How can you balance the depth and breadth of your systems design portfolio?

1 Choose relevant projects

The first step to building a systems design portfolio is to choose projects that are relevant to your target audience and domain. For example, if you are applying for a job at a fintech company, you might want to include projects that involve payment systems, fraud detection, or data security. If you are freelancing as a systems designer, you might want to include projects that showcase your versatility and adaptability to different scenarios and requirements. You should also consider the level of complexity and scale of the problems you are solving, and how they match the expectations of your audience.

2 Explain your design decisions

The next step is to explain your design decisions and rationale behind your solutions. This is where you can demonstrate your critical thinking, problem-solving, and communication skills. You should be able to articulate the trade-offs, assumptions, and constraints you faced, and how you balanced them. You should also be able to justify your choice of technologies, tools, and frameworks, and how they fit the requirements and context of the problem. You can use diagrams, charts, or pseudocode to illustrate your design, but make sure they are clear, concise, and consistent.

3 Show your implementation and evaluation

The final step is to show your implementation and evaluation of your systems design solutions. This is where you can demonstrate your technical skills, attention to detail, and quality standards. You should be able to show how you implemented your design using code, APIs, or platforms, and how you tested, deployed, and monitored your system. You should also be able to show how you evaluated your system performance, reliability, and scalability, and how you measured the results against the goals and metrics. You can use screenshots, videos, or demos to showcase your implementation and evaluation, but make sure they are relevant, accurate, and informative.

4 Vary your project types

One way to balance the depth and breadth of your systems design portfolio is to vary your project types and domains. You can include projects that cover different aspects of systems design, such as data modeling, concurrency, caching, load balancing, security, or fault tolerance. You can also include projects that span different domains, such as e-commerce, social media, gaming, or healthcare. This way, you can show your range of skills, knowledge, and experience, and how you can apply them to different situations and challenges.

5 Update your portfolio regularly

Another way to balance the depth and breadth of your systems design portfolio is to update it regularly with new projects, improvements, or learnings. You can add projects that reflect your current interests, skills, or goals, or that showcase your latest achievements or innovations. You can also update your existing projects with new features, enhancements, or optimizations, or with new feedback, insights, or metrics. This way, you can show your growth, curiosity, and passion for systems design, and how you keep up with the latest trends and technologies.

6 Seek feedback and improvement

The last way to balance the depth and breadth of your systems design portfolio is to seek feedback and improvement from others. You can ask for feedback from your peers, mentors, or experts in systems design, and learn from their perspectives, suggestions, or critiques. You can also seek improvement from yourself, by reviewing your portfolio regularly, identifying your strengths and weaknesses, and setting new goals and challenges. This way, you can show your humility, openness, and willingness to learn and improve, and how you strive for excellence in systems design.

7 Here’s what else to consider

This is a space to share examples, stories, or insights that don’t fit into any of the previous sections. What else would you like to add?