How can I better contribute to system design discussions on my new team?

In order to make system design questions less opaque, I like to use this 3 part strategy:

1. Ask clarifying questions
2. Create a component diagram
3. Forecast how things may break or change in the future

Some additional points:

• With system design, there’s no “right” answer. It’s about identifying the constraints you have, and what you’re optimizing for.
• At a big tech co like Google, you have world-class experts in every part of the tech stack. So your job as someone new is to navigate the discussion toward the interesting spots where trade-offs have to be made, and then consult the experts.
• Dig into previous design docs from your team or adjacent teams and draw analogs to the problem your team is facing here.