1 min lesson

The non-negotiables

Rebuild the parts of "The non-negotiables", then say why each one matters.

Real Cursor use: Weeks of daily use across Tab, Agent and chat - with a specific task and an honest critique ready.
Numbers ready: A latency, cost or failure number for every design answer. Never "low latency" without a figure.
Clean AI-assisted solve: Can solve with AI on and defend every line, including the follow-up questions raw paste can't survive.
5-6 STAR stories: Gray-area tradeoff, latency/reliability win, prod incident, fast-ship-and-own, a real failure - quantified.

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Full explanation

One-week checklist

Re-solve the streaming-consumer and gateway problems once more, timed, AI on.
Run the system-design prompt out loud against a partner and compare to the worked design.
Drill the rapid-fire fundamentals until each answer is under 20 seconds.
Rehearse all five STAR stories with someone who pushes back and tighten why-Cursor to 90 seconds.
Use Cursor on a real task daily so your authentic-usage answer stays fresh.