How to answer Product Design / Product Sense Questions - BEST Framework to follow!

PM Diego Granados
4 Oct 202020:24

Summary

TLDRIn this video, Diego Granados, a product manager, shares a comprehensive framework for tackling product case questions in job interviews. He emphasizes the importance of understanding constraints, setting goals, and defining the scope before diving into problem-solving. Diego advises on clarifying the question, considering user segments, identifying pain points, brainstorming solutions, and prioritizing improvements. He also stresses the need for selecting appropriate metrics to measure the success of product enhancements. The video is designed to equip viewers with a structured approach to excel in product management interviews.

Takeaways

  • 😀 Diego Granados, a product manager, introduces a framework to tackle product case questions in interviews.
  • 🔍 Product case questions can vary widely, and interviewers may ask about anything, so candidates must be adaptable.
  • ✍️ It's crucial to have pen and paper ready during the interview to jot down thoughts and ideas.
  • 🗣️ Communication skills are key; candidates must express ideas clearly, concisely, and with structure.
  • 🤔 Even without prior product management experience, candidates should think and communicate like a product manager.
  • 📝 A framework is essential for guiding answers, but it's the execution and individual approach that matter most.
  • 🚫 Avoid jumping straight into solutions; first, clarify constraints, goals, and scope of the product case.
  • 🤝 Engage with the interviewer to confirm assumptions and get on the same page regarding the case scenario.
  • 🧠 Brainstorm users by focusing on characteristics and groupings, avoiding generic age ranges for a more nuanced understanding.
  • 📊 Prioritize solutions based on the objective, pain points, visibility, and the feasibility of physical changes for physical products.
  • 📈 Establish metrics to measure the success of implemented ideas, focusing on user and product interaction metrics.

Q & A

  • What is the main focus of Diego Granados' video?

    -The main focus of Diego Granados' video is to provide a framework for answering product case questions during product manager interviews.

  • Why are product case questions important in product manager interviews?

    -Product case questions are important because they allow interviewers to assess a candidate's ability to handle real-world product challenges and their problem-solving skills.

  • What should a candidate do before jumping into solving a product case question?

    -A candidate should clarify constraints, goals, and scope of the question, ensuring they understand the context and requirements before providing a solution.

  • How does Diego suggest setting the context for a product case question?

    -Diego suggests setting the context by discussing competitors, personal experience with the product, alternatives to the product, and personal preferences if the question is about a favorite product.

  • Why is it important to brainstorm users when answering a product case question?

    -Brainstorming users helps to identify the target audience and their characteristics, which is crucial for understanding their needs and pain points.

  • What is the significance of selecting a user segment in a product case question?

    -Selecting a user segment allows the candidate to focus on a specific group that will benefit most from the product, ensuring that the proposed solutions are tailored to their needs.

  • How should a candidate approach brainstorming pain points for a user segment?

    -A candidate should put themselves in the shoes of the user segment, considering their lifestyle, needs, and limitations to identify relevant pain points.

  • What are the two rules Diego suggests when proposing solutions to a product case?

    -The two rules are: 1) Ensure the solution actually solves at least one of the pain points, and 2) Make sure the solution is related to the goal of the prompt.

  • Why is it beneficial to propose a 'moonshot' idea during a product case question?

    -A 'moonshot' idea shows creativity and forward-thinking, even if the technology doesn't currently exist, it can demonstrate a candidate's ability to think outside the box and plan for the future.

  • How does Diego recommend prioritizing solutions during a product case question?

    -Diego recommends prioritizing solutions based on the objective, pain points, visibility and time, and for physical products, prioritizing physical changes first.

  • What types of metrics should a candidate consider when measuring the success of their product case solution?

    -A candidate should consider user metrics to understand user behavior and product metrics to understand user interaction with the product.

Outlines

00:00

🎓 Introduction to Product Management Interview Framework

Diego Granados, a product manager, introduces a video tutorial aimed at helping viewers master product case questions, a critical part of product management interviews. Diego emphasizes the unpredictability of these questions, which can be unconventional, and assures viewers that with practice, they can handle any question. He suggests having pen and paper ready to jot down thoughts and stresses the importance of clear, concise, and structured communication. Diego also highlights that interviewers will assess how candidates think and express themselves as a product manager, especially those without prior experience. He encourages viewers to subscribe for more content on product management and to learn various frameworks to tackle product case questions, emphasizing the need to choose one that feels natural and facilitates dialogue with the interviewer.

