Don't Over or Under-Engineer a System

In system design interviews, it's crucial to strike the right balance between complexity and simplicity in your solutions. This video highlights the importance of avoiding both over-engineering and under-engineering:

• Designing systems with unnecessary complexity can lead to wasted resources, higher risks of bugs, and an impractical solution
• While caching can improve performance, indiscriminately adding caches without careful consideration can introduce inconsistencies and unnecessary complexity
• Rather than adding complexity for its own sake, stay focused on the unique challenges of the problem at hand to identify the most effective solutions
• Thoughtfully evaluate where to apply caching or other optimizations by weighing the benefits against the potential downsides
• Ensure that your design decisions are driven by the specific needs of the problem, rather than trying to impress the interviewer with buzzwords or unnecessary tools

This approach helps create efficient and practical solutions tailored to the specific challenges of the interview prompt.

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