Stakeholders vs Users
When talking about segmentation, many candidates confuse Stakeholders and Users. A quick look at a dictionary can help you baseline. Getting nervous about the interview process causes some people to forget the basic meaning of the words.
A user is a stakeholder until you decide which stakeholder you want to focus on for your case. While a user is a stakeholder but not all stakeholders are possible users for a given case prompt.
What’s in a Word
Stakeholders
people with an interest or concern in something, especially a business.
User
noun. a person who uses or operates something, especially a computer or other machine..
Prompt: Self-Driving cars
Example Stakeholders:
drivers
riders
ride hailing services
regulators
transportation competitors
For FAANGs, you want to focus on Consumers as your users. There are two key reasons for this:
They are consumer focused companies that want to see candidates are the same.
You know what it is like to be a consumer, but to be a professional, you have no idea what niche products are out there. Unless you have a close friend or family member in the space, it is dangerous on top of leaving interviewers wondering if you can be consumer focused.
Example Users:
Drivers: Behavioral
Commute
Errands
Vacation
Drivers: Motivational
Love Driving
See driving as necessary
Hate Driving
Drivers: Mindset
Shutting out the world: finally, time for myself
Making the best of it: if I am stuck, at least I can watch a movie
Can’t get me out fast enough: ugh, stuck in a box
Compound User Segmentation
You can actually use a compound approach when narrowing down users. You can say: I want to think about the repeatitive nature of the task followed by motivation.
So maybe you pick commuting and then dive one layer deeper and talk about Loving vs Hating driving.
Or what you do in the car: Shutting out the world or feeling stuck in a box.
Articles on User Segmentation
User Segmentation: Motivation, Mindset & Behavior