05:02

🔍 Clarifying the Product Case Question

The video segment delves into the importance of understanding the product case question before attempting to answer it. Diego advises clarifying constraints, such as budget and time limitations, and understanding whether the candidate is expected to think as a product manager for a specific company or a more generic role. He also stresses the need to identify the goal of the product case, suggesting that candidates should think critically about the company's objectives and propose goals that align with company strategy. Additionally, Diego talks about setting a scope for the solution, which helps in focusing the discussion on specific user groups and use cases. He encourages asking the interviewer questions to gain clarity and ensure that both parties are on the same page before proceeding.

10:02

👥 Identifying and Understanding User Groups

This part of the video focuses on the critical step of identifying and understanding user groups for the product in question. Diego recommends avoiding broad age ranges and instead focusing on characteristics that define user behavior. He suggests grouping users by life stages, occupations, activities, and considering those with disabilities. The video emphasizes the importance of understanding the user's environment and needs, and the influence of these factors on product use. Diego advises brainstorming at least three distinct user groups and selecting one to focus on, based on the case's context and goals. He also stresses the importance of considering the customer's perspective, especially when the users are not the primary customers, such as when designing products for children.

15:02

🤔 Brainstorming Pain Points and Solutions

The video discusses the process of brainstorming pain points and potential solutions for the selected user group. Diego advises taking time to empathize with the user segment and identify at least three pain points related to the product. He warns against suggesting solutions that do not directly address these pain points and emphasizes the need for solutions to align with the overall goal of the product case. Diego encourages candidates to think creatively, consider new technologies, and even propose 'moonshot' ideas that push the boundaries of what's currently possible. He also provides tips on how to manage time effectively during brainstorming in an interview setting and how to communicate thoughts clearly.

20:05

📊 Prioritizing and Measuring Solutions

The final part of the video script covers the steps for prioritizing potential solutions and measuring their success. Diego suggests using established frameworks to prioritize features based on factors like visibility, impact, and the effort required. He emphasizes the importance of aligning solutions with the initial goal and pain points, and considering the visibility and timing of technological advancements. The video also touches on the types of metrics that can be used to measure success,区分 between user metrics, which track user behavior over time, and product metrics, which focus on user interactions with specific features. Diego provides examples of metrics for mobile apps and hardware products, advising candidates to research and understand the most relevant metrics for different technologies and products they may encounter in interviews.

🙌 Conclusion and Best Wishes for Upcoming Interviews

In the concluding part of the video, Diego thanks viewers for watching and summarizes the key points covered in the tutorial. He recaps the framework for answering product case questions, including clarifying the question, identifying user groups, brainstorming pain points and solutions, prioritizing improvements, and measuring success. Diego expresses his hope that viewers have gained valuable insights and wishes them the best in their upcoming interviews. He invites viewers to engage with more content on his channel to further enhance their understanding of product management and interview preparation.

Mindmap

Keywords

💡Product Manager

A Product Manager is a professional responsible for guiding a product from conception to market launch and beyond. In the video, Diego Granados, a Product Manager himself, discusses how to excel in product management interviews, emphasizing the importance of this role in driving product strategy and decision-making.

💡Product Case Question

A Product Case Question is a type of interview question that assesses a candidate's ability to think critically and solve product-related problems. The video focuses on how to approach these questions, which can vary widely and require on-the-spot strategic thinking, as illustrated by Diego's discussion of the unpredictable nature of such questions.

💡Product Sense

Product Sense refers to the intuitive understanding of what makes a product successful, including user needs, market trends, and competitive dynamics. The video script mentions 'product sense questions' as a subset of the broader category of product case questions, highlighting the need for candidates to demonstrate this attribute.

💡Framework

A framework in the context of the video is a structured approach or set of guidelines that helps candidates systematically tackle product case questions. Diego suggests using a framework to guide the interview response, emphasizing that while frameworks can be similar, the individual's application and thought process are what truly matter.

💡Communication Skills

Communication Skills are essential for expressing ideas clearly and concisely. The video stresses that during product case questions, interviewers evaluate not only the content of the candidate's answers but also how well they communicate their thought process and ideas, which is a critical aspect of a Product Manager's role.

💡Constraints

Constraints refer to the limitations or boundaries within which a Product Manager must operate, such as budget, time, or technological restrictions. In the video, Diego advises candidates to clarify constraints early in the interview to ensure their proposed solutions are feasible and realistic.

