System Design Interviews (Scalable Architecture) Curriculum

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Curriculum

System Design Interviews (Scalable Architecture)

Learn to design large-scale systems like Netflix, Uber, Instagram. Master load balancing, caching, databases, and microservices.

Duration: 24 Weeks
Level: Advanced
Study Time: 6 hours/week + labs
School: Software Engineering

Welcome to System Design Interviews! 🎓

This curriculum for System Design Interviews (Scalable Architecture) follows a Bloom-aligned progression from practical foundations to measurable professional outcomes, with weekly evidence, labs, and portfolio outputs matched to advanced expectations.

Each week advances from comprehension and application toward evaluation and creation, ensuring progressive learning and capstone readiness.

Your success is our priority. System design interviews are the gate to senior engineering roles at every major technology company. This course is specifically built to get you through that gate. You will graduate with a professionally curated portfolio that demonstrates scope, depth, and delivery quality. You will graduate with a professionally curated portfolio that demonstrates scope, depth, and delivery quality. You will graduate with a professionally curated portfolio that demonstrates scope, depth, and delivery quality. You will graduate with a professionally curated portfolio that demonstrates scope, depth, and delivery quality.

Essential Resources

  • Design system templates, component libraries, and accessibility audit checklists
  • Figma starter kits with typography scales, color systems, and responsive breakpoints
  • Usability testing scripts and design critique frameworks

Complementary Courses

Backend Engineering: Scalable Architectures

Build and operate the systems you design in interviews — connecting architectural reasoning to real implementation experience.

DevOps Engineering & Cloud Infrastructure

Understand the infrastructure and delivery layer that production systems run on — adding practical depth to your architectural designs.

Intro to Algorithms & Problem Solving

Reinforce the algorithmic knowledge that underpins data structure decisions in system design — sharding, index structures, and queue implementations.

Advanced JavaScript Mastery

Combine system design preparation with deep JavaScript knowledge for complete senior-level engineering interview readiness.

Learning Roadmap

  • Early Weeks: Design fundamentals, visual hierarchy, and component basics
  • Middle Weeks: Design systems, accessibility standards, and interaction patterns
  • Late Weeks: Portfolio building, stakeholder communication, and design leadership
  • Indexing, Sharding, and Replication
  • Message Queues and Asynchronous Processing
  • Consistency, Availability, and CAP Trade-Offs
  • Real-Time Systems: WebSockets, Pub/Sub, and Streams
  • Monitoring, Logging, and Operational Signals
  • Reliability, Redundancy, and Disaster Recovery
  • Designing a News Feed or Social Timeline
  • Designing an E-Commerce Checkout or Order System
  • Designing Video or File Upload Platforms

Detailed Weekly Curriculum

Each week includes outcomes and practical lab work aligned to the curriculum structure.

Week 1

Interview Frameworks and Requirement Clarification

6 hours/week + labs
Learning Outcomes
  • Analyze the principles of Interview Frameworks and Requirement Clarification and link them to course outcomes at advanced depth with architecture-level decision quality.
  • Evaluate Interview Frameworks and Requirement Clarification in a guided scenario using realistic tools, constraints, and quality gates.
  • Design trade-offs, risks, and decision points for Interview Frameworks and Requirement Clarification, then record rationale for stakeholder review.
  • Justify a portfolio-ready design system case study for Interview Frameworks and Requirement Clarification with measurable success criteria and next actions.
  • Track measurable progress using rubric scores, defect/risk trends, and evidence completeness each week.
  • Run a short retrospective focused on what to retain, improve, and scale into the following week.
  • Incorporate peer or mentor feedback and revise the week deliverable to professional publication quality.
  • Publish the week output into your cumulative portfolio with concise outcome narrative and proof artifacts.
Week 2

Estimation, Capacity Planning, and Back-of-the-Envelope Math

6 hours/week + labs
Learning Outcomes
  • Analyze the principles of Estimation, Capacity Planning, and Back-of-the-Envelope Math and link them to course outcomes at advanced depth with architecture-level decision quality.
  • Evaluate Estimation, Capacity Planning, and Back-of-the-Envelope Math in a guided scenario using realistic tools, constraints, and quality gates.
  • Design trade-offs, risks, and decision points for Estimation, Capacity Planning, and Back-of-the-Envelope Math, then record rationale for stakeholder review.
  • Justify a portfolio-ready design system case study for Estimation, Capacity Planning, and Back-of-the-Envelope Math with measurable success criteria and next actions.
  • Track measurable progress using rubric scores, defect/risk trends, and evidence completeness each week.
  • Run a short retrospective focused on what to retain, improve, and scale into the following week.
  • Incorporate peer or mentor feedback and revise the week deliverable to professional publication quality.
  • Publish the week output into your cumulative portfolio with concise outcome narrative and proof artifacts.
Week 3

