System requirements
Functional:
List functional requirements for the system (Ask the chat bot for hints if stuck.)...
User registration and authentication
Manage vehicle entry, exit and parking.
Monitor the available space of parking lot
Payment system
Notification system
Admin Dashboard
Analytics and reports
Support mapping for users
Non-Functional:
List non-functional requirements for the system...
Performance
scalability
availability
security
usability
maintainable
interoperability
Data Integrity
Backup
Capacity estimation
Estimate the scale of the system you are going to design...
API design
Define what APIs are expected from the system...
register
PUT /v1/user/create/
GET /v1/user/
DELETE /v1/user/
Vehicle entry
PUT /v1/parking/
Vehicle exit
POST /v1/parking/
Available spaces
GET /v1/parking/space
Database design
Defining the system data model early on will clarify how data will flow among different components of the system. Also you could draw an ER diagram using the diagramming tool to enhance your design...
user table
---------------
user id - int
user name - str
password - str
phone number - int
email - str
create time - timestamp
car table
---------------
car id - str
user id - int
plate number - str
car mode - str
car year - str
car size - str
create time - timestamp
parking lot table
---------------
parking lot id
status
update time
order table
--------------
order id
car id
parking lot id
status
start time
end time
history table
--------------
transaction id
parking id
order id
status
High-level design
You should identify enough components that are needed to solve the actual problem from end to end. Also remember to draw a block diagram using the diagramming tool to augment your design. If you are unfamiliar with the tool, you can simply describe your design to the chat bot and ask it to generate a starter diagram for you to modify...
see the diagram on the right
Request flows
Explain how the request flows from end to end in your high level design. Also you could draw a sequence diagram using the diagramming tool to enhance your explanation...
- user creates a login with car info
- user books a parking lot
- user checks in the parking lot
- user checks out
- user makes payment
- notify user
Detailed component design
Dig deeper into 2-3 components and explain in detail how they work. For example, how well does each component scale? Any relevant algorithm or data structure you like to use for a component? Also you could draw a diagram using the diagramming tool to enhance your design...
each component can scale independently
Trade offs/Tech choices
Explain any trade offs you have made and why you made certain tech choices...
need to avoid race condition. when a lot of users are booking, need to use transaction to occupy a parking lot. or use a redis cache to provide a lock
Failure scenarios/bottlenecks
Try to discuss as many failure scenarios/bottlenecks as possible.
make the database distributed
in a busy scenario, booking service
Future improvements
What are some future improvements you would make? How would you mitigate the failure scenario(s) you described above?