, including edge cases like empty input or duplicates.
- Consider common patterns: sliding window, two pointers, hash map, BFS/DFS, dynamic programming.
Possible Follow-up Questions
- What happens if the input contains duplicates?
- Can you optimize the space complexity of your solution?
- How would you modify your solution to handle streaming input?
Sharpen Your Skills on Codemia
Practice similar problems with our interactive workspace, get AI feedback, and track your progress.
Practice DSA ProblemsSample Answer
Problem Analysis
The problem involves finding the minimum cost path from the top-left corner to the bottom-right corner of a grid. The key here is recognizing that this is a graph traversal problem where each cell in ...
Approach
- Create a 2D array
dpof the same dimensions as the grid to store the minimum costs to reach each cell. - Initialize
dp[0][0]withgrid[0][0]since the starting point cost is the cost of th...
Submit Your Answer
