Clarifying Questions (2-3 mins)
This is the spear of the whole question. It’s really important to ask why and get more context.
Example questions:
● Why do you want to build this product? Can you give me more context?
● Is there a specific market you were thinking about launching this product in?
● What time frame were you thinking of launching this?
Prep Time (1-2 mins)
Take this time to formulate an answer
Preview (1-2 mins)
Tell the interview how you’re going to solve the problem with an outline below: mission, goals,
market segmentation (prioritized and pick a market), pain points and delighters, solutions and a
summary. Listen to an example.
Mission (1 min)
Everything flows from the mission and it’s important that the goals, market segmentation,
problems and solution all can weave back to the mission. Write the mission on a sticky note
and put it right next to your camera and get it right - word for word.
Goals (3-4 mins)
List 2-3 goals which are appropriate for this project. They need to be high level but also specific
enough that you can build a product against this and measure the results.
Example goals:
● Goal 1: Demonstrate strong market adoption of this product in a target market
● Goal 2: Demonstrate strong engagement in this product using 30-day retention post
adoption
Market Segmentation (5-7 min)
Think of any market segmentation as a bell curve. What human behavior would capture this
product well in a bell curve? A bell curve is nice because it has a center, and two tails. Lay out
a 4 x 3 table grid of segments (3) and score each with s small medium large for reach and
impact. Then prioritize and pick (and bold) and segment based on the greatest reach and
impact.
Example Segmentation (for a product to build a new line of potato chips)
Segment Reach Impact
Hates potato chips S S
Eats potato chips L M
Daily potato head S L
Pain Points / Delighters (10m)
This is the most important part of the interview here. If you can show simple, deep pain points
which make the product manager interviewer feel badly for your segment, that’s 50% of the
battle. Also, it should make coming up with a solution much easier. Bold the pain points that
are most salient to your segment.
Example Pain Points (for a product to build an apartment finder for young families)
● Finding the right neighborhood is really hard.
● Budget is really important to me and I can’t go too high
● I want to live near people my same age
● I want to be close to shopping
● I need to be near schools for my young children
● I can’t live off a super busy street for my kids
● The apartment definitely needs a pool
Solution (10-15m)
The solution should follow a real-life example of how products are actually rolled out, an mvp, a
roadmap (v2) and a big vision.
Example Solution (for a product to build an apartment finder for young families)
MVP
● Feature 1: a finder which allows user to enter budget and location, and amenities
like like pools,
● Feature 2: a search result which shows available apartments with pricing and
pool indicators
● Feature 3: an overlap feature which shows traffic patterns
Roadmap
● Learn from the MVP and iterate on the above features
● Prioritize 1-2 additional features like shopping and nearby things-to-do
Vision
● Use AI to infer what users want and show apartments that may want to upgrade
to or are offering special move in deals.
● Use AI and user data to show apartments which map to what the user is
interested in, e.g. this apartment is great because it’s near awesome schools, it’s
on a quite street, and also has nearby tennis courts that you could use to
improve your game.
Summary (1-2 mins)
Now go from bottom to top and show how you have created an MVP product, which clearly
solves users problems, for your chosen market segment, and would meet the goals and deliver
on the customer mission!
✅Product Insights Template
Clarifying Questions
Mission
Goals
Market Segmentation
Pain Points / Delighters
Solution
Summary
