Shadowing Practice: How to Answer System Design Interview Questions (Complete Guide) - Learn English Speaking with Video
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Let's talk about how to answer system design questions.
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One of the interviews you'll likely need to prepare for
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if you're applying for a technical role like software engineer or technical program manager is a system design interview.
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Before we dive into how to answer a system design question, let's talk about what its purpose actually is.
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This interview evaluates your ability to design a system or architecture to solve a complex problem in a real world setting.
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Bear in mind that it doesn't really aim test your ability to create a 100% perfect solution.
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Instead, it assesses your ability to design the blueprint of the architecture,
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analyze a complex problem, discuss multiple solutions and clearly weigh the pros and cons to reach a workable solution.
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So now that we know what this interview is and what it's testing for, let's talk about how to approach it.
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Now, unlike a coding interview, a system design interview usually involves open-ended design problems,
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which means that it's really helpful to use a framework to organize your thoughts quickly and answer the question systematically.
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Pun intended.
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After all, you're being asked to solve a problem
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that would take a whole team of engineers to solve in the real world, and you need to do it in only 45 minutes.
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So a framework helps us to manage time, communicate very clearly, and build towards a productive outcome logically.
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Once you're familiar with the framework, you can apply it every time you encounter a system design interview question.
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So what's the framework?
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There are five steps.
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Step one, define the problem space.
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Here, we understand the problem and define the scope of the design.
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It's your job to ask lots of questions in order to shrink the scope of the problem from broad
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and vague to narrow and specific with system constraints.
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You really want to avoid jumping into the design without doing this first.
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Then you want to clarify both functional and non-functional requirements.
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What's in and out of scope?
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Remember to state your assumptions and decisions to your interviewer so that they know where you're at.
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Think of it like taking your interviewer on a guided tour.
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Make sure you're explicitly taking them with you and explaining every step of the journey.
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Also consider whether you're creating the system from scratch.
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Who are our clients or consumers?
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Do we need to talk to pieces of the existing system?
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What are those existing pieces?
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think about the non-functional requirements of the system design.
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These might be linked to business objectives or user experience, for example, availability, consistency, speed,
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security, reliability, and even cost.
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If you've identified a lot of design constraints and feel that some are more important than others, then focus on the ones that are the most critical.
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Make sure to explain your reasoning to your interviewer and check in with them, though.
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Or your interviewer may be interested in a particular aspect of the system, so listen to their hints if they nudge you in one direction.
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Don't get bogged down trying to nail every requirement.
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You still need to move on to actually answering the question.
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Next, you might need to estimate the amount of data that you're dealing with so you can do some quick calculations.
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For example, you can calculate storage size or bandwidth requirements.
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This will help you choose components and give you an idea of what scaling might look like later.
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You can also make some assumptions about user volume and typical user behavior.
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But as always, check with your interviewer if these assumptions match their expectations.
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All right, step two, design the system at a high level.
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This is where we lay out the most fundamental pieces of the system
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and illustrate how they work together to achieve the desired functionality, keeping in mind the constraints that you set in step one.
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You don't really need to get into the nitty gritty details at this stage.
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You can start We start by designing APIs, which are like a contract that defines how a client can access your system's resources.
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Each system requirement should translate to one or more APIs.
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You can choose what type of APIs you want to use, for example, REST, SOAP, GraphQL, or RPC, and explain why.
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That's the important part.
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You should also consider the request parameters and the response type.
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These APIs become the foundation of your system's architecture.
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After the APIs, think about how the client and web server will communicate.
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Then, using all these decisions, create a high-level design diagram.
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The diagram should act as a blueprint of your design and highlight the most critical pieces to fulfill the functional requirements.
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Use this diagram to show the interviewer how the data and control flow look like in your system.
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Do not dive into the scalability of the system yet.
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That's going to come later.
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Step 3.
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Deep dive into the design.
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This is when you can examine system components and relationships in more detail.
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The interviewer may also prompt you to focus on a particular area, but don't rely on them to drive the conversation.
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Start by talking about how non-functional requirements impact your design choices.
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For example, if an online system requires fresh data, think about how to speed up the data ingestion processing and query process.