APIs, Clients, and Request Flow Modeling

6 hours/week + labs
Learning Outcomes
  • Analyze the principles of APIs, Clients, and Request Flow Modeling and link them to course outcomes at advanced depth with architecture-level decision quality.
  • Evaluate APIs, Clients, and Request Flow Modeling in a guided scenario using realistic tools, constraints, and quality gates.
  • Design trade-offs, risks, and decision points for APIs, Clients, and Request Flow Modeling, then record rationale for stakeholder review.
  • Justify a portfolio-ready design system case study for APIs, Clients, and Request Flow Modeling with measurable success criteria and next actions.
  • Track measurable progress using rubric scores, defect/risk trends, and evidence completeness each week.
  • Run a short retrospective focused on what to retain, improve, and scale into the following week.
  • Incorporate peer or mentor feedback and revise the week deliverable to professional publication quality.
  • Publish the week output into your cumulative portfolio with concise outcome narrative and proof artifacts.
Week 4

Load Balancers, Reverse Proxies, and CDN Basics

6 hours/week + labs
Learning Outcomes
  • Analyze the principles of Load Balancers, Reverse Proxies, and CDN Basics and link them to course outcomes at advanced depth with architecture-level decision quality.
  • Evaluate Load Balancers, Reverse Proxies, and CDN Basics in a guided scenario using realistic tools, constraints, and quality gates.
  • Design trade-offs, risks, and decision points for Load Balancers, Reverse Proxies, and CDN Basics, then record rationale for stakeholder review.
  • Justify a portfolio-ready design system case study for Load Balancers, Reverse Proxies, and CDN Basics with measurable success criteria and next actions.
  • Track measurable progress using rubric scores, defect/risk trends, and evidence completeness each week.
  • Run a short retrospective focused on what to retain, improve, and scale into the following week.
  • Incorporate peer or mentor feedback and revise the week deliverable to professional publication quality.
  • Publish the week output into your cumulative portfolio with concise outcome narrative and proof artifacts.
Week 5

Caching Strategies and Cache Invalidation

6 hours/week + labs
Learning Outcomes
  • Analyze the principles of Caching Strategies and Cache Invalidation and link them to course outcomes at advanced depth with architecture-level decision quality.
  • Evaluate Caching Strategies and Cache Invalidation in a guided scenario using realistic tools, constraints, and quality gates.
  • Design trade-offs, risks, and decision points for Caching Strategies and Cache Invalidation, then record rationale for stakeholder review.
  • Justify a portfolio-ready design system case study for Caching Strategies and Cache Invalidation with measurable success criteria and next actions.
  • Track measurable progress using rubric scores, defect/risk trends, and evidence completeness each week.
  • Run a short retrospective focused on what to retain, improve, and scale into the following week.
  • Incorporate peer or mentor feedback and revise the week deliverable to professional publication quality.
  • Publish the week output into your cumulative portfolio with concise outcome narrative and proof artifacts.
Week 6

Databases: SQL versus NoSQL Trade-Offs

6 hours/week + labs
Learning Outcomes
  • Analyze the principles of Databases: SQL versus NoSQL Trade-Offs and link them to course outcomes at advanced depth with architecture-level decision quality.
  • Evaluate Databases: SQL versus NoSQL Trade-Offs in a guided scenario using realistic tools, constraints, and quality gates.
  • Design trade-offs, risks, and decision points for Databases: SQL versus NoSQL Trade-Offs, then record rationale for stakeholder review.
  • Justify a portfolio-ready design system case study for Databases: SQL versus NoSQL Trade-Offs with measurable success criteria and next actions.
  • Track measurable progress using rubric scores, defect/risk trends, and evidence completeness each week.
  • Run a short retrospective focused on what to retain, improve, and scale into the following week.
  • Incorporate peer or mentor feedback and revise the week deliverable to professional publication quality.
  • Publish the week output into your cumulative portfolio with concise outcome narrative and proof artifacts.
Week 7

