Reviewing the Blueprint

Robert, a senior engineer, is conducting a design doc review call with Melissa, a junior engineer, who has written her very first proposal.

Reviewing the Blueprint

Listen and choose the right answer

Why does Robert criticize Melissa's initial draft?

• It is too short and lacks any technical depth.
• It focuses too much on raw implementation details rather than the high-level rationale.
• It uses a legacy synchronous database connection that is insecure.

What is Melissa's original reason for leaving the 'non-goal' section blank?

• She initially believed they should build everything and had not scoped down the project.
• She was not sure what features were already supported by their prior art.
• She forgot to complete it due to working late over the weekend.

What is the twist regarding the 'alternatives considered' section?

• The carrier pigeon alternative is actually selected for the production release.
• Melissa did not list any alternative solutions to the database wrapper.
• The simple asynchronous queue alternative she put in as a filler is actually the superior architecture.

What are Melissa's next steps for the document?

• Delete the document and start building the database wrapper immediately.
• Flesh out the asynchronous queue proposal, simplify the high-level overview, and circulate the updated draft.
• Ask the security team to weigh in on the carrier pigeon implementation details.

Listen again and complete the sentences

• Robert: Hey Melissa, thanks for sending over your first ____ for the new payment service we're launching in Denver.
• Robert: It's definitely thorough, but a good design doc should start with a ____ , not lines of raw code.
• Robert: I understand that drive, but we need to focus on the ____ first. Why are we even building this system?
• Robert: Exactly, so let's put that problem upfront. Also, what about the ____ section? You left it completely blank.
• Robert: We definitely do. Now, looking at how you plan to ____ , did you circulate this document yet?

Sources: photo by Mikhail Nilov on Pexels