Microsoft guide · System design
Microsoft system design interview questions
28 questions, tiered for the Microsoft loop. High-level and low-level design prompts framed the way Microsoft design rounds tend to run, with clarifying questions, requirements, a mermaid architecture diagram, deep dives, and trade-offs per level.
Scored on scoping, trade-off reasoning, and depth. Given Microsoft's breadth across cloud (Azure), productivity (Microsoft 365), and OS/enterprise products, the design round can lean toward whichever domain the team works in — clarify the domain early in the round.
Other Microsoft lists: Coding · Problem solving
Read one freeDesign an Ad Click Event Aggregation System →
$149 one-time · lifetime access
Secure payment by Stripe · instant access · refund questions: [email protected]Interviewing at more than one? All 6 guides for $499 · save $395
must15 questions
Solve these cold. They cover the patterns this loop leans on hardest.
- Design a Chat Messaging System
- Design a Collaborative Document Editor
- Design a Distributed Cache
- Design a Distributed Key-Value Store
- Design a News Feed
- Design a Rate Limiter
- Design a URL Shortener
- Design a Video Streaming Platform
- Design a Web Crawler
- Design Cloud File Storage and Sync
- Design Search Autocomplete
- Design Top-K Heavy Hitters
- In-Memory File System
- Rate Limiter Library
- Text Editor with Undo/Redo
should12 questions
Work through once, then revisit any you could not finish on paper.
- Design a Distributed Message Queue
- Design a Metrics Monitoring and Alerting System
- Design a Notification System
- Design a Payment System
- Design a Ride Matching Service
- Design an Ad Click Event Aggregation System
- Design an Email Service
- Design Nearby Places Search
- Elevator System
- Logging Framework
- Parking Lot
- Snake Game
stretch1 question
Only if the must and should lists feel easy. Commonly reported at senior levels or as follow-ups.
13 must-tier questions with full solutions
Sign in with an email, no purchase, and read them in the full reader.
Questions people ask
Are these the real Microsoft system design questions?
They are original questions built around the patterns commonly reported from Microsoft loops, not leaked or copied problems. Interviewers rotate questions constantly; preparing by pattern and tier is what transfers.
What do must / should / stretch mean?
Must: the patterns a Microsoft system design round leans on hardest; solve them cold. Should: work once and revisit. Stretch: senior-level or follow-up material.
What is free?
Every problem statement, examples and hints on this list. One system design question is fully open as a preview, and signing in unlocks the 13-question starter pack. The worked approach, solution, tests and per-company notes are in the guide.