The following are 9 quick tips for product design/sense prompts.

1. Giving Feedback

A common question is “How do I give good feedback?” I wrote a series on how to grade all manner of interview prompts. For the complete list, check here.

2. Question Types

The interview type is typically called Product Design, Product Insights or Product Sence. Regardless of the name and different styles, the point of these interviews is to see if you can think like a product person. Regardless of what they call it, there are typically two types of questions within this category: Design vs Improve.

Design

This is more big picture. Think “Design a teleportation device” or “Design an app to find doctors.” In these questions, you need to think with a startup mentality. You have a little more freedom. You are less worried that the interviewer knows the product inside and out. (Although don’t be fooled, they have probably asked this question 50+ times so they already know what they expect. But you can think outside the box. You will often think about user segments.

Improve

This is more iterative. Often (but not always), thinking about use cases or jobs to be done will help you more than segmentation. You want to think about improving the core experience. Often prioritization is about improving for the largest total addressable market rather than a niche you might more easily select for the design prompt.

These designations are rough and not an absolute rule.

3. Clarifying Questions

Use common sense, not a memorized list. Do NOT start with location questions, that sound memorized and 9 out of 10 times doesn’t help you and/or flat out hurts you. Stop and think about what you need to know to move forward. Diagram the prompt and extract the most important things you need to know. When you do ask a question, do it more as an assumption than begging to be handed an answer.

4. Strategic Setup

Keep it simple. Most people overdo it because there are so many things you could address. General rules of thumb include:

• For Google:

  • user insights

  • technology insights

  • competitive landscape (if relevant)

• For Meta/Stripe/Execution-Focused Companies

  • company mission/strengths

  • competitive landscape/opportunities

  • if relevant, identify marketplace dynamics

    • think: stakeholders

  • pick a primary stakeholder focus as your key user

    • if a senior candidate, don’t ignore the other side entirely

For all companies, try to come up with a Goal here or after the user segments, no goal, no way to know what you should measure.

5. User Segmentation

It is important to understand you can segment based on more traditional personas or use cases (think jobs to be done), or a blended persona with use cases. There is no hard and fast rule, but if you do better with one over the other, identify it and practice it so you can leverage it comfortably.

Think: Improve Spotify | Jobs to Be Done

• Listen while working JTBD = get in the zone

• Listen while traveling JTBD = get access without looking at device

• Listen while running errands JTBD = get in the mood or be distracted

Think: App to find doctors | Specialized Need or Mindset

• Dermatologist Mindset = I want visual proof

• Carteologist Mindest = I need someone I trust for possible threats to life

• Hematologist Mindset = I need a specialist who knows the specifics of the niche

6. Prioritization

Meta vs Google vs The Rest

Meta (and Execution focused companies like Stripe)

• Use A Grid | But don’t read it to me line for line

• Have an explanation for each category you prioritize by

  • Biggest problem: Saying Impact without defining impact

  • Second biggest problem: Picking eng effort for pain points or users before you know solution

Google (and most common)

• Share logic

• Don’t sound too frameworky

• Typically don’t need to see the grid but you can use it if it feels natural

The Rest

• Ask recruiters

• Likely not enough time for detailed grids

7. Pain Points

Most people giving the design case are obsessed with seeing you identify the pain point, and keeping to one pain point. For Meta, if you don’t stay focused on the singular pain point they will fail you. Most other companies will allow some variation but you will still do best if you stay focused. Be careful, if two pain points are too similar, they will nail you to the wall at Meta, not so much at many other companies.

8. Solutions

You can either devise one solution and focus on the key features, or you can come up with multiple ideas. Before you get started, know which way you are going. I have seen a lot of candidates mixing and matching and ideas 1 and 2 belong to the same solution and the third idea is standalone, this can cause you to lose your interviewer’s attention and/or confuse them.

If you are struggling to come up with big ideas, check out my article on 5 Ideas in 5 Days.

9. Success Metrics

If you get to this point, you are likely short on time, keep to the rule of three and just list three metrics. Here are some simple things to avoid:

• Listing Growth metrics (Acquisition, Activation, etc.) when you need Core User Metrics (Engagement)

• Calling Acquisition or Engagement a metric (in this case, that is just a class or metrics)

  • Think: “Daily Active Users” or “# users taking X action per week” instead

• Not linking back to the goal you set and just randomly listing metrics

• Realizing you can’t measure the goal you set (get better at setting goals)