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38 - System Design and RFCs (Architecture Judgment Layer)

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Elite engineers write, defend, and evolve system designs with traceable reasoning.

Required artifacts

For every major build, produce: - Problem statement - Constraints and assumptions - Options considered - Chosen design and rationale - Risks and mitigations - Rollout, rollback, and observability plan

RFC workflow

  1. Draft RFC in markdown.
  2. Run async review pass (self-review if solo).
  3. Resolve all open questions.
  4. Freeze version and map to implementation milestones.
  5. Record post-launch review against planned outcomes.

Design drill pack

Run at least 12 drills: - 4 small-system drills - 4 scale/resilience drills - 4 security/compliance drills

Each drill must include: - sequence diagram or flow map - data contract - failure injection plan - operational runbook

Pass criteria

  • You can defend tradeoffs under counter-questions.
  • You can explain why alternatives were rejected.
  • Your design is testable, operable, and reversible.

Primary Sources

Optional Resources

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Next: 39_PRODUCTION_PLATFORM_LAB.md →