Navigating the System Design Interview

Interview Process

Scope the problem
- Don’t make assumptions.
- Ask clarifying questions to understand the constraints and use cases.
- Steps
  - Requirements clarifications
  - System interface definition
Sketch up an abstract design
- Building blocks of the system
- Relationships between them
- Steps
  - Back-of-the-envelope estimation
  - Defining data model
  - High-level design
Identify and address the bottlenecks
- Use the fundamental principles of scalable system design
- Steps
  - Detailed design
  - Identifying and resolving bottlenecks