"Question for the community: have others experienced a situation where the interviewer really pushed for defining a success metric early on in the case before making too much progress on the case itself? If so, how did you handle?
How I approached the case:
I used the framework taught here on Exponent but have a question for the community.
At the beginning of the interview, I shared my steps - company goals, customer, painpoints, solutions, prioritize and if we had time, I'll explore some succ"
D P. - "Question for the community: have others experienced a situation where the interviewer really pushed for defining a success metric early on in the case before making too much progress on the case itself? If so, how did you handle?
How I approached the case:
I used the framework taught here on Exponent but have a question for the community.
At the beginning of the interview, I shared my steps - company goals, customer, painpoints, solutions, prioritize and if we had time, I'll explore some succ"See full answer
"I'd tell the interviewer that I'd start off with clarifying the question to make sure I understand it correctly (see 1 below). Then, I'd tell the interviewer my approach to make sure they know what to expect as I talk through. Approach would start with discussing the mission and connecting a north star metric (NSM) to the mission, then discuss key product metrics that are inputs towards NSM. If there's time at the end and if the interviewer wants to go down this path, we should also talk about t"
Michelle D. - "I'd tell the interviewer that I'd start off with clarifying the question to make sure I understand it correctly (see 1 below). Then, I'd tell the interviewer my approach to make sure they know what to expect as I talk through. Approach would start with discussing the mission and connecting a north star metric (NSM) to the mission, then discuss key product metrics that are inputs towards NSM. If there's time at the end and if the interviewer wants to go down this path, we should also talk about t"See full answer
"Meta Pay - What is it?
Payment platform that lets people buy and send money on Facebook, IG and Instagram
on platforms like FB and IG, people already find things they like and the businesses can sell directly on the platform through shops so Pay is closing the last mile and letting them also check out quickly once they’ve added their card details once. It’s making it a real one-stop shop.
It also allows making more transactions directly on the platform without having to enter card deta"
Rotem L. - "Meta Pay - What is it?
Payment platform that lets people buy and send money on Facebook, IG and Instagram
on platforms like FB and IG, people already find things they like and the businesses can sell directly on the platform through shops so Pay is closing the last mile and letting them also check out quickly once they’ve added their card details once. It’s making it a real one-stop shop.
It also allows making more transactions directly on the platform without having to enter card deta"See full answer
"To determine whether we should introduce a new ads placement on the Uber homepage, I will use the following framework:
Clarifying Questions
Mission and Goals
User Journey and Pain Points
A/B Testing Plan
Decision-Making Criteria
1. Clarifying Questions
To ensure I fully understand the problem, I would ask:
What type of ads are we considering? For example, are they full-screen ads, banner ads, or native ads integrated into the feed? --> Take your"
Shrey H. - "To determine whether we should introduce a new ads placement on the Uber homepage, I will use the following framework:
Clarifying Questions
Mission and Goals
User Journey and Pain Points
A/B Testing Plan
Decision-Making Criteria
1. Clarifying Questions
To ensure I fully understand the problem, I would ask:
What type of ads are we considering? For example, are they full-screen ads, banner ads, or native ads integrated into the feed? --> Take your"See full answer
"Ask clarifying questions
1/ Are there any business changes to be aware of?
2/ Youtube Premium already exists so I am guessing we are not revisiting changing the prices just restarting the process from scratch
3/ Pricing for a specific market? North America, Asia, somewhere else?
To tackle this I would break down the problem into a few steps,
What is Google's mission and how Youtube premium fits into that
Google's mission is to organize information and make it accessible to all
You"
Glados - "Ask clarifying questions
1/ Are there any business changes to be aware of?
2/ Youtube Premium already exists so I am guessing we are not revisiting changing the prices just restarting the process from scratch
3/ Pricing for a specific market? North America, Asia, somewhere else?
To tackle this I would break down the problem into a few steps,
What is Google's mission and how Youtube premium fits into that
Google's mission is to organize information and make it accessible to all
You"See full answer
Product Manager
Analytical
🧠 Want an expert answer to a question? Saving questions lets us know what content to make next.
