17 articles in high level design › interview framework.
A 6-phase framework for any system design interview: requirements, NFRs, APIs, flows, architecture, and deep dives, with time splits for each.
How to turn a vague system design prompt into a focused build plan in under 5 minutes, so you design the right system instead of a generic one.
The 6 NFRs that drive every architecture decision in system design interviews, with concrete thresholds and the questions that surface them.
The 3-step estimation formula for system design interviews: practical reference values, decision-driving math, and shortcuts that save time.
Translate estimates into infrastructure decisions: when to add a cache, when to shard, when to go multi-region, and how to present it in an interview.
Latency anchors, storage conversions, and illustrative throughput estimates for back-of-envelope calculations in system design interviews, with a worked example showing how they guide decisions.
Why sketching the API contract before the architecture produces better system designs, and how to define endpoints, parameters, and responses in the first 10 minutes.
How to design a data schema in a system design interview, starting from entities, mapping access patterns, picking storage, and making normalization decisions.
How to draw a clear, interview-worthy architecture diagram: what components to include, how to label data flows, and how to layer complexity over three rounds.
A repeatable framework for when the interviewer says 'now scale it to 10x': how to identify bottlenecks, pick the right scaling strategy, and communicate the trade-offs.
How to allocate limited time in a system design interview so you reach deep dives with time to spare, using a 45-minute schedule as one practical baseline.
How to use the last 5 minutes of a system design interview to reinforce your strengths, address gaps, and leave the interviewer with a confident final impression.
A practical guide to common system design interview mistakes, organized by category, with concrete examples and fixes.
The 20 most common design gaps that interviewers notice and candidates miss. Run through this checklist mentally before wrapping up to catch the problems that silently cost you points.
What to do when you get a system design question you have never seen before: a first-principles decomposition that transfers across prompts, from Twitch to a parking garage.
Common expectations at junior, senior, staff, and principal level in a system design interview, with concrete examples of what each level says and does differently.
The 100 most important system design terms defined with precision. Use this to communicate accurately in interviews and code reviews — knowing exactly what 'partition tolerance' means vs. 'availability', or 'durability' vs. 'consistency'.