Indexing, Sharding, and Replication

6 hours/week + labs
Learning Outcomes
  • Analyze the principles of Indexing, Sharding, and Replication and link them to course outcomes at advanced depth with architecture-level decision quality.
  • Evaluate Indexing, Sharding, and Replication in a guided scenario using realistic tools, constraints, and quality gates.
  • Design trade-offs, risks, and decision points for Indexing, Sharding, and Replication, then record rationale for stakeholder review.
  • Justify a portfolio-ready design system case study for Indexing, Sharding, and Replication with measurable success criteria and next actions.
  • Track measurable progress using rubric scores, defect/risk trends, and evidence completeness each week.
  • Run a short retrospective focused on what to retain, improve, and scale into the following week.
  • Incorporate peer or mentor feedback and revise the week deliverable to professional publication quality.
  • Publish the week output into your cumulative portfolio with concise outcome narrative and proof artifacts.
Week 8

Message Queues and Asynchronous Processing

6 hours/week + labs
Learning Outcomes
  • Analyze the principles of Message Queues and Asynchronous Processing and link them to course outcomes at advanced depth with architecture-level decision quality.
  • Evaluate Message Queues and Asynchronous Processing in a guided scenario using realistic tools, constraints, and quality gates.
  • Design trade-offs, risks, and decision points for Message Queues and Asynchronous Processing, then record rationale for stakeholder review.
  • Justify a portfolio-ready design system case study for Message Queues and Asynchronous Processing with measurable success criteria and next actions.
  • Track measurable progress using rubric scores, defect/risk trends, and evidence completeness each week.
  • Run a short retrospective focused on what to retain, improve, and scale into the following week.
  • Incorporate peer or mentor feedback and revise the week deliverable to professional publication quality.
  • Publish the week output into your cumulative portfolio with concise outcome narrative and proof artifacts.
Week 9

Consistency, Availability, and CAP Trade-Offs

6 hours/week + labs
Learning Outcomes
  • Evaluate the principles of Consistency, Availability, and CAP Trade-Offs and link them to course outcomes at advanced depth with architecture-level decision quality.
  • Design Consistency, Availability, and CAP Trade-Offs in a guided scenario using realistic tools, constraints, and quality gates.
  • Optimize trade-offs, risks, and decision points for Consistency, Availability, and CAP Trade-Offs, then record rationale for stakeholder review.
  • Justify a portfolio-ready design system case study for Consistency, Availability, and CAP Trade-Offs with measurable success criteria and next actions.
  • Track measurable progress using rubric scores, defect/risk trends, and evidence completeness each week.
  • Run a short retrospective focused on what to retain, improve, and scale into the following week.
  • Incorporate peer or mentor feedback and revise the week deliverable to professional publication quality.
  • Publish the week output into your cumulative portfolio with concise outcome narrative and proof artifacts.
Week 10

Object Storage, Blobs, and Media Delivery

6 hours/week + labs
Learning Outcomes
  • Evaluate the principles of Object Storage, Blobs, and Media Delivery and link them to course outcomes at advanced depth with architecture-level decision quality.
  • Design Object Storage, Blobs, and Media Delivery in a guided scenario using realistic tools, constraints, and quality gates.
  • Optimize trade-offs, risks, and decision points for Object Storage, Blobs, and Media Delivery, then record rationale for stakeholder review.
  • Justify a portfolio-ready design system case study for Object Storage, Blobs, and Media Delivery with measurable success criteria and next actions.
  • Track measurable progress using rubric scores, defect/risk trends, and evidence completeness each week.
  • Run a short retrospective focused on what to retain, improve, and scale into the following week.
  • Incorporate peer or mentor feedback and revise the week deliverable to professional publication quality.
  • Publish the week output into your cumulative portfolio with concise outcome narrative and proof artifacts.
Week 11

Rate Limiting, Idempotency, and Abuse Protection

6 hours/week + labs
Learning Outcomes
  • Evaluate the principles of Rate Limiting, Idempotency, and Abuse Protection and link them to course outcomes at advanced depth with architecture-level decision quality.
  • Design Rate Limiting, Idempotency, and Abuse Protection in a guided scenario using realistic tools, constraints, and quality gates.
  • Optimize trade-offs, risks, and decision points for Rate Limiting, Idempotency, and Abuse Protection, then record rationale for stakeholder review.
  • Justify a portfolio-ready design system case study for Rate Limiting, Idempotency, and Abuse Protection with measurable success criteria and next actions.
  • Track measurable progress using rubric scores, defect/risk trends, and evidence completeness each week.
  • Run a short retrospective focused on what to retain, improve, and scale into the following week.
  • Incorporate peer or mentor feedback and revise the week deliverable to professional publication quality.
  • Publish the week output into your cumulative portfolio with concise outcome narrative and proof artifacts.
Week 12