💡Goal

The term 'Goal' in the video represents the objective or desired outcome for the product in question. Diego emphasizes the importance of understanding and agreeing upon the goal with the interviewer, as it serves as the central focus for the product case discussion and influences the direction of the proposed solutions.

💡Scope

Scope defines the boundaries of what is to be included in a project or, in this case, the product solution. Diego suggests setting a scope to narrow down the focus of the product case question, which helps in generating more targeted and relevant solutions, as illustrated by the example of different types of vending machines.

💡Users

Users are the people who will interact with the product. The video script discusses the importance of identifying and understanding the user segments, their characteristics, and needs. Diego provides strategies for brainstorming user groups and selecting a specific segment to focus on for the product case.

💡Pain Points

Pain Points are the issues or problems that users face with existing products or services. In the video, Diego advises candidates to brainstorm pain points for the selected user segment to identify areas where the product can be improved or designed to better meet user needs.

💡Solutions

Solutions in the context of the video are the proposed improvements or features that address the identified pain points of the users. Diego encourages candidates to come up with multiple solutions, ensuring they align with the pain points and the overall goal of the product case.

💡Prioritization

Prioritization is the process of ranking potential solutions or features based on their importance or impact. The video explains how to prioritize solutions using various criteria, such as visibility, impact, and effort, to determine which should be implemented first.

💡Metrics

Metrics are the quantitative measures used to track the success of a product or feature. Diego discusses selecting appropriate metrics to measure the success of the proposed solutions, which can include user engagement, retention rates, or other relevant indicators depending on the product type.

Highlights

Introduction to the video on how to answer product case questions in product manager interviews.

Emphasis on the importance of product case questions in product manager interviews.

Advice on having pen and paper ready to take notes during the interview.

The significance of clear and concise communication in product case interviews.

Framework guidance for approaching product case questions without relying on acronyms.

Different types of product case questions that can be asked during interviews.

The importance of understanding constraints before answering a product case question.

Clarifying the goal of the product case with the interviewer.

Setting a scope for the solution to guide the product case discussion.

The necessity of discussing the context and competitors in the market for the product case.

Technique for brainstorming users and their characteristics relevant to the product case.

The process of selecting a user segment and confirming with the interviewer for the product case.

Brainstorming pain points for the selected user segment to address in the product case.

Guidelines for proposing solutions that address the pain points of the user segment.

Prioritizing the proposed solutions based on various factors during the interview.

Selecting and explaining the metrics to measure the success of the product case solutions.

Summarizing the product case question and the thought process behind the answers.

Closing remarks and well wishes for viewers' upcoming interviews.

Transcripts

play00:01

hello everyone and welcome to my channel

play00:03

my name is diego granados and i'm a

play00:04

product manager

play00:06

in today's video i'm going to show you

play00:07

how to answer one of the most important

play00:09

parts of the product manager

play00:10

interview the product case question and

play00:12

if you're new here don't forget to

play00:14

subscribe and check out all my other

play00:15

videos to learn more about product

play00:17

management and how to become one

play00:31

[Music]

play00:35

every product manager interview is gonna

play00:37

have a section where they're gonna ask

play00:39

you a product case question

play00:41

these are sometimes called product sends

play00:42

or product design question

play00:44

and the tricky part is that there is no

play00:47

common question at all

play00:48

the interviewers can ask you almost

play00:50

anything they want regardless of how

play00:52

crazy it can sound

play00:53

product case or product sense questions

play00:55

can get pretty crazy

play00:57

but don't worry today we'll go over a

play00:59

framework and the more you practice the

play01:01

sooner you realize that you can handle

play01:03

any product question they throw at you

play01:05

and during an interview

play01:06

for any of these product case questions

play01:08

you should have pen and paper ready to

play01:10

write down your ads

play01:13

[Music]

