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Introduction to Product Sense

A product analyst is essentially a data analyst—with product chops.

By this point in the interview loop, you’ve already shown your technical ability to analyze data, surface insights, and make recommendations aligned with business goals. Product sense questions take things a step further. They’re designed to assess your creativity, empathy, and product thinking.

Because they feel so different from technical questions, many candidates get nervous or freeze up—just like the awkward example above. They either ramble, go too high-level, or don’t know how to go beyond surface-level preferences.

Here are some examples of common product sense questions:

  • What’s your favorite product and why?
  • How would you improve your favorite product?
  • How would you improve Instagram Stories?
  • Design a product for space travel.
  • Design a parking feature for Maps.

These aren’t just hypothetical. These are the kinds of problems product managers think through all the time—not only in interviews, but in their actual day-to-day work.

So why should you, a product analyst, be prepared for them? Isn’t this out of scope (to borrow a favorite PM phrase)?

Well, not quite.

Product analysts work closely with product managers. And when an analyst can think like a PM, it dramatically improves collaboration. In smaller teams or early-stage companies, you may even be expected to make product recommendations directly based on your data findings. Having product sense means you can make more relevant, realistic, and impactful suggestions.

Now that you know why product sense matters, let’s get into how to prep for it.

In this course, you’ll go through the most common types of product questions you may face in a product analyst interview—whether they come as a standalone question or a full case study.

To help you succeed, we’re bringing in the best content from our flagship Product Manager Interview Prep course—resources that have helped PMs land roles at top tech companies. As a product analyst candidate, you’ll get access to this proven material, layered on top of your core analytics prep.

Prep like a PM. Stand out like a star PA. Let’s get cracking.

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