This Interview Question Changed How I Think About System Design

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In this video, I break down one interview question that completely changed how I think about system design.

It’s a simple scenario on the surface:
A user clicks “Generate Report.”
The API takes 5 minutes to build it.
Most developers try to “optimize” the slow part.

But the real problem isn’t speed — it’s the architecture.

I walk you through:

▶️ Why long-running HTTP calls are a bad idea
▶️ How to redesign the flow using queues and background workers
▶️ When to return 202 Accepted instead of blocking the UI
▶️ Where to store the final report (S3/Blob/Object Storage)
▶️ How to notify the user (SignalR, email, polling)
▶️ How this pattern applies to almost every backend system you’ll build

This interview question pushed me to think beyond endpoints and functions — and focus on workflows, reliability, and user experience.

If you’re preparing for system design interviews, or you’re building anything with long-running tasks, this will help you avoid the most common pitfalls.

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