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Or if the amount of data you need to store is large, you might want to partition the database to balance storage and query traffic.
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You might also need to consider some load balancer layers to distribute the read-write traffic.
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There's a lot to consider, and no single correct answer.
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The most critical thing is that you present different design options along with their pros
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and cons and explain why one is preferred over the other under the given circumstances.
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That's one of the main skills that you're really being tested on.
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Alright, step four.
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Identify bottlenecks and scaling opportunities.
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After completing a deep dive into the system's components, it's time to zoom out and consider whether the system can operate under various conditions and has room to support further growth.
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Here are some important questions to consider.
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Is there a single point of failure?
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If so, what can we do to improve the robustness and enhance the system's availability?
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Is the data valuable enough to require replication?
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If we replicate our data, how important is it to keep all the versions consistent?
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Do we support a global service?
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If so, do we need to deploy multi-geo data centers to improve data locality?
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Are there any edge cases, such as peak time usage or hot users
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that create a particular usage pattern that could deteriorate performance or even break the system?
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How do we scale the system to support 10 times more users?
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As we scale the system, we might want to gradually upgrade each component or migrate to another architecture.
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This is where knowledge of concepts such as horizontal sharding, CDN, which is content delivery networks,
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caching, rate limiting, and SQL NoSQL databases is especially useful.
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Check out our other content to learn more about those.
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Step five, review and wrap up.
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Finally, this is the last step.
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It's time to summarize and list your major decisions with their justifications and any trade-offs in space,
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time, complexity, etc. Check that your design satisfies all the requirements, although you really should be doing this periodically throughout the interview.
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You could also identify directions for further improvement.
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In total, this interview takes about 45 minutes, with five of those usually reserved for introductions at the beginning
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and any questions you'd like to ask the interviewer at the end.
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Check out our website for additional interview prep content, coaching, and tons of mock interviews to help you put your best foot forward.
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Good luck!
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Vocabulario y notas de pronunciación para esta lección
Este vídeo tiene 99 frases y 1305 palabras para practicar shadowing. La parte hablada dura 7:02. El hablante habla rápido, unas 186 palabras por minuto, así que espera sonidos enlazados y reducidos. El 83 % de las palabras está entre las 3.000 más comunes del inglés; conviene repasar el resto antes de empezar.
Vocabulario clave de este vídeo
15 palabras menos comunes del vídeo, con su pronunciación y significado:
- requirement /ɹɪˈkwaɪɹmənt/ (sustantivo) — exigencia, requisito. A necessity or prerequisite; something required or obligatory. Its adpositions are generally of in relation to who or what has given it, on in relation to whom…
- interviewer /ˈɪntɚvjuɚ/ (sustantivo) — entrevistador, entrevistadora. One who interviews.
- functional /ˈfʌŋkt͡ʃənəl/ (adjetivo) — operativo. In good working order.
- architecture /ˈɑː.kɪˌtɛk.t͡ʃə/ (sustantivo) — arquitectura. The art and science of designing and managing the construction of buildings and other structures, particularly if they are well proportioned and decorated.
- component /kəmˈpoʊ.nənt/ (sustantivo) — componente. A smaller, self-contained part of a larger entity. Often refers to a manufactured object that is part of a larger device.
- framework /ˈfɹeɪm.wɜːk/ (sustantivo) — entramado, armazón. A support structure comprising joined parts or conglomerated particles and intervening open spaces of similar or larger size.
- dive /daɪv/ (verbo) — bucear, somorgujar. To swim under water.
- solve /sɒlv/ (verbo) — resolver, solucionar. To find an answer or solution to a problem or question; to work out.
- define /dɪˈfaɪn/ (verbo) — determinar, definir. To determine with precision; to mark out with distinctness; to ascertain or exhibit clearly.
- scope /skəʊp/ (sustantivo) — ámbito, rubro. The breadth, depth or reach of a subject; the extent of applicability or relevance; a domain, purview or remit.
- assumption /əˈsʌm(p).ʃ(ə)n/ (sustantivo) — asunción. The act of assuming, or taking to or upon oneself; the act of taking up or adopting.
