Design Docs at Google

Industrial Empathy's detailed look at how design docs work at Google. Purpose: solve problems early in project lifecycle, document high-level implementation strategy and key decisions, emphasize trade-offs considered. Key components include context/scope, goals/non-goals, actual design, alternatives considered, and cross-cutting concerns. Best practices: keep docs 'sufficiently detailed but short enough to actually be read' (10-20 pages for larger projects), focus on trade-offs not implementation details, collaborate using Google Docs, review with wider team for consensus. Write design docs when software design is ambiguous, to involve senior engineers early, achieve organizational consensus, or consider security/privacy concerns. As stated: 'Design docs are a great way to gain clarity and achieve consensus around solving the hardest problems in a software project.' The goal isn't producing code but 'to solve problems' using unstructured text communicating solutions at higher levels.