System Design Interview: A Step-By-Step Guide

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Covering topics and trends in large-scale system design, from the authors of the best-selling System Design Interview series.

[MorphologicalGeek]

I think this video provides a solid foundation for what to think about and how to structure your time. To add to this knowledge, and as an occasional interviewer, I would recommend emphasis on thinking about why you are there and what skills the interviewer is looking for. As an interviewer I'm less interested in the actual design and more interested in how you approach the situation - what questions you ask, what assumptions you make, how you deal with ambiguity, what your problem solving skills are like, and so on. Seeing you draw things on a whiteboard - and explain them - also gives me insights into how you communicate, which is also critical.

I think this video possibly gives the impression (to some people) that you have to come up with a carefully considered design which is comprehensively complete and to a level of detail that is probably impossible to do in 35 minutes - especially if too many features are requested. One way to deal with that is to take a "steel thread" like approach and demonstrate how something could work end-to-end without going into all the details - just enough to join all the layers, not fill them all in. For example, if you can demonstrate what one REST API operation looks like to some level of detail, as an interviewer I probably don't need to see a second example - that's where checking in with the interviewer is a good idea - is that one enough? would they like to see more? Remember, (perhaps depending on the level of seniority) the interviewer might be looking to see how you handle a situation where the work requested is clearly not doable in the time allocated - what techniques do you use to deal with those situations? Checking in with the interviewer as to what they expect is a valid approach - just like (good) team leads and managers appreciate team members checking in with them periodically, especially when timeframes are tight.

[JheregJAB]

I like this and find it helpful, but I'm also a person who does well learning by example. I realize it would be a very different video from your normal format, but it would be pretty cool to do a full ~1hr example interview which showcases this in practice.

[waffle]

I feel like technical interviews are broken and no matter how much you prepare you're always going to have to deal with a random interviewer who may not even be that focused or someone who is biased etc.

[DrDiabolical]

Really really awesome video. Would really appreciate it if you could make a video on some examples/scenarios and which technology to use in those cases. You have covered some really good cases, especially related to DBs in ur channel. In particular I was looking for when to and not to use message queues and their challenges and limitations. Thanks.

[_koercion]

the smooth animation and clear structure of presentation are incredibly amazing, thanks for presenting such quality video

[futurexjam]

It requires multiple knowledge on many areas. Senior engineer is different from solutions architect. It is similar to medicine and in medicine you are becoming more experienced on an specific area. But today, every body urges software developers/engineers to become expert on many areas... it is insane.. we are human, not a machine...

[chickenlittle]

My MIS BSBA was instrumental in Systems Analysis and Design, and although it gave me a great overview… It is videos like these I go to for more in-depth and situational knowledge for System Design and Software/Database development. Thank you for publishing resources like these.

[sammyroberts]

Thank you for this, I got asked about non functional requirements in an interview and had never heard that term. This clarified that for me!

[balslc]

Thanks for putting a thought framework. This will be very useful not only for active job seekers but to any engineers who is solving complex problems. It would be great, if you can make a video with a specific example.

[nemeziz_prime]

Alex sir's videos make these concepts look amazingly simple and clear 🔥

[tagoreji]

Thank you. I know nothing about system Design. But this video gave me a good understanding of it.

[BestURLShortenerBioPageQRCode]

Step 1: Understand the Problem
Step 2: Clarify
Step 3: Framework
Step 4: Design Diagram
Step 5: Data model schema

[ggvideonow]

Awesome! One thing I see missing is “delegation” of tasks. For example on the DB performance, network etc at least during the deep dive.

[yalslaus]

It's crazy to me that they don't teach any of this in universities. They are so far behind real world issues.

[geeklogbook]

How valuable are these videos! They should be taught at the university.

[abdellahfazza]

this is the nost detailed explanation video I've ever watched. Like it a lot

[Guerra]

congrats to the video editor, he did a very good job

[zn]

Amazing video! Thank you for your clear and calm explanations. I really appreciate the effort put into the animations as well. Well done!

[ReflectionOcean]

Step 1: capture features and NFR
Step 2: propose APIs, high level diagram, data model
Step 3: Dive into specific implementations. Articulate problems and propose solutions.
Step 4: Wrap up

[fronix]

Love this, however I have never been part of a project where we had time to do all of this 😭