Lecture on Tackling Trade-off Questions in Product Manager Interviews

Introduction

• Presenter: Diana, Senior Product Manager at Silicon Valley Tech Company
• Focus: Best practices for handling trade-off questions in product management interviews.
• **Common Trade-off Examples: **
  • Ads at the beginning vs. the middle of a video.
  • Instagram stories visibility for 24 hours vs. 48 hours.

Importance of Trade-off Questions

• These questions are frequent in PM interviews.
• PMs often face trade-offs between positive and negative effects when launching products.
• Objective: Launch optimal solutions minimizing damage and maximizing value.

Framework for Tackling Trade-off Questions

1. Understanding the Product and Its Value

• Product: Define and ensure alignment with the interviewer.
• Value: Identify what value it brings to users and all ecosystem sides.
• Example: YouTube
  • Creators share artistic creations and monetize content.
  • Watchers enjoy diverse, searchable, personalized content.

2. Identifying Key Metrics

• North Star Metrics: Metrics that reflect the value to all stakeholders.
  • Example for YouTube: Total watch time per day in hours.
• **Supporting Metrics: **
  • Number of videos watched per day (more than 10 seconds count).
  • Average percentage of video watched.
  • Ad Impressions and Ad Clicks.

3. Coming Up with Hypotheses

• Compare positive and negative effects of different options.
• Example: Ads in YouTube Videos
  • Start of Video:
    • More ad impressions.
    • Possible annoyance leading to decreased watch time.
    • Potential drop in engagement and ad watch rate.
  • **Middle of Video: **
    • Fewer ad impressions.
    • Higher ad engagement.
    • Larger impact on content consumption and total watch time.

4. Setting Up A-B Testing

• Design control and variant groups for testing.
• Hold variables constant except the element being tested (ad placement).
• Ensure significant sample size and duration for reliability.
• Avoid novelty effects for accurate measurements.
• Key metrics to evaluate post-test.
  • Ad impressions, ad clicks, total watch time, number of videos watched.

5. Making Data-driven Decisions

• Assess the result scenarios from A-B testing.
• Weigh increase or decrease in key metrics for decisions.
• Example Scenarios:
  • Higher ad impressions but decreased total watch time.
  • Increased engagement and appropriate placement leading to positive results.

Summary

• Key Steps for Trade-off Questions:
  1. Align on product and value.
  2. Identify key metrics.
  3. Formulate hypotheses.
  4. Conduct A-B testing.
  5. Make data-driven decisions.
• Encourage practice and consultation for clarity and better preparation.

Conclusion

• Trade-off questions are complex but manageable with the right framework.
• Practice and understanding help in nailing these interview questions.
• Follow the channel for more tips and tricks on product management.