- diagram /ˈdaɪ.ə.ɡɹæm/ (sustantivo) — diagrama. A plan, drawing, sketch or outline to show the function or operation of something, or to show the relationships between the parts of a whole.
- database /ˈdeɪtəˌbeɪs/ (sustantivo) — base de datos, banco de datos. A collection of (usually) organized information in a regular structure, usually but not necessarily in a machine-readable format accessible by a computer.
- con /kɑn/ (verbo) — engañar, estafar. To trick, lie or defraud, usually for personal gain.
- usage /ˈjuːsɪd͡ʒ/ (sustantivo) — uso. A custom or established practice.
Phrasal verbs que vas a escuchar
- talk about (verbo) — hablar de, hablar sobre. Used to draw attention to the speaker's characterization of someone or something.
- think about /ˈθɪŋk əˌbaʊt/ (verbo) — pensar en, ocurrírsele. To ponder.
- check out (verbo) — investigar, chequear. To record the departure or withdrawal of someone or something (such as guests, employees, books, etc.).
- deal with (verbo) — tratarse de, ocuparse. To handle verbally or in some form of artistic expression; to address or discuss as a subject.
- get into (verbo) — entrar en, entrar a. To move into (an object), such that one ends up inside it.
- lay out /ˌleɪ ˈaʊt/ (verbo) — encaminar. To expend or contribute money to an expense or purchase.
- rely on (verbo) — depender de, atenerse a. To be confident in.
- speed up /spiːdˈʌp/ (verbo) — acelerar, apurarse. To accelerate; to increase speed.
Pronunciación a tener en cuenta
El hablante usa 15 contracciones y formas reducidas, como you're, don't, doesn't. Dilas en su forma corta, tal como las oyes.
- Los sonidos de “sh” y “zh”: assumption /əˈsʌm(p).ʃ(ə)n/, expectation /ˌɛk.spɛkˈteɪ.ʃən/, justification /ˌd͡ʒʌstɪfɪˈkeɪʃən/, calculation /ˌkælkjuˈleɪʃn̩/, partition /pɑɹˈtɪ.ʃən/
- Palabras largas — cuida el acento: architecture /ˈɑː.kɪˌtɛk.t͡ʃə/, communicate /kəˈmjuːnɪkeɪt/, availability /əˌveɪ.ləˈbɪl.ɪ.ti/, fundamental /ˌfʌn.dəˈmɛn.təl/, complexity /kəmˈplɛk.sɪ.ti/
Cómo practicar con este vídeo
- Escucha el vídeo entero una vez sin hablar y anota las palabras que no conoces.
- Empieza a velocidad 0,75×, haz shadowing frase por frase y vuelve a la velocidad normal cuando te resulte fácil.
- Grábate y compara con el original, prestando atención a palabras como requirement, interviewer, functional.
Gramática en este vídeo
Las estructuras que más usa el hablante, con las palabras exactas del vídeo:
| Estructura | En el vídeo |
|---|---|
| Voz pasiva be + participio pasado — importa lo que ocurre, no quién lo hace | being asked · might be linked · is preferred |
| Oraciones de relativo who / which + oración — información extra sobre una persona o cosa | ones that are · APIs, which are · CDN, which is |
¿Qué es la Técnica de Shadowing?
Shadowing es una técnica de aprendizaje de idiomas respaldada por la ciencia, desarrollada originalmente para la formación de intérpretes profesionales y popularizada por el políglota Dr. Alexander Arguelles. El método es simple pero poderoso: escuchas audio en inglés nativo y lo repites en voz alta de inmediato, como una sombra que sigue al hablante con solo 1-2 segundos de retraso. A diferencia de la escucha pasiva o los ejercicios de gramática, el shadowing obliga a tu cerebro y músculos de la boca a procesar y reproducir simultáneamente patrones de habla reales. Las investigaciones muestran que mejora significativamente la precisión de la pronunciación, la entonación, el ritmo, el habla conectada, la comprensión auditiva y la fluidez al hablar, convirtiéndola en una de las metodologías más efectivas para la preparación del IELTS Speaking y la comunicación en inglés en el mundo real.