Variations are prevalent in all aspects of quantum computing. On solid state quantum devices, fabrication errors lead to variations in device connectivity. Among the qubits that are available for use, there are still variations in multiple properties. Other than hardware variations, different algorithms and operations impose different requirements on the devices and systems. In order to bridge the gap between the theory and implementation of quantum computing, we need practical designs that are aware of variations and system-level tradeoffs. This thesis includes three examples of adapting to variations: choosing two-qubit basis gates based on individual qubits’ properties, adapting error correction codes and using modular architecture to support fault-tolerant computation in the presence of fabrication defects, and adapting real time decoding protocols to support large patches of topological codes that arise during lattice surgery operations.