My Favorite System Design Interview Guides and RoadMaps

Hello guys, if you have been preparing for Software Developer or Software Engineer interviews, you may know how important they are. Still, you may not know that System design also plays a crucial role in building robust and scalable software applications.

It involves making critical architecture, components, scalability, and performance decisions. To help engineers navigate the complexities of system design, several System design interview guides, cheat sheets, road maps, and templates have emerged as valuable resources.

In the past, I have shared the best System Design courses, books, websites, and even popular System design questions. This article will explore three notable system design cheat sheets worth reading: the System Design Cheat Sheet from Educative, the System Design Template from DesignGuru, and the System Design RoadMap from Love Sharma on Medium.

Let’s dive in!

And, if you have not read yet, here are my previous articles on System design which you can read now

3 System Design Interview Guides and Templates for Programmers

Without wasting any more of your time, here are three of the best System Design cheat sheet, RoadMaps, Blueprints, and Templates you can find online:

1. System Design Blueprint by Love Sharma and ByteByteGo on Medium

This System design blueprint is created by

Love Sharma, a tech enthusiast and experienced software engineer collaborating with ByteByteGo, is one of my favorite places to learn System Design. This System Design blueprint offers a practical and insightful approach to system design. This template provides a step-by-step guide to designing scalable and fault-tolerant systems.

It covers various aspects, including DNS, Load Balancing, Scalability, system requirements, architecture, data storage, communication protocols, and performance optimization. Love Sharma’s System design blueprint also includes valuable information in sections, including best practices and explanations, helping readers understand the practical application of system design principles.

Here is the System Design blueprint, which is worth reading and printing to stick on your desktop:

Suppose you are preparing for a System design interview. In that case, you can also check out ByteByteGo, one of the great platforms for System design interview preparation, by Alex Xu, author of the famous System Design Interview — An Insider’s Guide Book.

And here is the full article you can read on Medium itself

2. System Design Interview Cheat Sheet by Educative

Educative is renowned for its comprehensive technical courses, and its System Design Cheat Sheet lives up to the platform’s reputation. This cheat sheet provides a concise overview of the key components and considerations involved in system design, which are critical for any System design interview.

It covers data partitioning, load balancing, caching, database choices, and communication protocols. The cheat sheet offers clear explanations, diagrams, and examples, making it an excellent resource for beginners and experienced engineers.

Here is the fantastic System Design Interview cheat sheet by Educative, which is worth reading and printing:

And, if you want, you can check out Educative’s awesome Grokking Modern System Design for Software Engineers & Managers, one of the most up-to-date and comprehensive courses for System design interviews.

You can join this course alone or get an Educative subscription to access this course and more than 500 courses on all kinds of programming and development technologies, including interviews.

3. System Design Template from DesignGuru

DesignGuru’s System Design Template is a comprehensive and structured approach to system design. This template guides engineers through the system design process, from defining requirements to evaluating trade-offs.

This template is created by

Arslan Ahmad, founder of DesignGuru. It covers essential aspects such as system architecture, data modeling, scalability, fault tolerance, and security. The template provides a systematic framework that ensures engineers consider all necessary aspects while designing robust and scalable systems.

Here is the System Design Template from DesignGuru, which is another excellent resource to learn about System Design concepts:

And, if you want more, you can also check out Grokking, the System Design Interview course, one of the most popular System Design courses online on DesignGuru. It was earlier available on Educative, but now only on Design Guru.

Other System Design Resources for Interviews

If you are preparing for interviews, then here are a few more System Design resources that are worth their salt:

• CodeKarle’s System Design Interview Course on Udemy
• System Design Interview course and Mock Interview by Exponent
• System Design Interview Course on ByteByteGo by Alex Wu
• Grokking the System Design Interview on DesignGuru
• Mastering the System Design Interview by Frank Kane
• Software Design and Architecture Specialization [Coursera]
• Web Application & Software Architecture 101 [Educative.io]
• Pragmatic System Design [Udemy Course]
• Grokking Modern System Design for Software Engineers & Managers

Conclusion

That’s all about the best System Design Interview guides, cheat sheets, roadmaps, and templates you can review before your tech interviews. System design is a critical skill for software engineers, and having reliable resources can significantly enhance the design process.

The System Design Cheat Sheet from Educative, the System Design Template from Design Guru, and the System Design Template from Love Sharma on Medium are three valuable resources that offer different approaches to system design.

Whether you prefer a concise overview, a structured template, or a practical step-by-step guide, these cheat sheets provide valuable insights, examples, and best practices to improve your system design skills. By leveraging these resources, you can enhance your ability to design scalable, efficient, and robust software systems and do well in interviews.

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Thanks for reading this article so far. If you know any other excellent online resources like websites or programming platforms to learn System Design and Software Designing, especially for beginners, which you think complement these two websites, then feel free to share. Everybody loves excellent resources and happy learning System design.

P. S. — If you are looking for the best online course to learn System Design in-depth, I suggest you check out Frank Kane’s Mastering the System Design Interview course on Udemy. Frank is an ex-hiring manager and knows what it takes to crack System design interviews of those big FAANG companies.

Alternatively, you can join Alex Yu’s System Design Interview — An Insider’s Guide and ByteByteGo for a complete System design Interview preparation.