play01:16

during a product case question the

play01:18

interviewer is also going to evaluate

play01:20

you in your communication skills

play01:22

are you able to express your ideas

play01:23

clearly and are these ideas being

play01:25

communicated in a concise way and with a

play01:27

good structure

play01:29

and a very important one if you don't

play01:31

have the previous product management

play01:32

experience

play01:33

can you think and express yourself in

play01:35

the same way a product manager would

play01:37

but if everybody is using the same

play01:39

framework wouldn't we

play01:40

all give the same answer in short no the

play01:44

framework is just a way to

play01:45

guide you and your interviewer through

play01:47

an answer in fact it is

play01:49

to some degree expected that your answer

play01:52

will have a very similar structure to

play01:53

that of other candidates but it's very

play01:56

unlikely that you will actually give the

play01:58

same answer or arrive to a very similar

play02:00

conclusion as

play02:01

any other interviewee so with so many

play02:03

options and so many frameworks out there

play02:05

which one should you use well use the

play02:07

one that you're more comfortable with

play02:09

during an interview you have to sound

play02:11

natural and make it a dialogue with the

play02:13

interviewer

play02:14

everybody can remember a framework but

play02:16

the execution is what matters

play02:18

today i'll show you a framework that has

play02:20

no acronyms but rather steps to solve

play02:22

the problem

play02:23

this framework is not about introducing

play02:25

new concepts we're not reinventing the

play02:27

wheel here

play02:28

so use the one that works for you or

play02:30

even better adapt from multiple

play02:32

frameworks and create your own

play02:34

interviewers do not care about which

play02:36

framework you use they care about how

play02:38

you

play02:38

approach the problem

play02:44

there are different types of product

play02:46

case questions that you can get asked

play02:48

during an interview

play02:49

here are some examples you can get asked

play02:51

about improving a specific company

play02:52

product like

play02:53

how would you improve google maps or how

play02:55

would you improve microsoft teams

play02:57

and of course the product will depend on

play02:59

the company that you are interviewing

play03:00

with

play03:00

however interviewers can also ask you

play03:03

about improving

play03:04

your favorite tech or non-tech product

play03:06

another type of question they can ask

play03:08

you is about designing

play03:09

a product for a specific segment for

play03:11

example how would you design

play03:13

a new vending machine for blind people

play03:18

[Music]