Search Systems and Ranking Basics

6 hours/week + labs
Learning Outcomes
  • Evaluate the principles of Search Systems and Ranking Basics and link them to course outcomes at advanced depth with architecture-level decision quality.
  • Design Search Systems and Ranking Basics in a guided scenario using realistic tools, constraints, and quality gates.
  • Optimize trade-offs, risks, and decision points for Search Systems and Ranking Basics, then record rationale for stakeholder review.
  • Justify a portfolio-ready design system case study for Search Systems and Ranking Basics with measurable success criteria and next actions.
  • Track measurable progress using rubric scores, defect/risk trends, and evidence completeness each week.
  • Run a short retrospective focused on what to retain, improve, and scale into the following week.
  • Incorporate peer or mentor feedback and revise the week deliverable to professional publication quality.
  • Publish the week output into your cumulative portfolio with concise outcome narrative and proof artifacts.
Week 13

Real-Time Systems: WebSockets, Pub/Sub, and Streams

6 hours/week + labs
Learning Outcomes
  • Evaluate the principles of Real-Time Systems: WebSockets, Pub/Sub, and Streams and link them to course outcomes at advanced depth with architecture-level decision quality.
  • Design Real-Time Systems: WebSockets, Pub/Sub, and Streams in a guided scenario using realistic tools, constraints, and quality gates.
  • Optimize trade-offs, risks, and decision points for Real-Time Systems: WebSockets, Pub/Sub, and Streams, then record rationale for stakeholder review.
  • Justify a portfolio-ready design system case study for Real-Time Systems: WebSockets, Pub/Sub, and Streams with measurable success criteria and next actions.
  • Track measurable progress using rubric scores, defect/risk trends, and evidence completeness each week.
  • Run a short retrospective focused on what to retain, improve, and scale into the following week.
  • Incorporate peer or mentor feedback and revise the week deliverable to professional publication quality.
  • Publish the week output into your cumulative portfolio with concise outcome narrative and proof artifacts.
Week 14

Monitoring, Logging, and Operational Signals

6 hours/week + labs
Learning Outcomes
  • Evaluate the principles of Monitoring, Logging, and Operational Signals and link them to course outcomes at advanced depth with architecture-level decision quality.
  • Design Monitoring, Logging, and Operational Signals in a guided scenario using realistic tools, constraints, and quality gates.
  • Optimize trade-offs, risks, and decision points for Monitoring, Logging, and Operational Signals, then record rationale for stakeholder review.
  • Justify a portfolio-ready design system case study for Monitoring, Logging, and Operational Signals with measurable success criteria and next actions.
  • Track measurable progress using rubric scores, defect/risk trends, and evidence completeness each week.
  • Run a short retrospective focused on what to retain, improve, and scale into the following week.
  • Incorporate peer or mentor feedback and revise the week deliverable to professional publication quality.
  • Publish the week output into your cumulative portfolio with concise outcome narrative and proof artifacts.
Week 15

Reliability, Redundancy, and Disaster Recovery

6 hours/week + labs
Learning Outcomes
  • Evaluate the principles of Reliability, Redundancy, and Disaster Recovery and link them to course outcomes at advanced depth with architecture-level decision quality.
  • Design Reliability, Redundancy, and Disaster Recovery in a guided scenario using realistic tools, constraints, and quality gates.
  • Optimize trade-offs, risks, and decision points for Reliability, Redundancy, and Disaster Recovery, then record rationale for stakeholder review.
  • Justify a portfolio-ready design system case study for Reliability, Redundancy, and Disaster Recovery with measurable success criteria and next actions.
  • Track measurable progress using rubric scores, defect/risk trends, and evidence completeness each week.
  • Run a short retrospective focused on what to retain, improve, and scale into the following week.
  • Incorporate peer or mentor feedback and revise the week deliverable to professional publication quality.
  • Publish the week output into your cumulative portfolio with concise outcome narrative and proof artifacts.
Week 16

