Articles by Malte Ubl
Design Docs at GoogleDesign docs are informal documents that software engineers at Google create before coding a project to document the high level design strategy and key decisions. They help achieve consensus around the design, ensure consideration of cross-cutting concerns, and scale knowledge of senior engineers. There is no strict format but a useful structure includes context and scope, goals and non-goals, the actual design, alternatives considered, and cross-cutting concerns. The ideal length is around 10-20 pages. Design docs are updated during implementation when the initial design changes, and they serve as a useful reference for maintaining and learning from the system over time.