Whiteboarding & Live Diagramming

Whiteboarding framework, diagramming tips, talking while drawing, tradeoff articulation

Technical Reference & Key Concepts

The Whiteboarding Framework

  1. Clarify: Repeat the problem back. Ask about constraints, scale, edge cases.
  2. Outline: Sketch the high-level components first. "We need a client, a server, a database, and a cache."
  3. Deep Dive: Zoom into one component. Draw the data flow arrows. Label protocols (HTTP, WebSocket, gRPC).
  4. Tradeoffs: While drawing, verbalize your choices. "I'm using a queue here because we need durability..."
  5. Failure modes: "What happens if this server dies?" Add retries, fallbacks, replication.

Diagramming Tips

  • Use consistent shapes: boxes for services, cylinders for databases, arrows for data flow.
  • Label every arrow with the protocol or data type.
  • Draw error paths too - they show you're thinking about reliability.
  • Talk while you draw. Silence makes the interviewer wonder what you're thinking.