How to solve Product Design Questions in PM interviews ?

Cracking Product Management interviews using CIRCLES method

Image from Impact Interview

One of the most popular questions in Product Management interviews is around designing a new product or improving an existent one. The key skills that an interviewer is testing in a product design case is the following:

Skills tested in a Product design case

Some of the sample interview questions are :

1. Design an alarm clock for blind
2. How would you improve Facebook feed
3. Design a bicycle renting app for college residents

Once the case problem is stated in the PM interview , then initially you might experience a gut wrenching feeling of “Where should I start from ?”. It is then that frameworks provide a very methodical approach to solving problems in a structured manner. It helps to break down a bigger problem into smaller chunks and solve each piece bit by bit to complete the puzzle.

One of my favourite frameworks to solve Product Design questions is using the CIRCLES method created by Lewis C. Lin, author of Decode and Conquer. The CIRCLES method has not only helped me in PM interviews but also in day to day decision making as a PM.

In the next section we’ll understand the CIRCLES method in detail and also try applying the same to a sample product design case .

Sample Product Design Case : Design a bicycle renting app for college residents

C : Comprehend the situation

This part entails understanding the problem better and asking clarifying questions to the interviewer.

• Why are we building this product (Objective or Goal) ?
• What is the product that has to be built ?
• How will the product be used ?

Applying Step 1 to the Sample product design case

Tip: Once done with the clarifying questions, then state the steps that you would follow to solve the problem upfront. This gives a clear direction to the interview and interviewer also gets clarity on what to expect next.

I : Identifying the customer

This stage involves identifying :

• Who are we building the product for? Who are our target customers ?
• Here, enlist 3–4 top potential users for the product.
• While it is not possible to focus on all the users at the same time so choose any one customer segment and define the persona for them.

Applying Step 2 to sample product design case

R : Report customer needs

At this stage, identify the pain points or user needs of the persona that was selected in the previous step.

• Think about 3 to 5 user needs/pain points/use cases at this stage.
• Greater the clarity you would have on what the user needs, better would be the quality of solutions.

Tip: Deliberate upon the user journey and then you can sequentially list all the needs.

Applying Step 3 to sample product design case

C : Cut through prioritisation

Next step is to prioritise the various user stories that were decided in the earlier stage.

• In real life also, as a Product manager we cannot solve for all pain points together. This is where prioritisation becomes extremely critical. The art lies in first prioritising the user stories that are critical for building the MVP (Minimum Viable Product).
• The fundamental basis of different prioritisation frameworks is identifying the different criteria that are important for evaluating the various user needs.
• The different parameters that could be used in prioritisation matrix are — Revenue , Customer Satisfaction , Effort , Impact, Technical feasibility etc

Applying Step 4 to sample product design case

L : List Solutions

At this stage brainstorm and list all the solutions/features that can address the pain points of users that were prioritised in the previous step.

• Push yourself and aim for around 5+ solutions
• Use techniques like Reversal method, 5 Why ?, Scamper method to brainstorm solutions.
• After this pick up the top 3–4 solutions from your list and share it with the interviewer. Explain:

1. What is the feature ?
2. How does the feature work ?
3. How does it solve the user need ?

Applying Step 5 to sample product design case

E : Evaluate tradeoffs

At this step, do a pros and cons analysis of the solutions that were proposed. The analysis could be done on different criteria like revenue, customer satisfaction, technical feasibility etc.

By evaluating the tradeoffs you can see your solutions in a more objective manner. You also come across as a thoughtful, practical and analytical person in your approach. Also by being critical of your own solutions, there is little room left for the interviewer to critique your solutions.

S : Summarise recommendation

…..and finally after much discussion, now make your final recommendation of the solution citing the reasons of selection for the same. You can also propose any other steps or the success metrics for the product on case basis.

In summary, you can wrap the case by highlighting through the various steps of the CIRCLES method that you took during the course of interview to defend the final recommendation being made.

Thank you for having read this article and spending your valuable time!

I truly believe that learning is a lifelong process and when shared it multiplies. So this was my attempt to share my learnings with all of you. I hope you found this article useful and could ease out your preparation journey towards cracking your dream PM job.

If you liked this article then please share it with your friends who are aspiring PMs or already in the role. Also do comment and let me know how do you solve design cases or are there any other frameworks that you follow. Looking forward to learning from all!

This post has been published on www.productschool.com communities