"Clarify Questions:
Is this app in Facebook app? or we build a different app for this? - Yes, this is in FB app now.
Will we have monetization in the first launch or launch it for free first? - Free first, but there is a potential monetization in the future.
Context: we will launch Facebook Jobs in two weeks, indicating that this is a new product.
I want to step back a bit, why this is important for Meta. Meta mission is to make it easier to build community and bring the world closer"
Nayla D. - "Clarify Questions:
Is this app in Facebook app? or we build a different app for this? - Yes, this is in FB app now.
Will we have monetization in the first launch or launch it for free first? - Free first, but there is a potential monetization in the future.
Context: we will launch Facebook Jobs in two weeks, indicating that this is a new product.
I want to step back a bit, why this is important for Meta. Meta mission is to make it easier to build community and bring the world closer"See full answer
"Click- through rate (CTR) should not be analyzed in isolation. Combining it with watch time, bounce rate, and retention metrics ensures a comprehensive understanding of user engagement and content effectiveness.
Hypothetically, addressing the 10% CTR decline on Netflix
Understand & Identify where the CTR drop is:
Compare CTR trends over the past few weeks / months / years to identify if this a seasonal fluctuations or a major issue.
Is the 10% drop a platform-wide issue or specific to a"
Nagasowjanya V. - "Click- through rate (CTR) should not be analyzed in isolation. Combining it with watch time, bounce rate, and retention metrics ensures a comprehensive understanding of user engagement and content effectiveness.
Hypothetically, addressing the 10% CTR decline on Netflix
Understand & Identify where the CTR drop is:
Compare CTR trends over the past few weeks / months / years to identify if this a seasonal fluctuations or a major issue.
Is the 10% drop a platform-wide issue or specific to a"See full answer
"Clarifying questions
What is Facebook Events
How does this work
Is it only desktop based or app based as well
Why Meta built it
Core idea/tenet for Facebook is to have user engagement & to build everything around it. While people continue to interact with Facebook and create content on it, to increase the duration of engagement, having capability to host virtual events ensures community participation and making Facebook go beyond status and photo updates and let people coordinate"
Mohammad M. - "Clarifying questions
What is Facebook Events
How does this work
Is it only desktop based or app based as well
Why Meta built it
Core idea/tenet for Facebook is to have user engagement & to build everything around it. While people continue to interact with Facebook and create content on it, to increase the duration of engagement, having capability to host virtual events ensures community participation and making Facebook go beyond status and photo updates and let people coordinate"See full answer
"Clarification: workplace is a communication messaging tool for employee to send and receive messages.
Why:
meta's mission
current landscape
market trends
meta's unique value
strength & weakness
Workplace Mission: build a communication tool for employees to better collaborate and engage with each other
Goal: focus on engagement, not revenue
Product ecosystem:
Meta
Company sourcing department
IT department
User:
sender/receiver
#of people log in
#of people"
Mark H. - "Clarification: workplace is a communication messaging tool for employee to send and receive messages.
Why:
meta's mission
current landscape
market trends
meta's unique value
strength & weakness
Workplace Mission: build a communication tool for employees to better collaborate and engage with each other
Goal: focus on engagement, not revenue
Product ecosystem:
Meta
Company sourcing department
IT department
User:
sender/receiver
#of people log in
#of people"See full answer
"What is Meta Quest, Horizon world VR game? Horizons worlds is a platform that lets creators build worlds where real people can come and interact. This could be a gaming world, a socializing world, a marketplace, immersive experience, etc.
Why would people want to use Horizon worlds: Because it isn’t possible to always visit all places in person
I know that Meta has been encouraging creators at this time because the Horizon’s worlds needs a lot of worlds for it to be interesting for customers
Cus"
Sandhya P. - "What is Meta Quest, Horizon world VR game? Horizons worlds is a platform that lets creators build worlds where real people can come and interact. This could be a gaming world, a socializing world, a marketplace, immersive experience, etc.
Why would people want to use Horizon worlds: Because it isn’t possible to always visit all places in person
I know that Meta has been encouraging creators at this time because the Horizon’s worlds needs a lot of worlds for it to be interesting for customers
Cus"See full answer
"Clarifying questions:
How much is the decline?
