System Design 101

Building a system requires a design.

The basic tenants of good system design ensure your system has these traits:

1. Scalable: Able to handle increased load and growth without major re-architecting.

2. Reliable: Resistant to failures and able to recover quickly from them.

3. Performant: Responds quickly and efficiently to user requests.

4. Cost-effective: Balances performance and functionality with cost considerations.

My definition of a beautiful system is more rigorous. As a software engineer I build programs, tools and digital experiences. I’ve been fortunate to have millions of users across my code… and all of that weight and surface area means things break badly… unless they are built to operate gracefully.

System design involves creating comprehensive specifications and architectures for a software system, ensuring it meets user needs and integrates smoothly with existing systems and hardware.

A great system encompasses all of this:

1. Scalability: Designing systems that can scale to handle increasing…