How to Approach System Design
Table of contents
- 1. Understand the Problem
- 2. Set Limits and Scope
- 3. Break Down the Problem (Top-Down Approach) (Recommended Bigger Problem Statement)
- 4. Pick a Feature and Go Deeper (Bottom-Up Approach)(Recommended Smaller Problem Statement)
- 5. Analyze Each Component
- 6. Don’t Worry About Doubts Right Away
- 7. Build and Improve the Design
- Key Takeaways:
- What’s your approach to system design? Feel free to share your thoughts or challenges!
System design can seem tough, but if we break it down into smaller steps, it becomes much easier to handle.
1. Understand the Problem
First, carefully read the problem statement and make sure you fully understand what’s being asked. Identify the main goals and any constraints or limitations.
2. Set Limits and Scope
Decide what to focus on. Limit the scope . Not everything needs to be solved at once. Prioritize based on what’s most important for the system.
3. Break Down the Problem (Top-Down Approach) (Recommended Bigger Problem Statement)
Start by dividing the problem into major parts or features.
For eg, if designing an e-commerce system, you might have:
User Management
Product Management
Checkout Process
Payment System
Order Processing
4. Pick a Feature and Go Deeper (Bottom-Up Approach)(Recommended Smaller Problem Statement)
Once you have the major components, choose one to focus on and break it down in detail. For example, for Payment, you can look into:
Payment Gateway
Fraud Prevention
Payment Notifications
5. Analyze Each Component
For every component, think about:
Scalability: Can it grow with more users or data?
Fault Tolerance: How does it handle failure?
Caching: Should we store data temporarily to speed things up?
Database Design: Will you use SQL or NoSQL? How do you balance speed and reliability?
6. Don’t Worry About Doubts Right Away
If you're unsure about a certain part, don’t get stuck. Keep moving and come back to it later when you have more clarity.
7. Build and Improve the Design
Once you've worked on individual components, connect them all and make the final design. Draw diagrams to show how data moves through the system. Review it for things like scalability and fault tolerance.
Key Takeaways:
Start with the big picture, then focus on individual parts.
Dive deep into each part, and think about scalability, faults, and caching.
If unsure, move ahead and return to tough parts later.