https://www.okbilly.com/enContents © 2026 <a href="mailto:countzen@gmail.com">Billy Shin</a> Tue, 02 Jun 2026 22:38:38 GMTNikola (getnikola.com)http://blogs.law.harvard.edu/tech/rsshttps://www.okbilly.com/posts/systems-design-interviews/Billy Shin<p>This is a little reflection on problems with system design interviews, the ends and means of executing the proper answering framework.</p> <p>You may notice that this is targeted to a generalized audience, however it is the of the topic which is important to me.</p> <section id="the-mistakes"> <h2>The Mistakes</h2> <section id="initially-upon-starting-the-interview"> <h3>Initially, upon starting the interview</h3> <ol class="arabic simple"> <li><p>Not asking enough questions</p></li> <li><p>Not reading the questions carefully</p></li> <li><p>Not quantifying the problem, best guess (with some assumptions) is OK</p></li> <li><p>Not writing down the Functional and Non-Functional Requirements</p></li> </ol> </section> <section id="during-the-actual-design"> <h3>During the Actual Design</h3> <ol class="arabic simple"> <li><p>Not talking about tradeoffs - i.e. Why am I choosing this? What are the alternatives?</p></li> <li><p>Starting with too much complexity, and/or pre-mature optimization</p></li> <li><p>If you are thinking about problems, and applying solutions, make sure you justify/talk out loud about them.</p></li> </ol> </section> </section> <section id="the-solution"> <h2>The Solution</h2> <section id="the-framework"> <h3>The Framework</h3> <ol class="arabic simple"> <li><p>Talk with the interviewer, have an <a class="reference external" href="https://okbilly.com/postsauthenthic-conversations-in-interviews/">authentic conversation</a> during this process</p></li> <li><p>Read the damned question</p></li> <li><p>Ask clarifying questions</p></li> <li><p>Write down the Functional and Non-Functional Requirements</p></li> <li><p>Design small and simple</p></li> <li><p>Design for scale if necessary, TALK about tradeoffs</p></li> </ol> </section> <section id="helpful-notes"> <h3>Helpful Notes</h3> <ol class="arabic simple"> <li><p>Think in Frameworks and First Principal (First principal is, you are trying to communicate that you know how to design this)</p></li> <li><p>Communicate, and over communicate</p></li> <li><p>Practice, practice, practice</p></li> <li><p>Mock interviews with people you trust or professionals <a class="reference external" href="https://hellointerview.com/">HelloInterview</a> is a service I used</p></li> <li><p>Notes, or systems to help you remember the framework. Sticky notes around your screen might help.</p></li> </ol> </section> </section>InterviewsJobsSystems Designhttps://www.okbilly.com/posts/systems-design-interviews/Sat, 20 Dec 2025 03:28:12 GMT