play03:20

okay let's talk now about the framework

play03:22

the entire framework we're gonna follow

play03:24

looks like this

play03:30

one typical mistake that people do in an

play03:32

interview is that as soon as the

play03:34

interviewer

play03:35

asks a question like how would you

play03:37

design a new type of vending machine

play03:39

interviewers jump into solving the

play03:41

question right away

play03:43

you need to take a moment to understand

play03:45

the question they're asking you

play03:47

and here are some basic things that you

play03:48

should clarify about the case they're

play03:50

giving you in the interview

play03:52

number one constraints if the question

play03:55

is about a company product

play03:57

like improving hololens for microsoft it

play03:59

is most likely that you are in this

play04:01

exercise

play04:02

a pm for microsoft and you can be safe

play04:04

by confirming with your interviewer

play04:06

if the question is more generic like

play04:08

designing a new type of tv or a new type

play04:10

of vending machine

play04:11

then you need to know what kind of

play04:12

company you are a pm for the interviewer

play04:15

might tell you that you are working for

play04:16

a startup and therefore you have a limit

play04:18

on budget and time

play04:19

or you might be working for an r d

play04:21

facility for a company like facebook

play04:22

google or apple

play04:24

and you don't need to worry about

play04:25

constraints you can simply ask your

play04:28

interviewer something like

play04:29

for this case do we have any time and

play04:32

resources constrained that i need to be

play04:33

aware of

play04:34

or if it's a case where you need to

play04:36

improve a specific product for a company

play04:38

say hololens you can ask something like

play04:41

since we're improving hololens i'm

play04:42

assuming that in this case i'm a pm for

play04:44

microsoft

play04:45

is that right and are there any other

play04:47

resource and time constraints i should

play04:49

be aware of

play04:51

number two goal it is important that if

play04:54

the interviewer did not tell you the

play04:56

goal right away

play04:57

you find out what that goal is for this

play04:59

case it will be central to the entire

play05:01

framework

play05:03

however it's not a good idea to simply

play05:05

ask a question like

play05:07

what is the goal of developing this

play05:08

product it is kind of a lazy way to ask

play05:11

a question and the interviewer might ask

play05:13

you back

play05:14

what do you think the goal should be

play05:16

instead

play05:17

think of how the product is related to

play05:19

the company you're working with in this

play05:21

case question

play05:22

for example let's say that you are asked

play05:24

to design a new type of vending machine

play05:26

for google

play05:27

you can tell your interviewer something

play05:28

like this

play05:30

as far as i know google does not design

play05:32

vending machines at all

play05:34

in this case we are trying to enter the

play05:36

market with a new product so i'm

play05:38

thinking that increasing user adoption

play05:40

can be a good goal for us

play05:41

is that okay or do you have another goal

play05:43

in mind

play05:46

but what about revenue or profit or user

play05:49

satisfaction

play05:50

as long as the metrics are related to

play05:52

your constraints and the product

play05:54

it will be okay pick one and confirm

play05:56

with your interviewer

play05:59

and number three scope it is also

play06:02

important that you think of setting a

play06:03

scope for your solution

play06:05

using the example of the vending machine

play06:07

for google the requirements for a new

play06:09

type of vending machine may be different

play06:10

depending on whether it's going to be

play06:12

used for food

play06:13

or technology products or even google

play06:15

products

play06:16

setting a scope for this prompt can help

play06:18

you have a better idea of the type of

play06:20

users and constraints you need to think

play06:21

of

play06:23

pick one and let your interviewer know

play06:25

why you chose it

play06:26

but if you're not sure which one to go

play06:28

for you can ask your interviewer

play06:30

something like

play06:32

thinking of vending machines it's likely

play06:34

that the design and the needs will be

play06:36

different depending on the type of

play06:37

content it will have

play06:38

like food versus electronics or even

play06:41

google products

play06:42

and it can also be different depending

play06:44

on the locations that will be placed

play06:46

is there something in particular you'd

play06:47

like to focus on for this case

play06:49

and these three are some basic things

play06:51

that i recommend you should figure out

play06:52

before jumping into the next step of the

play06:54

framework

play06:55

don't be shy about asking other

play06:57

questions until you're ready to begin

play06:58

answering the case

play07:00

okay now that we clarify the constraints

play07:02

the goal and the scope of the question

play07:04

it's a good time to set the context of

play07:06

the both you and the interviewer are on

play07:08

the same page

play07:09

take a moment to talk about the

play07:10

competitors in the market that you know

play07:12

of

play07:12

if you have experience with the product

play07:14

talk about it what are the advantages or

play07:16

disadvantages about it

play07:18

don't spend more than a couple minutes

play07:19

here if you are designing a new product

play07:22

or a solution that currently doesn't

play07:23

exist in the market

play07:25

talk about what are the alternatives how

play07:27

are people solving this problem today

play07:29

finally if you are asked a question like

play07:31

what is your favorite product

play07:33

talk about it why is it your favorite

play07:35