Since when have sales been declining?
Make sure that it has correlation with competition and not a premature assumption that can come from something internal (not external competition).
Is it all the stores? What is the variation in the dicline?
If you have stores that have 20% less sales vs some that are steady, it might be something related to the store experience specifically.
How does the decrease in sales compare to cities that ha"
Natalia N. - "Clarifying questions:
How much is the decline?
Since when have sales been declining?
Make sure that it has correlation with competition and not a premature assumption that can come from something internal (not external competition).
Is it all the stores? What is the variation in the dicline?
If you have stores that have 20% less sales vs some that are steady, it might be something related to the store experience specifically.
How does the decrease in sales compare to cities that ha"See full answer
"Context - I joined a large public-facing service as a PM midway through its development.
Situation - Due to the SOPs of the company the team already had a metrics framework. That included your standard DAUs, Retention and Acquisition Metrics
Concern -
As SOP metrics were publicly accepted, the team did not internalise what success actually means to the product they are developing, as the actual value was not being encapsulated in the framework
This was evident in the show and tells as the"
Umang S. - "Context - I joined a large public-facing service as a PM midway through its development.
Situation - Due to the SOPs of the company the team already had a metrics framework. That included your standard DAUs, Retention and Acquisition Metrics
Concern -
As SOP metrics were publicly accepted, the team did not internalise what success actually means to the product they are developing, as the actual value was not being encapsulated in the framework
This was evident in the show and tells as the"See full answer
"As a Product Manager for Instagram Reels, understanding Meta's investment in this product requires considering the broader competitive landscape, primarily TikTok, and Instagram's monetization strategy through ads. The focus on Reels is a strategic move to capture a share of the short-form video market, increase user engagement, and drive ad revenue.
Lets start with why Meta invested in Instagram reels
1. Competing with TikTok:
TikTok's explosive growth in the short-form video space pose"
R K. - "As a Product Manager for Instagram Reels, understanding Meta's investment in this product requires considering the broader competitive landscape, primarily TikTok, and Instagram's monetization strategy through ads. The focus on Reels is a strategic move to capture a share of the short-form video market, increase user engagement, and drive ad revenue.
Lets start with why Meta invested in Instagram reels
1. Competing with TikTok:
TikTok's explosive growth in the short-form video space pose"See full answer
"Clarifying Questions:
Do we want to target a particular geography or location or should it be done globally? Assume global
Is there any particular platform and device we are targeting (App/web) or should it be cross platforms? Cross platforms
Can I think about it as Product led solutions or do you want to consider marketing alternatives as well? Let's start with Product led solutions & later if time permits, we can touch on the marketing side as well
Are there any constra"
Hashmina H. - "Clarifying Questions:
Do we want to target a particular geography or location or should it be done globally? Assume global
Is there any particular platform and device we are targeting (App/web) or should it be cross platforms? Cross platforms
Can I think about it as Product led solutions or do you want to consider marketing alternatives as well? Let's start with Product led solutions & later if time permits, we can touch on the marketing side as well
Are there any constra"See full answer
"Clarify:
I will assume that misinformation includes posts, videos and pictures and that sources could be Groups/ Pages and Individuals.
High level structure: Mission, Information funnel and drop-off points, Metrics & Trade-offs, Mitigations
Mission/ Strategy: Facebook's mission is to bring the world closer together and empower people to build community. Reliable information is key to fostering a healthy community. In light of recent world events and public sentiment, it is important f"
Ash J. - "Clarify:
I will assume that misinformation includes posts, videos and pictures and that sources could be Groups/ Pages and Individuals.
High level structure: Mission, Information funnel and drop-off points, Metrics & Trade-offs, Mitigations
Mission/ Strategy: Facebook's mission is to bring the world closer together and empower people to build community. Reliable information is key to fostering a healthy community. In light of recent world events and public sentiment, it is important f"See full answer
"I used the GAME method.