Security, Authentication, and Multi-Tenant Isolation

6 hours/week + labs
Learning Outcomes
  • Evaluate the principles of Security, Authentication, and Multi-Tenant Isolation and link them to course outcomes at advanced depth with architecture-level decision quality.
  • Design Security, Authentication, and Multi-Tenant Isolation in a guided scenario using realistic tools, constraints, and quality gates.
  • Optimize trade-offs, risks, and decision points for Security, Authentication, and Multi-Tenant Isolation, then record rationale for stakeholder review.
  • Justify a portfolio-ready design system case study for Security, Authentication, and Multi-Tenant Isolation with measurable success criteria and next actions.
  • Track measurable progress using rubric scores, defect/risk trends, and evidence completeness each week.
  • Run a short retrospective focused on what to retain, improve, and scale into the following week.
  • Incorporate peer or mentor feedback and revise the week deliverable to professional publication quality.
  • Publish the week output into your cumulative portfolio with concise outcome narrative and proof artifacts.
Week 17

Designing a URL Shortener

6 hours/week + labs
Learning Outcomes
  • Design the principles of Designing a URL Shortener and link them to course outcomes at advanced depth with architecture-level decision quality.
  • Optimize Designing a URL Shortener in a guided scenario using realistic tools, constraints, and quality gates.
  • Architect trade-offs, risks, and decision points for Designing a URL Shortener, then record rationale for stakeholder review.
  • Defend a portfolio-ready design system case study for Designing a URL Shortener with measurable success criteria and next actions.
  • Track measurable progress using rubric scores, defect/risk trends, and evidence completeness each week.
  • Run a short retrospective focused on what to retain, improve, and scale into the following week.
  • Incorporate peer or mentor feedback and revise the week deliverable to professional publication quality.
  • Publish the week output into your cumulative portfolio with concise outcome narrative and proof artifacts.
Week 18

Designing a Chat or Notification System

6 hours/week + labs
Learning Outcomes
  • Design the principles of Designing a Chat or Notification System and link them to course outcomes at advanced depth with architecture-level decision quality.
  • Optimize Designing a Chat or Notification System in a guided scenario using realistic tools, constraints, and quality gates.
  • Architect trade-offs, risks, and decision points for Designing a Chat or Notification System, then record rationale for stakeholder review.
  • Defend a portfolio-ready design system case study for Designing a Chat or Notification System with measurable success criteria and next actions.
  • Track measurable progress using rubric scores, defect/risk trends, and evidence completeness each week.
  • Run a short retrospective focused on what to retain, improve, and scale into the following week.
  • Incorporate peer or mentor feedback and revise the week deliverable to professional publication quality.
  • Publish the week output into your cumulative portfolio with concise outcome narrative and proof artifacts.
Week 19

Designing a News Feed or Social Timeline

6 hours/week + labs
Learning Outcomes
  • Design the principles of Designing a News Feed or Social Timeline and link them to course outcomes at advanced depth with architecture-level decision quality.
  • Optimize Designing a News Feed or Social Timeline in a guided scenario using realistic tools, constraints, and quality gates.
  • Architect trade-offs, risks, and decision points for Designing a News Feed or Social Timeline, then record rationale for stakeholder review.
  • Defend a portfolio-ready design system case study for Designing a News Feed or Social Timeline with measurable success criteria and next actions.
  • Track measurable progress using rubric scores, defect/risk trends, and evidence completeness each week.
  • Run a short retrospective focused on what to retain, improve, and scale into the following week.
  • Incorporate peer or mentor feedback and revise the week deliverable to professional publication quality.
  • Publish the week output into your cumulative portfolio with concise outcome narrative and proof artifacts.
Week 20

Designing an E-Commerce Checkout or Order System

6 hours/week + labs
Learning Outcomes
  • Design the principles of Designing an E-Commerce Checkout or Order System and link them to course outcomes at advanced depth with architecture-level decision quality.
  • Optimize Designing an E-Commerce Checkout or Order System in a guided scenario using realistic tools, constraints, and quality gates.
  • Architect trade-offs, risks, and decision points for Designing an E-Commerce Checkout or Order System, then record rationale for stakeholder review.
  • Defend a portfolio-ready design system case study for Designing an E-Commerce Checkout or Order System with measurable success criteria and next actions.
  • Track measurable progress using rubric scores, defect/risk trends, and evidence completeness each week.
  • Run a short retrospective focused on what to retain, improve, and scale into the following week.
  • Incorporate peer or mentor feedback and revise the week deliverable to professional publication quality.
  • Publish the week output into your cumulative portfolio with concise outcome narrative and proof artifacts.
Week 21

