Top System Design books recommended by experts

At MentorCruise, we are all about making the most out of the experience of others. As part of that, we've connected and asked dozens of experts and professionals about their favourite System Design books – and here are the answers.

Table of Contents

Fundamentals of System Design

Understanding the concepts of System Design starts with understanding the fundamentals. On your way to mastery, it's crucial for you to understand how certain concepts were derived, and why things work like they do. Starting with these resources is the best way to do so.

System Analysis, Design, and Development: Concepts, Principles, and Practices

Written in a practical, easy to understand style, this text provides a step-by-step guide to System Analysis and Engineering by introducing concepts, principles, and practices via a progression of topical, lesson oriented chapters. Each chapter focuses on specific aspects of system analysis, design, and development, and includes definitions of key terms, examples, author's notes, key principle…

Recommended by the experts and mentors at MentorCruise

Modern Systems Analysis and Design, EBook, Global Edition

Developing advanced system analysts Prioritizing the practical over the technical, Modern Systems Analysis and Design presents the concepts, skills, methodologies, techniques, tools, and perspectives essential for systems analysts to develop information systems. The authors assume students have taken an introductory course on computer systems and have experience designing programs in at least …

Recommended by the experts and mentors at MentorCruise

System Design Interview - An Insider's Guide

System design interviews are the most difficult to tackle of all technical interview questions. This book is Volume 1 of the System Design Interview - An insider’s guide series that provides a reliable strategy and knowledge base for approaching a broad range of system design questions. This book provides a step-by-step framework for how to tackle a system design question. It includes many rea…

Recommended by the experts and mentors at MentorCruise

Fundamentals of Software Architecture: An Engineering Approach

Salary surveys worldwide regularly place software architect in the top 10 best jobs, yet no real guide exists to help developers become architects. Until now. This book provides the first comprehensive overview of software architecture’s many aspects. Aspiring and existing architects alike will examine architectural characteristics, architectural patterns, component determination, diagramming …

Recommended by the experts and mentors at MentorCruise

Systems Analysis and Design

Systems Analysis and Design: An Object-Oriented Approach with UML, 5th Edition by Dennis, Wixom, and Tegarden captures the dynamic aspects of the field by keeping students focused on doing SAD while presenting the core set of skills that every systems analyst needs to know today and in the future. The text enables students to do SAD—not just read about it, but understand the issues so they can…

Recommended by the experts and mentors at MentorCruise

Understanding Distirbuted Systems

Learning to build distributed systems is hard, especially if they are large scale. It's not that there is a lack of information out there. You can find academic papers, engineering blogs, and even books on the subject. The problem is that the available information is spread out all over the place, and if you were to put it on a spectrum from theory to practice, you would find a lot of material…

Recommended by the experts and mentors at MentorCruise

Additional System Design Reading

These books are not required for you to learn System Design, but they are highly recommended for you to deepen your knowledge.

Clean Architecture: A Craftsman's Guide to Software Structure and Design

By applying universal rules of software architecture, you can dramatically improve developer productivity throughout the life of any software system. Now, building upon the success of his best-selling books Clean Code and The Clean Coder, legendary software craftsman Robert C. Martin (“Uncle Bob”) reveals those rules and helps you apply them. Martin’s Clean Architecture doesn’t merely present …

Recommended by the experts and mentors at MentorCruise

System Design Interview - An Insider's Guide: Volume 2

System Design Interview - An Insider's Guide (Volume 2) This book can be seen as a sequel to the book: System Design Interview - An Insider’s Guide. It covers a different set of system design interview questions and solutions. Although reading Volume 1 is helpful, it is not required. This book should be accessible to readers who have a basic understanding of distributed systems. This volume pr…

Recommended by the experts and mentors at MentorCruise

Cracking the Coding Interview: 150 Programming Interview Questions and Solutions

Now in the 5th edition, Cracking the Coding Interview gives you the interview preparation you need to get the top software developer jobs. This is a deeply technical book and focuses on the software engineering skills to ace your interview. The book is over 500 pages and includes 150 programming interview questions and answers, as well as other advice.

