Cianplan

Level 0: Orientation & prerequisites · L0.1 How the internet works & the design interview frame

The design loop (how every design session runs)

Run the 4 steps: scope, high-level design, deep dive, wrap-up.

12 min · Free

What you take away

  • Every design session runs the same loop: scope, high-level design, deep dive, wrap-up.
  • Requirements and numbers come before boxes, because the numbers are what choose the boxes.
  • In a 45-minute session, budget roughly 5 / 15 / 20 / 5 minutes and say the budget out loud.
  • You are scored on defended trade-offs, not on matching a hidden reference design.

How the class is laid out

  1. The problem
  2. The loop
  3. Request lifecycle
  4. Scaling
  5. Latency vs throughput
  6. The design loop
  7. Check your understanding