Product Design Thinking for PMs

Sample Interview Question #2

In the series of Hatch Labs Academy articles for AI/ML Product Managers, we explore sample interview questions with Anjaly Austry JOSEPH.

Exciting reminder!

The Hatch Labs Academy is pleased to organize a Meet & Greet session with the instructors: Eva Agapaki and Anjaly Joseph this week on Jan 18th @ 3pm EST / 12pm PST. Click below to register!

A small peer group of interested participants will be formed after the session to continue discussions on the topic.

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Product Design Thinking

Product design thinking for Product Managers (PMs) is a user-centric, iterative approach to problem-solving that encourages empathy, experimentation, and collaboration. This process focuses on understanding the user's perspective, generating ideas, prototyping, and refining solutions through feedback. It's particularly effective in scenarios where the problem is not well-defined and a clear solution is not immediately apparent. Key aspects of this approach include understanding user needs and desires, ensuring the product is not only desirable but also viable and usable within given constraints, and continuously iterating based on user feedback.

One of the lessons from companies like Apple and Google is the importance of addressing not only the obvious user issues, but also those often-overlooked details that can enhance user experience. Apple, for example, practices the approach of “staying beginners”, constantly reevaluating their products from fresh perspectives, and focusing on details that could potentially be improved. This includes looking at the entire user journey, paying attention to the smallest details, and considering user experiences from different angles, including those of a novice or a child. This philosophy helps in building products that are not only functionally efficient but also simple and intuitive to use.

Design Thinking and AI intersect in interesting ways. AI can assist in various stages of the design thinking process, from user research to prototyping and testing. AI tools can analyze large volumes of data to uncover user patterns and preferences, helping PMs to empathize with users more effectively: 

• During the ideation phase, AI can help with content creation and generate creative solutions. 

• In prototyping, it can simulate user interactions with different design prototypes.

• Moreover, AI can streamline the testing process by predicting user responses and identifying potential issues, thereby accelerating the iterative cycle of design thinking.

Integrating AI in our product design is a strategic move towards enhancing user experience, offering customization and predictive capabilities that cater to individual preferences. AI is spearheading a movement towards anticipatory design, setting a benchmark for user interaction that echoes the revolutionary change brought on by touch and gesture technology in smartphones. Our next generation products will embody this intelligent adaptability, ensuring a seamless and intuitive user journey.

Source: Adobe Firefly

In conclusion, design thinking in product management is about embracing a user-centric approach and continuously iterating based on user feedback. It's not a one-size-fits-all solution but rather a flexible framework that can be adapted to various situations, especially when dealing with complex, open-ended problems. Incorporating AI into this process can significantly enhance the efficiency and effectiveness of product design and development.

Some resources:

1. UX Collective: A collaborative publication, with articles from product designers, UX/UI experts, and product people.

2. Google’s 2019 Design Retrospective: Google design team’s best offerings from 2019, from Software to Hardware

Practice Interview Question 2

How would you design a next gen washing machine?

Tip : This question falls under Product design category

Let’s begin. 

Clarifying questions to the interviewer: 

1. Is there a particular feature that you need me to concentrate on or the entire unit of the washing machine?

2. Any specific geographic location?

3. Also am I a PM in a startup that is building hardware appliances or an established company as it affects the overall product timeline?

4. Is there a goal for the new gen washing machine, is it ease of use or technology enhancement? 

After getting answers, the question is rephrased as: I am a PM in a well established hardware appliance company responsible for ideating and creating the new gen washing machine as a unit in the US in keeping up with technology.

Goal: My goal here is long term user engagement with the product and thereby all other products of the company.

Let’s start with who is the primary audience we are aiming to serve with this appliance?

1. Millennials: Couples or adults living in the US, and are tech savvy, would like to save time and effort in all their chores

2. Elderly: Couples or adults living alone who would want gadgets to make their life simpler and be also inline with the next gen 

3. People with disabilities: People who would like to make use of tech for most of their day to day activities

While various user groups show potential for engaging with our product, our primary focus is on millennials. This strategic choice is driven by our objective to introduce a next-generation gadget that not only resonates with their tech-savvy and innovative preferences but also fosters long-term engagement. Targeting millennials aligns with our goal to build a long lasting relationship with users who are likely to grow with and adapt to evolving technologies. The applicability of our product within this user group is notably high, and has cascading effects to families / generations. Hence, for millennials the main pain points are 

1. Time & Effort in getting chores done

2. Too many options to choose from 

3. Learning the gadget 

4. Cost 

Among the identified pain points, prioritizing the ease of selecting time and mastering the device is crucial as it greatly influences the daily efficiency and satisfaction of the users.

If we have to create solutions for this pain point with our goal of user engagement in mind, here could be some: 

Of all the above solutions, for v1 we would go with an app based device (which we already have in multiple gadgets in order to bring parity) and then move to sensor based eco-friendly device (competitive differentiator). Since we are working for a big tech company, there are capabilities to achieve multiple new tech solutions. 

In summary, the new tech washing machine would be a sensor based eco-friendly device so that millennials feel the tech savviness so also being responsible adults in the world which will thereby create long term engagement with the product and so also with other products of the company. 

💡 Thought provoking question: How might we design AI features that not only streamline and personalize user experiences but also ethically manage and protect user data, balancing between technological advancement and user privacy?