Designing Video or File Upload Platforms

6 hours/week + labs
Learning Outcomes
  • Design the principles of Designing Video or File Upload Platforms and link them to course outcomes at advanced depth with architecture-level decision quality.
  • Optimize Designing Video or File Upload Platforms in a guided scenario using realistic tools, constraints, and quality gates.
  • Architect trade-offs, risks, and decision points for Designing Video or File Upload Platforms, then record rationale for stakeholder review.
  • Defend a portfolio-ready design system case study for Designing Video or File Upload Platforms with measurable success criteria and next actions.
  • Track measurable progress using rubric scores, defect/risk trends, and evidence completeness each week.
  • Run a short retrospective focused on what to retain, improve, and scale into the following week.
  • Incorporate peer or mentor feedback and revise the week deliverable to professional publication quality.
  • Publish the week output into your cumulative portfolio with concise outcome narrative and proof artifacts.
Week 22

Whiteboard Practice: End-to-End Architecture Defense

6 hours/week + labs
Learning Outcomes
  • Design the principles of Whiteboard Practice: End-to-End Architecture Defense and link them to course outcomes at advanced depth with architecture-level decision quality.
  • Optimize Whiteboard Practice: End-to-End Architecture Defense in a guided scenario using realistic tools, constraints, and quality gates.
  • Architect trade-offs, risks, and decision points for Whiteboard Practice: End-to-End Architecture Defense, then record rationale for stakeholder review.
  • Defend a portfolio-ready design system case study for Whiteboard Practice: End-to-End Architecture Defense with measurable success criteria and next actions.
  • Track measurable progress using rubric scores, defect/risk trends, and evidence completeness each week.
  • Run a short retrospective focused on what to retain, improve, and scale into the following week.
  • Incorporate peer or mentor feedback and revise the week deliverable to professional publication quality.
  • Publish the week output into your cumulative portfolio with concise outcome narrative and proof artifacts.
Week 23

Mock Interview Round and Feedback Integration

6 hours/week + labs
Learning Outcomes
  • Design the principles of Mock Interview Round and Feedback Integration and link them to course outcomes at advanced depth with architecture-level decision quality.
  • Optimize Mock Interview Round and Feedback Integration in a guided scenario using realistic tools, constraints, and quality gates.
  • Architect trade-offs, risks, and decision points for Mock Interview Round and Feedback Integration, then record rationale for stakeholder review.
  • Defend a portfolio-ready design system case study for Mock Interview Round and Feedback Integration with measurable success criteria and next actions.
  • Track measurable progress using rubric scores, defect/risk trends, and evidence completeness each week.
  • Run a short retrospective focused on what to retain, improve, and scale into the following week.
  • Incorporate peer or mentor feedback and revise the week deliverable to professional publication quality.
  • Publish the week output into your cumulative portfolio with concise outcome narrative and proof artifacts.
Week 24

Final Interview Playbook, Trade-Off Narration, and Review

6 hours/week + labs
Learning Outcomes
  • Design the principles of Final Interview Playbook, Trade-Off Narration, and Review and link them to course outcomes at advanced depth with architecture-level decision quality.
  • Optimize Final Interview Playbook, Trade-Off Narration, and Review in a guided scenario using realistic tools, constraints, and quality gates.
  • Architect trade-offs, risks, and decision points for Final Interview Playbook, Trade-Off Narration, and Review, then record rationale for stakeholder review.
  • Defend a portfolio-ready design system case study for Final Interview Playbook, Trade-Off Narration, and Review with measurable success criteria and next actions.
  • Track measurable progress using rubric scores, defect/risk trends, and evidence completeness each week.
  • Run a short retrospective focused on what to retain, improve, and scale into the following week.
  • Incorporate peer or mentor feedback and revise the week deliverable to professional publication quality.
  • Publish the week output into your cumulative portfolio with concise outcome narrative and proof artifacts.

Capstone Projects

Project 1: Foundational Architecture Interview Pack

Create a complete response package for a medium-scale system design prompt.

  • Requirement breakdown, architecture diagram, and API/data model proposal
  • Capacity and bottleneck analysis with scaling options
  • Structured explanation script suitable for a 30- to 45-minute interview

Project 2: Distributed Systems Deep-Dive Practice

Solve an advanced distributed design scenario with explicit reliability and consistency trade-offs.

  • Detailed design covering messaging, storage, caching, and failure handling
  • Trade-off matrix across latency, consistency, availability, and cost
  • Mock feedback report and iterative improvement notes

Project 3: Final System Design Interview Playbook

Deliver a polished interview playbook with reusable frameworks and high-confidence narratives.

  • End-to-end mock interview portfolio with corrected weaknesses
  • Question bank responses for common follow-up challenges
  • Final readiness checklist and week-by-week practice cadence