product if you chose a product that is

play07:37

not very common

play07:38

which i highly recommend explain it

play07:40

briefly to your interviewer

play07:42

why is it better than other similar

play07:43

products

play07:45

all of this is gonna help set the

play07:46

context for the product and the rest of

play07:48

the case question

play07:50

okay now that we have more clarity

play07:52

around the question and we set the

play07:53

context

play07:54

now it's time to talk about the users

play07:56

and perhaps you want to ask your

play07:57

interviewer for

play07:59

one or two minutes to brainstorm and

play08:01

write down all the users that you can

play08:02

think of

play08:03

how long should you take well here's a

play08:06

trick that you can do to practice how

play08:08

much time to take during an interview

play08:10

start a timer and without looking at it

play08:13

try to guess when a minute and a half or

play08:15

two minutes have passed

play08:17

there's a moment where you will start

play08:18

feeling anxious that too much time has

play08:20

passed and you're close or

play08:22

over that minute and a half or two

play08:23

minute mark use the same approach in an

play08:25

interview

play08:26

ask for some time and when you start

play08:28

feeling that anxiety that you're close

play08:30

to a minute and a half or

play08:32

two minute mark it's time to start

play08:33

talking but what if you have not

play08:35

finished writing down your ideas and you

play08:37

feel that too much time has passed

play08:39

here's something you can do start

play08:42

talking about your ideas and call out

play08:43

that you are still brainstorming

play08:45

you can say for example okay i'm still

play08:48

finishing my list of users

play08:50

but let me tell you what i'm thinking

play08:51

about for the different segments we

play08:52

should target

play08:54

this is gonna give you just a little bit

play08:56

more time to finish that list of users

play08:58

that you were creating

play09:00

alright let's talk about now how to

play09:02

brainstorm different users

play09:05

my first recommendation is to avoid age

play09:08

ranges

play09:08

it doesn't really tell you much about

play09:10

the group and you might end up confused

play09:12

and confusing your interviewer

play09:15

instead focus on characteristics of the

play09:17

different groups

play09:18

for example group them by live stage you

play09:21

can talk about kids

play09:23

young adults adults and elderly or even

play09:26

by

play09:27

occupation students who are in college

play09:29

or grad school

play09:30

working professionals stay-at-home

play09:32

parents single parents or just parents

play09:35

and it can even be more related to

play09:37

specific activities

play09:39

frequent gym users or being outdoorsy

play09:42

and think also about people with

play09:44

disabilities someone who uses a

play09:46

wheelchair

play09:47

or someone who is blind and now mix them

play09:50

to form groups of users

play09:52

young adults who are working

play09:54

professionals and part-time students

play09:56

stay-at-home parents who uses a

play09:58

wheelchair

play10:00

kids who are in school or high school

play10:01

students and

play10:03

it's important to know that if you are

play10:04

going to talk about kids most likely

play10:06

you'll need to talk about parents

play10:08

while the users may be a kid the

play10:10

customer is most likely an adult

play10:13

and as you brainstorm these users think

play10:15

of the groups who are most likely going

play10:17

to use the

play10:18

product you are working with in the case

play10:20

additionally each group will have its

play10:22

own characteristics

play10:23

for instance working professionals will

play10:25

likely have little time to spur

play10:27

so every activity outside of work will

play10:29

compete to become a priority

play10:31

keep that in mind as you go through an

play10:32

answer overall i recommend that you

play10:34

brainstorm at least

play10:36

three different groups of users but what

play10:38

if the interviewer

play10:40

already asked you for a specific segment

play10:42

for example if the interviewer asked you

play10:44

to design a better atm for the elderly

play10:47

don't catalog them in just one big group

play10:49

there will likely be

play10:51

other users like adults or young adults

play10:53

for this product and you can't forget

play10:55

about them

play10:56

and within the group of elderly you can

play10:58

also have multiple segments

play11:00

for example you can even have users in

play11:02

this segment that may be blind

play11:04

list different segments within this

play11:06

group of users as they can change the

play11:08

direction you'll take during the case

play11:11

okay so we have our three groups of

play11:13

users and it's time to pick one

play11:15

choose one and confirm with your

play11:16

interviewer tell them

play11:18

why are you picking that segment for

play11:20

this particular case

play11:21

but which one should you pick there is

play11:24

actually no standard rule to select one

play11:26

so pick the one that you think makes the

play11:28

most sense for the case and don't forget

play11:30

to tell your interviewer

play11:31

why you picked that one for example

play11:34

you can pick one because you think it'll

play11:36

represent the largest market share and

play11:38

you can say something like this to your

play11:39

interviewer

play11:41

before we look at the pain points for

play11:42

our users out of these three groups of

play11:45

users i think we should target the young

play11:47

working professionals who are also

play11:49

part-time students

play11:50

i believe they can represent the largest

play11:52

market share for our product and

play11:54

since our goal is to enter the market

play11:55

with this new product

play11:57

i think it makes more sense to go after

