Strategy: Which Product Would You Sunset
A favorite strategy question of some interviewers that throws candidates off is: What product would you sunset or deprecate?
First, don’t worry, you don’t have enough information to make the right call. They are looking for your thought process not the right answer. Some things they might be evaluating:
Can the candidate prioritize?
What logic do you use to sunset a product?
Do you discuss tradeoffs?
Do you think about the users?
Can you properly consider the company’s mission?
Do you understand the value the product brings to the ecosystem?
There is no perfect answer.
More Reading
If you have never had to sunset a product, you might find this particularly difficult to even imagine. If you are looking for some thoughts on the subject, consider reading more here:
General Guide - Janna Bastow explains how in this guide to sunsetting a product.
Checklist Lenny Rachitsky came up with a handy checklist to help decide when it’s time to sunset a feature.
Organizational Perspective - Elite Truong explains how to approach sunsetting products from an organizational mindset of abundance.
Broader Implications PlanBeyond considers customer sentiment and competitive dynamics.
Communicating your Decision Benedikt Kantus explains there are also reasons to remove features.
If you would like to learn more about they types of Strategy questions you can encounter, check out this list.