Recommended by the experts and mentors at MentorCruise

Systems analysis and design Alan Dennis

Systems Analysis and Design, 8th Edition offers students a hands-on introduction to the core concepts of systems analysis and systems design. Following a project-based approach written to mimic real-world workflow, the text includes a multitude of cases and examples, in-depth explanations, and special features that highlight crucial concepts and emphasize the application of fundamental theory …

Recommended by the experts and mentors at MentorCruise

Building Microservices: Designing Fine-Grained Systems

Distributed systems have become more fine-grained in the past 10 years, shifting from code-heavy monolithic applications to smaller, self-contained microservices. But developing these systems brings its own set of headaches. With lots of examples and practical advice, this book takes a holistic view of the topics that system architects and administrators must consider when building, managing, …

Recommended by the experts and mentors at MentorCruise

Software Engineering at Google: Lessons Learned from Programming Over Time

Today, software engineers need to know not only how to program effectively but also how to develop proper engineering practices to make their codebase sustainable and healthy. This book emphasizes this difference between programming and software engineering. How can software engineers manage a living codebase that evolves and responds to changing requirements and demands over the length of its…

Recommended by the experts and mentors at MentorCruise

This list is curated by MentorCruise and can include Amazon affiliate links. Have any other suggestions? Add here.

Augment your System Design books

There is no better source of accountability and motivation than having a personal mentor. What used to be impossible to find is now just two clicks away! All mentors are vetted & hands-on!

Only 3 Spots Left

Across my 16+ years in product management at Google, Microsoft, and assorted venture-backed startups, I've had the privilege of receiving mentorship from luminaries including Paul Graham, Sam Altman, and Kai Fu Lee. I know not everyone gets these mentorship opportunities, so I am here to share my experience with a …

$240 / month
  Chat
2 x Calls

Only 2 Spots Left

With 17+ years of experience in the industry, I have worked as a tester, a lead/manager, and as a developer. I have worked on large teams (OneDrive, Power Automate), as well as taking a v1 product from inception to running at a global scale. Delivering interviews, designing systems to work …

$340 / month
  Chat
2 x Calls
Tasks

Only 3 Spots Left

Hello, I'm an ex-Google Staff Engineer and Manager and now the founder of Tegyaan Labs. I have worked in Asia, Europe and the USA across 6 cities around the globe 🌍. I am an experienced leader in the world of software engineering and technology (my code runs with every Google …

$300 / month
  Chat
2 x Calls
Tasks

Only 5 Spots Left

Hello! 👋 My name is Elad, a Data Platform Engineer with over 10 years of experience in managing complex production operations, specialising in distributed systems and databases. I bring a robust background in DevOps, SRE, Platform Engineering, and Data Engineering to the table. In recent years, I've initiated, advanced, and …

$200 / month
  Chat
Tasks

Only 1 Spot Left

Hello! I'm a passionate Frontend Engineer with a deep love for mentoring engineers and guiding them through their professional journeys. With extensive experience in front-end frameworks like React and Next.js, I enjoy sharing my knowledge and helping others excel in their careers. User Interface: https://www.frontprep.com/user-interface JavaScript Coding: https://www.frontprep.com/javascript-coding Conceptual: https://www.frontprep.com/conceptual

$100 / month
  Chat
2 x Calls
Tasks

Only 1 Spot Left

Need help with data science and machine learning skills? I can guide you to the next level. Together, we'll create a personalized plan based on your unique goals and needs. Whether you want to build a strong portfolio of projects, improve your programming skills, or advance your career to the …

$390 / month
  Chat
2 x Calls
Tasks

Browse all System Design mentors

Still not convinced?
Don’t just take our word for it

We’ve already delivered 1-on-1 mentorship to thousands of students, professionals, managers and executives. Even better, they’ve left an average rating of 4.9 out of 5 for our mentors.

Find a System Design mentor
  • "Naz is an amazing person and a wonderful mentor. She is supportive and knowledgeable with extensive practical experience. Having been a manager at Netflix, she also knows a ton about working with teams at scale. Highly recommended."

  • "Brandon has been supporting me with a software engineering job hunt and has provided amazing value with his industry knowledge, tips unique to my situation and support as I prepared for my interviews and applications."

  • "Sandrina helped me improve as an engineer. Looking back, I took a huge step, beyond my expectations."