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September 23 - October 1, 2023
Product sense—and the process of empathizing with a target user’s needs—extends to almost any product we interact with,
Brand-new products require deep research to address real problems and innovate on the shortcomings of what is already in the market.
PMs, sitting at the center of many moving pieces—and serving as the voice of the customer—can introduce structure to an organization so that the right problems are efficiently solved.
The key to getting hired in product management is to first strengthen your product intuition and develop a deep grasp of the fundamentals—only then will you be ready to apply your knowledge in an interview, and take a structured approach to finding the right job for you.
“What should we build and why?”
Product jobs generally require one to navigate ambiguity, exhibit leadership and calm temperament, and demonstrate the tenacity to deliver new features.
Framing the WSB problem: Product Vision, North Star Metric, Strategy Discovering User Value and Identifying Problems Prioritize Execution
We are building [Solution] in order to solve [Pain Point] for [Persona]. This is important for the business because [Strategic theme] which relates to our [Vision], and will be measured by [North Star Metric].
In the context of product management, framing a problem is articulating the constraints and assumptions that you’ll use to guide your decision-making.
What are we trying to achieve and how will it support the company’s strategic goals and mission? What is the business outcome we are trying to achieve, or the customer use case we are trying to enable? What is the competitive landscape and why is now the right time to invest in specific strategic areas? What does success look like and how will we measure it? What are the specific customer behaviors we want to influence or change?
A vision helps frame problem statements at the highest level; if everyone can clearly see the goals, subsequent steps such as designing the feature or product become more productive and likely to succeed.
Measuring success is the quantitative part of establishing a vision.
Setting a vision for your product as well as a metric by which you will measure success are two very important pieces of the WSB approach—and they should always be considered in tandem.
One great aspect of product management is that PMs usually have a seat at the table when strategy is discussed. Executives, and other important business leaders, tend to listen when we explain what must be built in order to address market gaps or to make progress toward the mission.
What are competitors doing and how have they solved similar problems? Do we have any proprietary advantages (technology, data, etc.) that we can use to innovate? Where are the industry headwinds and how can we avoid them? Are there new technologies on the horizon that we can start planning for now?
When planning product roadmaps, establishing themes rather than individual features may help establish a clearer link between the vision and product development.
A PM with deep empathy for her users is ready to initiate a discovery process to figure out the what. Strong features are built when sufficient time is allocated to discovery and design.
Behavior prediction is the process of trying to anticipate how a user might react to a change in a product or system.
he advises early-stage startups to “launch as soon as you can, so you start learning from users what you should have been making.”
If multiple products within the same industry all have Feature X, then we describe Feature X as table stakes—meaning that it is more or less required in this particular space in order for the product to be successful, or a market leader, due to existing expectations within that market.
Good product design is not only about creating an intuitive user interface, but it is also about creating workflows that help the customer achieve their desired goal—by reducing or eliminating any problems they might encounter along the way.
A pain point is an obstacle on the journey a user takes between his starting state and his goal state.
How to mitigate: Show your prioritization method to anyone who comes with a request. Walk through it with them. Try to discern a business and customer value behind the request, and work with them to determine if the request is something that might impact more customers than just the one requesting it.
This is gold for prioritisation.
How to mitigate: Always spend time reiterating the goal. At least on a monthly cadence, but it doesn’t have to be as rigid as that. Put it at the start of every slide deck, or ask people to remind you what it is.
the PM owns the outcome of the release and will bear the brunt of any negative feedback from inside or outside the company if something goes wrong.
When a PM is lucky enough to have a project or program manager supporting his team, it can allow the PM to focus on strategy, research, and longer-term thinking about the product roadmap. In media, entertainment, and games, project managers are referred to as “producers.”
In other words, the product metrics or KPIs are a core responsibility for PMs to track, analyze, interpret, and ultimately communicate to everyone else.
A mistake that many PMs make is to list out different metrics that they want to know, without fully understanding how they will be used later.
“How likely are our least engaged users to buy?”
How i should ask questions to uncover the right metrics.
The key to effectively using data as a PM is to use it to guide your product toward the goal that you, and the company, have set.
Remember how we talked about finding the North Star, and the right vision for a product? When you are interviewing, you are the product. Do you know what you want to work on, and what you would be good at?
Product Sense and Design Execution Product Strategy Leadership
Tell me about a time you had to pitch for resources to complete a project.
Completing end user pricing MVP by asking for additional resource
How do you balance technical debt with feature improvements?
Tell me about a time that you had to mediate a conflict b...
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Resolving issues between product support and customer facing managers
It would be wise to think of some times when you have stepped up, defused a situation, or saved the day so that you can describe
Think of solving unit of measure for MsC by solving for scale. Background Uom normlise
Why? As has been a central theme in Product Sense, framing the problem statement and understanding user needs must come before any solution is settled on. We can’t stress it enough: these initial steps are the most important part of the PM job.
We are building [Solution] in order to solve [Pain Point] for [Persona]. This is important for the business because [Strategic theme] and [Vision], and will be measured by [North Star].
Revisiting user stories
After hearing the question, you should pause and let the interviewer know that you’d like to first discuss the higher-level objectives.
How to start off answering questions
“Let’s take a step back.” “I’d like to first frame the problem by looking at the goals.” “With any product improvement, the first step is to understand what we are trying to achieve.” By clearly articulating the high-level vision of the company, you are demonstrating your passion for the product and why it exists; thus, exhibiting Culture Fit, another rubric category.
How to answer a question?
A company creates “strategic themes” when there are multiple strategic areas that can, collectively, represent a high-level action plan on which teams can execute. Strong product teams invest in themes, not features, and when answering interview questions it is important to outline your interpretation of the company’s strategic themes.
2 Step in answering , envision strategic themes.
Competitive developments
Point of parity and point of differentiation
Business goals
Impacting revenue and profitability
etc.). Consumer tastes and preferences
Cathcing up parallel industry treands.
Ex: Chatgpt bein used in all products
Explore Relevant Personas or Cohorts Rubric Categories: User Empathy, Problem Framing and Goal Setting, Domain Knowledge
Product Design and Sense: For whom are you building? What are the user types? Product Execution: What are the possible cohorts or user segments by which you’d slice and dice the data? Examples might include engagement buckets or LTV tiers. Product Strategy: How big are the target audiences for each strategic option? What are their switching costs or best alternatives? Product Leadership: Who are the actors in the scenario, and what are their motivations and goals?
How to create user personas, slice and dice based on what parameter?
Making a decision using a pros/cons list Determining the best return on an investment (over multiple options) Writing out a to-do list with multiple workstreams (e.g.,, work, childcare, home improvement) Planning your exercise schedule for the week Developing and managing a personal or family budget
Your research on the company, product, the Compass Framework, or other structured-communication tools that you might want to remind yourself to use during an interview can be great resources to have in front of you when interviewing remotely. We all become nervous and forget things in high-pressure situations. Hedge your dependency on your flawed human memory by plastering your workstation with quick references to which you can refer, in a pinch.
Utilize a white board.
Clarify first.
