System Design Fundamentals

The volatility approach

This course presents a method for analyzing a system by decomposing it according to volatility, meaning the parts of a design most likely to change. Services are identified from those change patterns rather than from the list of functions a system performs.

Why functionality is the common mistake

The course contrasts this with the usual error of splitting services by functionality. It spends time on what not to do, which is useful because the functional split looks sensible at first and only shows its cost when requirements shift.

Who it suits

• Intermediate engineers who make architecture decisions.
• Developers who want to link system design to maintainability and verification.