play11:58

this segment would that be okay for you

play12:01

or do you prefer that we focus on

play12:02

another group

play12:05

alright so we created a group of users

play12:07

we mentioned the reason why we selected

play12:09

it and we confirm with our interviewer

play12:11

it is now time to think of the existing

play12:13

pain points for this group of users

play12:15

and once again take your time to

play12:17

brainstorm it's okay to take a minute

play12:19

and a half or two minutes or so

play12:21

and if you need more time is the tip

play12:23

that i shared before and talk about what

play12:25

you currently have written so far

play12:27

while brainstorming out loud in these

play12:29

product case questions

play12:31

you are asked to design or improve a

play12:33

product because

play12:34

there is a gap there is something that

play12:36

the current solution is not solving for

play12:38

the group of users

play12:39

now put yourselves in the shoes of the

play12:41

user segment that you selected

play12:43

and think of at least three pain points

play12:44

that are related to the product you're

play12:46

working with

play12:47

a common mistake here is that

play12:49

interviewees sometimes share

play12:51

pain points that are related to them and

play12:53

not to the group of users they selected

play12:55

when you think of the user groups that

play12:57

we talked about earlier there will be

play12:59

themes that are prevalent for each group

play13:01

that will be related to the pain points

play13:03

for example working professionals will

play13:05

likely have less free time and if the

play13:07

product requires a lot of time to be

play13:09

used

play13:10

that's a pain point for this group if

play13:12

you talk about kids

play13:13

you most likely will talk about parents

play13:15

and as you can imagine

play13:16

safety in any shape and form can be a

play13:18

pain point

play13:20

one last example for someone who uses a

play13:22

wheelchair

play13:23

when designing physical objects you may

play13:25

need to think not only of the space but

play13:27

also on how a wheelchair moves

play13:30

one distinction of these pain points

play13:32

versus the previous step where we

play13:33

brainstorm our users

play13:35

is that we will not select just one of

play13:36

the pain points we will actually use

play13:38

all of them and try to come up with

play13:40

solutions

play13:42

once you are ready to tell the

play13:43

interviewer the papers you brainstormed

play13:45

use a clean structure to list them

play13:47

remember make it as

play13:49

easy as possible for your interviewer to

play13:51

follow your thought process

play13:52

for example you can start by saying

play13:54

something like okay

play13:56

i thought about three payments for this

play13:57

group of users first

play14:00

and now that we understand the context

play14:02

of the problem the customers we are

play14:04

targeting and their pain points

play14:05

it's time to come up with a few ideas to

play14:07

improve or design our product

play14:09

once again ask the interviewer for a

play14:11

couple minutes to brainstorm solutions

play14:14

i told you about brainstorming three

play14:16

users and three pain points

play14:18

and i also suggest coming up with at

play14:19

least three solutions

play14:21

you can have more if you want just be

play14:23

conscious of your time during the

play14:24

interview and the fact that if your

play14:26

interview is over the phone

play14:27

you need to keep it structured and

play14:29

concise

play14:32

now to solve your customer pain points

play14:34

you don't need to map

play14:35

one pain point to one solution you can

play14:37

propose a solution that solves more than

play14:39

one pain point at the time

play14:41

or even all of them however don't forget

play14:43

to always propose

play14:44

at least three solutions and how do you

play14:47

come up with solutions or improvements

play14:48

to the product

play14:49

i have two rules and three suggestions

play14:51

for you

play14:53

rule number one make sure your solution

play14:55

actually solves at least one of the pain

play14:57

points

play14:58

i know it sounds obvious but i have seen

play15:00

many many candidates call out features

play15:02

or improvements that end up not solving

play15:04

any of the payments for the users

play15:06

and rule number two make sure that your

play15:08

solution is also related

play15:10

one way or another to the goal of the

play15:12

prompt for example

play15:13

if the goal that you and your

play15:14

interviewer agreed on at the beginning

play15:16

was to increase the customer

play15:18

satisfaction

play15:19

maybe an improvement on reducing price

play15:21

might not be the best way to achieve

play15:22

customer satisfaction

play15:24

and now on to the suggestions number one

play15:28

don't hold back on having more

play15:29

technology whether you are improving a

play15:31

pair of shoes or a mobile app

play15:33

don't be afraid to suggest new

play15:34

technologies to improve it don't limit

play15:37

yourself to just the technology that

play15:38

already exists in the product number two

play15:42

don't be afraid to mix multiple products

play15:44

from the same company

play15:45

for example if you're improving

play15:47

powerpoint hololens can be part of one

play15:49

of your solutions

play15:50

as long as it makes sense and as long as

play15:52

it solves the pain point go back to

play15:54

rules number one and number two

play15:56

and suggestion number three let your

play15:58

imagination run wild

play15:59

and have a moonshot idea do not be

play16:02

afraid to think of a crazy solution for

play16:04

the problem

play16:04

think of this if you had a magic wand

play16:07

how would you solve the problem

play16:09

that's your moonshot idea just make sure

play16:11

that your ideas follow rules number one