Started first with defining the product and setting the mission and goal for Zoom. Stated that the product grew in popularity in 2020-2021 for both business and personal use, but since lockdown ended, shifted to business use. Goal is to effortlessly and seamlessly connect people anywhere. Focused on the business use case and stated Zoom makes revenue through contracts signed with various enterprises. Due to maturity of the product and business focused, said it make"
Jeffrey F. - "I used the GAME method.
Started first with defining the product and setting the mission and goal for Zoom. Stated that the product grew in popularity in 2020-2021 for both business and personal use, but since lockdown ended, shifted to business use. Goal is to effortlessly and seamlessly connect people anywhere. Focused on the business use case and stated Zoom makes revenue through contracts signed with various enterprises. Due to maturity of the product and business focused, said it make"See full answer
"We'll consider cost-effectiveness, environmental impact, convenience, and scalability. Here are key metrics and trade-offs to consider:
Cost Metrics
Operational Costs: Compare the direct costs associated with operating each mode of transit, including vehicle maintenance, fuel or energy, and driver salaries.
Subsidization Level: Assess how much subsidy each option requires per ride or per passenger to remain free or low-cost to employees.
Cost Efficiency: Analyze the cost p"
Siddhant S. - "We'll consider cost-effectiveness, environmental impact, convenience, and scalability. Here are key metrics and trade-offs to consider:
Cost Metrics
Operational Costs: Compare the direct costs associated with operating each mode of transit, including vehicle maintenance, fuel or energy, and driver salaries.
Subsidization Level: Assess how much subsidy each option requires per ride or per passenger to remain free or low-cost to employees.
Cost Efficiency: Analyze the cost p"See full answer
"There are several categories of ads that users may encounter on YouTube content pages, depending on the user's device and browser. To narrow the scope of my answer, I am going to assume this is a non-skippable, midroll video ad that is 15 seconds long, and shown to a non-premium desktop user in the US.
The next step is to clarify the motivations behind the proposed feature. Are non-relevant ads harmful to the overall user satisfaction? Do users engage more with relevant ads? Are advertisers mak"
Will P. - "There are several categories of ads that users may encounter on YouTube content pages, depending on the user's device and browser. To narrow the scope of my answer, I am going to assume this is a non-skippable, midroll video ad that is 15 seconds long, and shown to a non-premium desktop user in the US.
The next step is to clarify the motivations behind the proposed feature. Are non-relevant ads harmful to the overall user satisfaction? Do users engage more with relevant ads? Are advertisers mak"See full answer
"Clarifications:
Where are we launching? -- US first
1:1 or n:n video conferencing? -- you assume
Consumers or Business? -- consumers
Part of FB or standalone product? -- part of messenger app
Is it MVP launch or a full feature product? -- MVP
What capabilities exist in the video conference product? -- you assume what capabilities will be
> Trends and Markets
Competitors:
Consumer
Zoom
Google Meet
Business:
Slack
MS Teams
Trends:
More and more people are usi"
Aniket A. - "Clarifications:
Where are we launching? -- US first
1:1 or n:n video conferencing? -- you assume
Consumers or Business? -- consumers
Part of FB or standalone product? -- part of messenger app
Is it MVP launch or a full feature product? -- MVP
What capabilities exist in the video conference product? -- you assume what capabilities will be
> Trends and Markets
Competitors:
Consumer
Zoom
Google Meet
Business:
Slack
MS Teams
Trends:
More and more people are usi"See full answer
"Overall, a successful Netflix viewing session requires that the user was able to find a piece of content that they loved watching. Now, to break this down, how we might define this:
-Time browsing (from app open to content played)
-Satisfaction
--> inferred satisfaction: did user complete watching the piece of content?
--> explicit: did the user rank that they loved the content (2 thumbs up)?
The way I would evaluate a new Top Picks ML feature would be to implement an A/B test as follows:
Te"
Henry H. - "Overall, a successful Netflix viewing session requires that the user was able to find a piece of content that they loved watching. Now, to break this down, how we might define this:
-Time browsing (from app open to content played)
-Satisfaction
--> inferred satisfaction: did user complete watching the piece of content?
--> explicit: did the user rank that they loved the content (2 thumbs up)?
The way I would evaluate a new Top Picks ML feature would be to implement an A/B test as follows:
Te"See full answer