RFC Docs Are Dead – Long Live the Design Gossip!
why the unfiltered back-and-forth between engineers and AI is becoming the most valuable system design artifact
The RFC — Request for Comments — was once the sacred scroll of system design, forged by senior engineers to tame complexity before a single line of code hit the repo. Structured? Sure. Agile? Not so much. Today, system design docs are giving way to design dialogues, and LLMs are rewriting the playbook.
From Manuscript to Dialogue
Enter the new "RFC": a dynamic, Socratic script powered by AI. No more waiting days for the architect’s gospel — any engineer can kick things off with a rough idea and o3-mini or gemini 2.5. What follows isn’t boring automation; it’s high-octane brainstorming. The AI challenges, refines, and structures on the fly. Decisions one might have taken after 5th iteration in week 2 happen in 5 minutes.
AI turns every coder into an architect.
The Chat Log Revolution
The real magic? The artifact isn’t a polished doc — it’s the conversation log. These "design diaries" capture the messy brilliance of creation: questions, pivots, breakthroughs. Teams share them raw, trading static endpoints for living traces of intent. No more guessing the "why" — just read the chat.
It's like having an instant replay button for the design process, letting you watch the architectural decisions unfold step-by-step. Forget static blueprints; you get the raw footage of the design thinking, capturing the live decision-making trace, not just the highlight reel.
Your prompt history is the new proof-of-work.
Why It Works
Radical Transparency: The hidden sausage-making of design—debates, dead ends, epiphanies—is now an open book.
Instant Mentorship: Juniors get a front-row seat to decision-making, like a masterclass on rewind.
Team Synergy: Shared logs deepen trust and insight beyond any static RFC.
Warp-Speed Cycles: Days of feedback shrink to hours of real-time refinement.
Senior Engineers Evolve
Seniors aren’t obsolete — they’re elevated. AI handles the grunt drafts, freeing them to guide, mentor, and align designs with the big picture. They’re less scribes, more strategists.
Seniors don’t sweat the draft—they steer the ship.
The Future Is Live
The classic RFC might shrink to a summary linking to the richer chat log. Design knowledge isn’t static anymore—it’s a living history, co-authored with AI. This isn’t just a tool shift; it’s a mindset flip. Embrace the dialogue—system design’s next chapter is being typed, one prompt at a time.
Code talks back, and it’s got the blueprint.
Sharing raw chat logs is just the beta version. We're learning to eavesdrop on AI-assisted design; who's building the tools to turn that 'gossip' into seamless team intelligence?