Introduction
Welcome to this blog post designed for aspiring and seasoned product managers aiming to succeed in FAANG interviews, particularly at Google. Today, we’re going to tackle a typical product management interview question that tests your ability to define success metrics. Specifically, we’ll explore how to identify the top three metrics you would track as the Product Manager (PM) of Google Doodles. Understanding how to use structured frameworks for answering interview questions is crucial, and we’ll delve into this as we proceed with our analysis of the challenge.
Detailed Guide on Framework Application
We’ll begin by selecting a suitable framework from among the most common ones used in product interviews. For this question, we’ll opt for the Goals-Signals-Metrics (GSM) framework as recommended in ‘Decode and Conquer: Answers to Product Management Interviews.’ The framework allows you to structure your answer by defining clear goals, signals that indicate progress, and metrics to measure them.
a. Picking the Right Framework: The GSM Framework
First, let’s dive into what the GSM framework entails:
- Goals: These are the broad, qualitative objectives for the product or feature.
- Signals: These are the evidence or indicators that show whether you’re moving towards your goals.
- Metrics: These are the quantitative data points that allow you to measure the signals.
b. Step-by-Step Guide on Applying the GSM Framework
We’ll apply the framework to articulate what metrics a PM of Google Doodles might focus on.
- Define Goals: For Google Doodles, the goals can be based on enhancing user engagement, promoting cultural education, and driving brand goodwill.
- Identify Signals: To measure user engagement, we would look at signals like an increase in social media mentions/shares, time spent on the Doodle, and interaction rate. For cultural education, a signal could be the volume of searches related to the Doodle’s topic post-launch. Brand goodwill could be measured through sentiment analysis from feedback and comments.
- Choose Metrics: From these signals, we would derive metrics like daily active users (DAU) interacting with the Doodle, average session duration, social media engagement rates, incremental searches related to the Doodle’s subject, and net promoter score (NPS) or sentiment score.
c. Hypothetical Examples and Metrics Analysis
Let’s illustrate using a hypothetical Google Doodle, celebrating a historical event like the landing on the moon:
- User Engagement: We expect the Doodle to boost the number of users who click on it. Let’s assume the baseline for clicks on a regular Doodle is 100,000 DAU; for the moon landing Doodle, we aim for a 50% increase or 150,000 DAU.
- Cultural Education: After launching the Doodle, we might observe a 75% increase in searches for “moon landing,” indicating successful educational impact.
- Brand Goodwill: A sentiment analysis of user comments could show a shift from 70% positive to 90% positive, illustrating an increase in brand goodwill.
d. Fact Checks and Approximations
In a real-life scenario, you won’t have access to specific data points like exact clicks or sentiment scores. Therefore, it’s important to reason through approximations and compare to known or hypothetical baselines. For instance, stating that a Doodle related to a significant historical event might experience a 50% increase in user engagement is a reasoned guess based on the assumption that culturally significant moments attract more attention.
e. Communicating Effectively During the Interview
When answering the question, ensure you communicate clearly and concisely:
- Begin with stating the goals, then align your signals and metrics to these goals.
- Use hypothetical but reasonable examples to demonstrate your thinking process.
- Where necessary, explain the rationale behind your assumptions.
- Keep your answer structured and avoid going off on tangents.
- Engage with the interviewer by asking if they are looking for a different angle or more details on any part of your answer.
Conclusion
In conclusion, when faced with a question about metrics as a PM of Google Doodles, using the GSM framework can greatly help in structuring a compelling answer. The key takeaways from this exercise are that you should define clear goals for the product, align signals to those goals, and choose relevant metrics to measure success. Remember to frame your assumptions reasonably and communicate with clarity. Practice with this and other frameworks to ensure you are well-prepared for your next product management interview. Good luck!