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System Design Fundamentals

Master the core concepts every senior engineer must know

90 minutes
13Detailed Sections
Senior Level

System design is the process of defining the architecture, components, modules, interfaces, and data flow of a system to satisfy specified requirements.

For experienced senior engineers, system design goes far beyond creating functional softwareβ€”it involves architecting solutions that are scalable, maintainable, cost-effective, and resilient to failures.

At this level, you're expected to understand not just how to build systems, but why certain architectural decisions are made, what trade-offs they involve, and how to evolve systems over time as requirements change.

System design encompasses both the "what" (functional requirements like features and capabilities) and the "how" (non-functional requirements like performance, scalability, reliability, and maintainability).

Senior engineers must balance competing concerns: performance vs cost, consistency vs availability, simplicity vs flexibility, and time-to-market vs technical debt.

The art of system design lies in making pragmatic decisions that align with business objectives while maintaining technical excellence.

Key Takeaways

1
Functional Requirements: Define what the system should do (features, user flows, business logic)
2
Non-Functional Requirements: Define how the system should perform (scalability, latency, availability, security)
3
Trade-off Analysis: Every design decision involves trade-offs; document and justify your choices
4
Evolutionary Architecture: Design systems that can evolve; avoid premature optimization but plan for growth
5
Failure Mode Analysis: Consider what can go wrong and design defensive mechanisms
6
Cost-Benefit Analysis: Balance technical perfection with business constraints and deadlines
7
Operational Excellence: Design for observability, debuggability, and maintainability from day one
8
Domain-Driven Design: Understand the business domain deeply to create appropriate abstractions
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