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Software Engineering vocabulary · Architecture, Design Patterns and Graphics

Design doc

Meaning in software engineering, with examples

nounCommon term

In software engineering, design doc means: A document written before building something big that explains the problem, the proposed solution, the other options considered and their trade-offs, so others can review it.

In Turkish: tasarım dokümanı, tasarım belgesi, teknik tasarım dokümanı

How it is used

Short for design document; some companies call it an RFC or a tech spec. Engineers write, share and review a design doc before coding starts. Typical sections are Goals, Non-goals, Proposal, Alternatives and Open questions.

Example sentences

  1. Before we touch the database schema, please write a short design doc and share it with the team.

  2. Several people commented on the design doc and suggested using a queue instead.

Common collocations

  • write a design doc
  • review a design doc
  • design doc template
  • non-goals
  • architectureThe high-level structure of a software system: its main parts, how they communicate with each other and the key technical decisions behind them.
  • trade-offA situation where getting more of one good thing means accepting less of another, such as speed versus accuracy or simplicity versus flexibility.
  • requirementSomething the software must do, or a condition it must meet, as agreed with users, clients or the product team.
  • documentationWritten material that explains how software works and how to use, set up or change it, such as guides, API references and README files.

More terms: Architecture, Design Patterns and Graphics

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