Product Sense Interview Guide

A Product Sense interview assesses your ability to understand user needs, define product solutions, and make strategic decisions. It evaluates your product intuition, prioritization skills, and understanding of the user journey. This guide provides a detailed, practical roadmap to excel in these interviews, complete with real-world tips and actionable strategies.

Key Steps in a Product Sense Interview

Understand the Format

Familiarize yourself with the typical structure and key evaluation criteria.

  • Introduction (5 minutes)
  • Scenario Presentation (5-10 minutes)
  • Discussion (20-40 minutes)
  • Wrap-Up (5 minutes)
Research and Preparation

Study the company, practice frameworks like CIRCLES and AARRR.

  • Analyze the company's mission, product portfolio, and target audience
  • Study recent updates or news about the company
  • Identify key competitors and differentiate their offerings
Approach the Problem

Clarify the question, define the target audience, and frame the problem statement.

  • Clarify the question with open-ended inquiries
  • Define the target audience and create personas
  • Frame the problem statement using Who, What, Why structure
Brainstorm Solutions

Use divergent thinking to generate ideas, then convergent thinking to evaluate them.

  • Generate diverse ideas using techniques like Crazy Eights
  • Evaluate ideas based on feasibility, impact, and alignment
Evaluate Trade-offs

Use a decision matrix to compare options based on impact, effort, and risk.

  • Create a decision matrix with criteria like impact, effort, and risk
  • Assign weights and scores to compare options objectively
Communicate Your Solution

Use the Pyramid Principle to structure your recommendation clearly and concisely.

  • Start with your main recommendation
  • Support with key points and evidence
  • Provide detailed explanations as needed

Research and Preparation

Understand the Company
  • Analyze the company's mission, product portfolio, and target audience
  • Study recent updates or news about the company
  • Identify key competitors and differentiate their offerings

Practice Frameworks

Approach the Problem

Clarify the Question
  • Ask open-ended questions to uncover hidden details
  • Example: "What's the primary goal of this product improvement?"
  • Confirm assumptions: "Should we prioritize cost-efficiency or speed of delivery?"

Evaluate Trade-offs

Decision Matrix Example
OptionImpactEffortRiskTotal Score
Solution A95317
Solution B73218
Solution C62115

Best Practices Checklist

Example Interview Scenarios

Redesign a Fitness App

Prompt:

How would you improve the onboarding process for a fitness app?

Clarify the Question:

  • Are we focusing on user retention or acquisition?
  • What is the current user feedback on onboarding?

Define the Target Audience:

  • Primary: Beginners starting their fitness journey
  • Secondary: Returning users trying to achieve consistency

Solution:

  • Simplify onboarding steps
  • Include a quick quiz to personalize the user's experience
  • Provide an interactive tutorial to guide users through features

Success Metric:

Measure success by reducing drop-off rates during onboarding by 20%

Create a Collaboration Tool

Prompt:

Design a product to help remote teams collaborate better

Clarify the Question:

  • What size teams are we targeting?
  • Are we addressing real-time or asynchronous collaboration?

Define the Target Audience:

  • Primary: Teams with 10-50 members working across time zones

Solution:

  • Introduce a shared virtual workspace with integrated task management
  • Allow real-time co-editing of documents
  • Implement a 'time-zone friendly' scheduling assistant

Success Metric:

Success is measured by a 30% increase in task completion efficiency

Improve Social Media Engagement

Prompt:

How would you increase user engagement on a social media platform?

Clarify the Question:

  • Are we targeting existing users or new users?
  • What does engagement mean in this context? Likes, shares, or time spent?

Define the Target Audience:

  • Primary: Young adults aged 18-25 who are highly active online

Solution:

  • Introduce gamified elements like streaks for daily posts
  • Provide AI-generated content suggestions based on user interests
  • Add a 'collaborative posts' feature to encourage group participation

Success Metric:

Aim for a 15% increase in daily active users within six months

By following these detailed steps and practicing diligently, you can approach Product Sense interviews with confidence and showcase your product management expertise. Remember, success in these interviews comes from a combination of preparation, structured thinking, and clear communication.

Good luck with your interviews!