play16:13

and number two

play16:15

in fact companies like google love

play16:17

hearing about your moonshot ideas

play16:19

but what if it's so crazy that it's not

play16:21

visible what if the technology doesn't

play16:23

even exist

play16:25

don't worry we'll talk about

play16:26

prioritizing these solutions next

play16:29

all right time to prioritize our

play16:31

improvements to the product

play16:33

as always if you need time ask for it

play16:36

there are many ways to do this exercise

play16:38

during an interview

play16:39

for example you can prioritize based on

play16:42

visibility desirability and viability or

play16:46

impact versus effort analysis or any

play16:49

other framework

play16:50

to prioritize that you are comfortable

play16:51

with that you may already know

play16:53

so what is my recommendation regardless

play16:55

of the framework that you use

play16:57

to me there are four things that you

play16:58

have to take into account when

play17:00

prioritizing features during an

play17:01

interview

play17:02

number one the objective we clarified at

play17:05

the beginning of the prompt

play17:07

number two the pain point or pain points

play17:09

that

play17:10

if we were to solve will help us achieve

play17:12

our goal faster

play17:14

number three visibility and time

play17:16

remember your moonshot idea

play17:18

well you can say that while the

play17:19

technology is not available today

play17:21

you can prioritize r d for that solution

play17:23

because it can give you a huge

play17:24

differentiator in the future once it's

play17:26

completed

play17:27

and number four this last one applies

play17:29

only to physical products

play17:31

prioritize physical changes or

play17:33

improvements first

play17:34

once a customer buys your product it's

play17:36

easier to change software than changing

play17:38

a physical component of the product

play17:40

is there a perfect way to prioritize

play17:42

during an interview

play17:43

not really but having a framework and

play17:45

letting your interviewer know your

play17:47

thought process will lead you to a great

play17:48

answer

play17:50

we are almost at the end of our product

play17:52

case question

play17:54

now that you listed your features and

play17:55

prioritize them it's time for you to

play17:57

measure whether your ideas were

play17:59

successful if they were

play18:00

implemented the metrics that you will

play18:02

use to determine whether your idea is

play18:04

successful

play18:05

will depend on the type of solution you

play18:06

are implementing and for simplicity of

play18:09

the interview we can divide the metrics

play18:10

into two types

play18:12

user metrics that will help us

play18:14

understand how users behave over time

play18:16

around our product

play18:19

and product metrics that will help us

play18:20

understand how the users are interacting

play18:23

with our product

play18:24

let's do an example of metrics for a

play18:26

mobile app if you are developing or

play18:29

implementing a mobile app here are some

play18:31

of the metrics that you will talk about

play18:35

and if you are talking about a hardware

play18:37

or physical product

play18:38

your metrics will actually change here

play18:41

are a few of the metrics that you can

play18:42

track

play18:44

now you don't need to mention all of

play18:46

them during an interview

play18:47

pick the ones that you consider the most

play18:49

relevant and let the interviewer know

play18:51

for example you can say something like

play18:53

this now that we've prioritized and

play18:55

implemented the features i mentioned

play18:56

before

play18:57

and since our goal is to enter this new

play18:59

market

play19:00

i would measure the improvements on the

play19:02

mobile app by looking at the number of

play19:04

downloads

play19:05

daily weekly and monthly active users

play19:07

and the retention rate

play19:09

and i think we can also track the amount

play19:10

of time that it takes to users to

play19:12

discover our new feature

play19:13

that can also help us identify whether

play19:15

there are any issues in the ux and how

play19:17

we implemented this feature

play19:19

and while there are other metrics that

play19:20

we can use to track success in the

play19:22

mobile app

play19:23

these are just a few metrics to get us

play19:24

started if you're interested

play19:26

we can talk more about different metrics

play19:29

while this was an example on mobile apps

play19:32

as you practice more and more for your

play19:34

interviews

play19:34

you'll realize that you'll talk about

play19:36

different technologies and different

play19:37

products

play19:38

and you'll have to do some research on

play19:39

what are the most common or the most

play19:41

basic metrics to track

play19:42

for these different technologies that

play19:44

you will talk about

play19:45

and finally at this stage you are

play19:47

officially done with the product case

play19:49

question

play19:50

if you have a couple minutes left on

play19:51

this case you can use them to very

play19:53

quickly summarize the question

play19:55

the goal the product the user segment

play19:58

you worked with

play19:58

the pain points and improvements the

play20:00

prioritization you did

play20:02

and the metrics to track success of your

play20:04

improvements

play20:07

thank you so much for watching i hope

play20:09

you enjoyed this video and learn about a

play20:10

new framework to answer your product

play20:12

case question

play20:13

i wish you the best in your upcoming

play20:14

interviews and i'll see you next time

play20:23

you

Rate This

5.0 / 5 (0 votes)

Ähnliche Tags
Product ManagementInterview TipsCase QuestionsProduct DesignCommunication SkillsFramework GuideUser SegmentationPain Point AnalysisSolution PrioritizationMetrics Tracking
Benötigen Sie eine Zusammenfassung auf Englisch?