Lightweight Design Doc
Docs + Word5 pages
Free
- Type
- Document
- Price
- Free
- Pages
- 10 · US Letter
- Style
- Corporate
- Difficulty
- Beginner
- Updated
- October 31, 2026
Every page (10)
Overview
Enterprise review boards do not approve a diagram; they approve a design they can defend. This template puts the answer first, then the architecture, security controls, compliance scope, capacity owners, operating model and costs, and finishes with approvals and an approval record with conditions and an expiry date.
The sample is a fictional proposal from Lowmoor Systems to partition and replicate its shipment events store, taking p95 latency from 410 ms to under 200 ms at three times peak load for about $9,000 more per month. Replace the problem, figures, diagrams, controls and approvers with your own.
Useful for
- A tech lead taking a database or platform change to an enterprise architecture review board
- A solution architect showing security and compliance reviewers that controls and retention are unchanged
- An engineering manager asking finance and operations to approve capacity, run cost and rollback plans
What's included
- Executive summary with headline figures, four key findings and a recommendation
- Layered architecture diagram and a request-flow diagram with latency per hop
- Security controls written as numbered requirements, and a compliance page with open points
- Capacity owners and steering group, plus an operations page with deploy, scale and rollback steps
- Cost variance table with budget, forecast and pilot actual, and a causes column
- Decision and approval record, plus a make-it-yours guide
How to use it
- 1
Click Make a copy in Google Docs, then confirm on the Google page. The copy is saved to your own Google Drive.
- 2
Replace the problem and recommendation with your own, including one measured number, and rewrite the key findings so each links to evidence.
- 3
Redraw the architecture layers and request flow, then keep the failure modes and rollback steps for every external dependency.
- 4
Enter your real capacity, cost lines, controls and compliance scope, and give each open question an owner and a decide-by date.
- 5
Delete the guide page, then share the document with your review board or present it at the meeting.
What you need
Requirements
- A Google account with access to Google Drive
Works with
- Google Docs
- Microsoft Word (download the .docx)
Questions
What do enterprise review boards look for?
Usually a clear problem, honest alternatives, security and compliance impact, capacity and run cost, an operating model, rollback and named approvers. This template covers each.
Can I use it for a smaller internal design doc?
Yes. Delete the compliance, capacity and cost pages you do not need, and keep the summary, architecture, operations and open questions for a shorter review.
Are the company, people and figures real?
No. Lowmoor Systems, every person, email address, cost and performance figure in the sample are fictional. Replace them with your own before sharing.
- #system-design-document
- #design-doc
- #enterprise-architecture
- #google-docs
- #architecture-review
- #technical-design
- #security-review
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