System Design Interviews have long been a crucial part of technical hiring. A system design interview is vital in securing your next position if you’re a software developer looking for work.
Preparation for the challenges you encounter during these interviews is essential for success. In this article, we’ll go over 6 basic system design interview questions that you should be prepared for if you want to get the next job of your dreams.
System Design Interview – An Illustration
In a system design interview, candidates are asked to create a backend system, frequently on a real or digital whiteboard. Applicants are required to describe their response, including their reasoning behind it vocally.
System design questions give applicants a peek into a business’s technology stack and workings while letting hiring managers know how the applicant approaches problems. The optimal format for these interviews is for the candidate to speak aloud while considering various system components, such as scalability, storage, dependability, and others. System design interviews are more frequently conducted during the hiring process for senior-level positions, while they may also be undertaken with developers with different degrees of expertise.
Interviews for the system design industry are regarded as among the most challenging. Hence, for them to be successful, systems basics and thorough planning are essential. System design questions are inherently broad, open-ended inquiries with many potential solutions.
Further, if you are a beginner in system design, you can refer to the comprehensive system design course offered by Learnbay.
System Design Interview Questions
System design interview questions can be used in various ways to help to hire managers to highlight a developer’s abilities and potential. Depending on the role’s experience level, these tests’ complexity and make-up typically vary.
Software engineers should strive to show their capacity for designing and creating scalable, integrated systems while responding to questions of this nature.
The following is a set of the different system design interview questions an engineer might be asked.
Q 1) Design a Flash Sale System
Your business has introduced a popular new product. Flash sales have been suggested as a marketing strategy. The following are the characteristics of a flash product sale:
- At a specific time, the sale begins.
- There’s a chance that there are more inquiries for the goods than units in stock.
- Just one product unit may be purchased per user.
- There is no “Add to Cart” feature available.
- First-come, first-served orders should be accepted, and the item should be discontinued as soon as its entire supply is used up.
Create a system using diagramming tools that implements these elements in a reliable, scalable manner.
Important factors:
- Add an API request when the user selects the “add to cart” button, and display a loader until the API response.
- The backend API must process the requests in the queue.
- Return a ‘no stock’ error immediately if more requests than stocks are available.
- If not, simply include a success message and the order id in the response while continuing to process the queue in the background.
- When you get an answer, halt the loader up front.
- Show the proper error if there is one, and take the product off the list.
- Display the success status if it was successful.
Q 2) Design a ride-sharing service.
Provide a ride-sharing system that enables customers to order rides using an app. The solution should consider both drivers’ and passengers’ workflows.
Important factors:
- Transaction processing
- Payment method storage and encryption
- App messages and push notifications
- Managing user and driver data in databases (SQL, MySQL)
- cryptography and data privacy
- Technology for mapping and GPS
- Aggregated ratings and user reviews
- Data analysis to spot trends and activity peaks Picture hosting system.
Q 3) Design a basic social media application.
A typical system design question evaluates a candidate’s capability to map out the architecture of various technologies by asking them to build a social media application. You must be familiar with multiple subjects to respond to this question well, including databases, media hosting, and algorithms.
There’s a significant possibility you’ll be asked this during an interview because social media businesses are among the biggest employers of software developers.
Important Factors:
- Ranking formulas
- Databases for user data management (SQL, MySQL)
- Privacy protections
- Elements of engagement (following, liking, commenting, sharing)
- Storing and hosting user-generated material (images, video, gifs)
- Database design
Note: Visit Learnbay which provides DSA course and system design course, for professionals wanting to advance themselves.
Q 4) Design a streaming video service.
Provide a service that streams videos for users to view and search. Internal teams should be allowed to upload content through the back end using the service. The service must accommodate many users on the platform and be highly scalable. Large data files should be able to be uploaded, stored, edited, and transmitted via the program.
Important Factors:
- Databases for user data management (SQL, MySQL)
- Host for videos and images
- Age restrictions and privacy protections
- Elements of engagement (following, liking, commenting, sharing)
- Recording information on the success of the video algorithm for ranking and recommending content push notifications and announcements
- Video player capabilities
Q 5) Design a service that shortens URLs
Provide a URL shortening service that produces a small and distinct URL when a user types in a long URL. TinyURL and bit.ly are two examples of applications that provide this functionality. Yet, numerous other digital firms, including YouTube, have their own URL-shortening services integrated into their features.
Important factors:
- Creating a distinctive, brief URL
- Scaling to accommodate a large number of requests
- Support for unique URLs and the ability to reroute users from the short link to the original
- Analytics and click-tracking
- High uptime and availability
Q 6) Design a service for storing and exchanging files.
Create a service that hosts files and allows users to upload, store, modify, download, share, and remove files. The service should offer synchronization across numerous devices. Examples of this type of service are Google Drive and Dropbox.
Important factors:
- File management capabilities (upload, view, download)
- Device synchronization that happens automatically
- Database transactions have ACID characteristics.
- Sharing files and monitoring permissions
- Search capabilities to find files
- Big file storage
Interview Tips for system design
System design interviews can be challenging since they require candidates to orally convey intricate, technical topics. It helps to frame your response using an answering approach to get around this. Here are a few tried-and-true techniques to use in your upcoming interview for a system design position.
Focusing on real-world examples might help you ground the specifics of your response. An example of a time you resolved a similar issue gives your answer more substance and credibility. Proving to the hiring manager that you have already carried out the position’s duties also strengthens your application.
STAR Method
Use the STAR technique to respond to a question about problem-solving or design in an interview. It is said to be the most effective method.
- Situation: Describing and identifying the conditions is an excellent way to answer any interview question.
- Task: Set a clear objective or problem that has to be solved. This stage is crucial when responding to technical problem-solving queries since system design concerns are sometimes multidimensional.
- Action: What approach would you take to fix the issue? How have you handled problems like these in the past? Which technology will you employ? Try to be explicit and break down your plan into manageable phases if you can.
- Result: Finish by describing the outcome attained.
I hope this list of system design interview questions helped you in your career journey. Make sure to try them out before attending your next technical interview. If you want to learn everything from scratch or want to upgrade your skills, feel free to check out the full stack software developer course in Pune. The course will help you become an expert developer in just 6 months of practical training.
