In my view, if software design is how you assemble lines of code, system design is how you assemble services. This post is my attempt to write down, in broad strokes, everything I know about good system design. Recognizing good designWhat does good system design look like? Paradoxically, good design is self-effacing: bad design is often more impressive than good. Engineers look at complex systems with many interesting parts and think “wow, a lot of system design is happening here!” In fact, a complex system usually reflects an absence of good design.