Improvement questions

Product Manager (PM) “Improvement” questions (e.g., “How would you improve Spotify?” etc.) are not about having the best idea; they are about demonstrating the best process for product development.

Use the G.A.U.S.S. Framework to structure your response and showcase strong Product Sense, user empathy, and data-driven prioritization.

The G.A.U.S.S. Framework for Improvement Questions

Step 1: Goal & Alignment (G)

The Objective: Show structured thinking and business alignment. Never jump to solutions before defining the problem’s scope.

Action	Clarifying Questions to Ask	Why This Matters to the PM
State Product/Mission	“What is the core mission or primary business goal of this product/company?”	Confirms your understanding of the product’s strategic “Why.”
Define “Improvement”	“Which key metric should I focus on? Acquisition, Retention, Engagement, or Monetization?”	Focuses the entire case study. A good PM optimizes for one key metric at a time.
Set Constraints	“Are there any constraints I should be aware of, such as time (e.g., a 6-month launch) or resource limitations?”	Demonstrates realism and the ability to work within real-world constraints.

Output: A single, clear, measurable objective (e.g., “I will focus on increasing user retention by targeting the percentage of users who return on Day 7.”)

Step 2: Audience & Pain Points (A & u)

The Objective: Demonstrate empathy and the ability to segment users to find a high-impact problem area. No user problem, no feature.

Action	Technique to Use	Why This Matters to the PM
Segment Users	Divide the user base (e.g., New Users, Power Users, Churned Users) and choose one strategic segment to focus on.	Shows you can prioritize who to build for, rather than trying to solve for everyone.
Identify Pain Point	Apply the Jobs-to-be-Done (JTBD) framework or map the user journey to find obstacles. Use the “5 Whys” to dig deep into the root cause.	Proves your idea solves a real, validated customer problem, not just a surface-level annoyance.

Output: A specific, defined user segment and their primary, unsolved pain point (e.g., “New users are dropping off due to ‘Blank Canvas Anxiety’.”)

Step 3: Solutions & Brainstorm (S)

The Objective: Showcase creativity, technical feasibility, and the ability to generate a diverse range of options.

Action	Strategy	Why This Matters to the PM
Generate Options	Propose 3 distinct solutions: One Small/Quick Win, One Medium/Balanced, and One Bold/Moonshot idea.	Demonstrates a wide range of thinking, from quick iteration to long-term vision.
Select & Justify	Use a clear prioritization framework like RICE (Reach, Impact, Confidence, Effort) or ICE to justify your chosen solution.	Moves your answer from a simple idea to a business proposal. Your reasoning is more important than the feature itself.

Output: A single, prioritized feature recommendation with a clear rationale (e.g., “We will prioritize the ‘Guided Creation Template’ feature because of its high Impact and low Effort score.”)

Step 4: Success Metrics & Trade-offs (S)

The Objective: The goal here is to demonstrate data-driven accountability. You must show how you’d measure the feature’s success and acknowledge the cost of prioritizing it.

A. The A/B Test Plan

You need to define the test’s purpose and expected outcome.

Element	Description for Interview	Example Template
Hypothesis	State the core belief you are testing.	“We hypothesize that introducing [Proposed Feature Name] will positively impact [Target Metric] for [User Segment] by solving [Identified Pain Point].”
Primary Metric (Success)	The single, most important number that determines if the feature is a success (must align with the Step 1 Goal).	“Our primary success metric is a +X% lift in [Specific Metric, e.g., Monthly Active Users, Conversion Rate, D30 Retention] among the A/B test group.”
Guardrail Metric (Failure)	A counter-metric you track to ensure your feature doesn’t damage other critical parts of the product.	“We will closely monitor the [Specific Metric, e.g., App Load Time, Content Quality, Customer Support Tickets] to ensure there are no unintended negative consequences.”

B. Trade-offs and Risks

The Objective: Acknowledge that every product decision involves opportunity costs. This shows maturity.

Type of Trade-off	Explanation for Interview	Template Example
Opportunity Cost	What high-value project or feature are you not building because you are dedicating engineering resources here?	“By choosing this, we are delaying the [Name of another high-impact project, e.g., International Expansion, Core Architecture Migration] for one sprint.”
Design Risk	What is the risk to the user experience or brand?	“There is a risk of [Specific negative impact, e.g., Increasing screen clutter, Introducing too much cognitive load], but we believe the value delivered outweighs this risk.”
Key Trade-off Summary	Concisely frame the main exchange of value.	“The key trade-off we are making is accepting [Potential Negative] in exchange for a significant improvement in [Desired Positive Outcome].”

Step 5: Summary

The Objective: Provide a concise, memorable closing statement that recaps the entire solution.

Action	Strategy	Why This Matters to the PM
Recap & Close	Briefly restate the Goal, Pain Point, and Final Solution in one clear statement.	Leaves the interviewer with a clear, well-packaged takeaway and demonstrates strong communication skills.

Output: “My proposal is to improve [Metric/Goal] for [User Segment] by solving [Pain Point] with [Proposed Solution].”