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You are the PM of an OTT service provider (over the top service provider just like Netflix and Hotstar). How would you go about identifying the product improvements required? Explain the thought process to prioritise the features to make it rank better on user experiences.

Asked at Zee5 Premium (india)
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For some context - Zee5 is an India based Netflix styled OTT app owned by Zee Group (an entertainment and media conglomerate that owns TV channels, studios and content IPs etc.) 

The problem statement is similar to how would you improve a certain product X. Although it seems like interviewer here is more interested in knowing how one identifies product improvements that are required. This is an assumption that I would be clarifying right at the beginning. 

I will try approaching the question with a BUS framework - 

  • B - what business objective we want to achieve 
  • U - what user problems we would want to solve 
  • S - what solutions that PM proposes that solve user problems while also achieving the business objective 
Assuming the OTT player is Zee5 Premium here, there are two types of users here - (Zee5 is freemium)
  • Users that are streaming free content 
  • Paid subscribers that can stream free + premium content 
Next question to the interviewer would be about which user group to focus on - (premium users) 
 
If it is premium users - next question would be about what part of the funnel (as a business objective) for premium users is the issue - 
  • Activation? - Users are becoming paid subscribers but not actually using the app to stream content (B1)
  • Retention? - Users who have paid once - aren't coming back (B2)
  • Acquisition - There aren't enough trial/free users that are being converted into paid subscribers? (B3)
Coming to user problems - we have already established that we would be focusing on premium users, then I would speculate some common user problems that can exist for a streaming app: 
  • Premium users find the streaming experience not on par with global giants like Prime Video or Netflix (do we optimize for slow internet speeds that are prevalent in India, how are the playback controls) (UP1)
  • Premium users don't find the content interesting enough compared to others (UP2)
  • Does the premium app allow downloads to watch offline (important for audiences that are used to pirated downloads from Telegram and Torrents) (UP3)
  • And so on and so forth. 
My thought process to go about identifying the best compromise between the business objectives that leadership wants to focus on (improve revenue/retain users/improve sign-ups) vis-a-vis what user problems we can also solve in parallel. (For ex. UP2 isn't something a PM can solve, but UP1/UP3 is something that can be definitely what a PM can go about solving) 
 
Thought process to prioritise features that rank better for UX: 
 
Will ask the interviewer if the PM can have access to all the data from the marketing team that talks about issues with current UX. (This data can be gathered from reviews on playstore, sentiment analysis on socialmedia, NPS forms, feedback emails etc.) 
  • Understand that one feature that everyone wants on the app that makes UX better but we don't have yet. 
  • Understand that one feature we can build now that will put us ahead of other local players 
Based on the current backlog and priority items - use the ICE approach to give the ranking to features that can be immediately prioritised that would improve the UX. 
 
This is my first answer here! It would be helpful if someone give some honest feedback. 
 
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@mkanapaka 

 

The framework that you used isn’t one that I have seen often.  I’ll provide feedback on your answer and I will provide the framework I would use for this question.

What you did well

1.       Framework – you used a framework nd laid out for the interviewer what the framework was

2.       You provided a general background of the product

3.       User persona – you define user personas it might be helpful if answering the question to go deeper – if this question is really about your process then it’s ok

4.        

 

Areas to improve

1.       You start the framework with B -  what business objective we want to achieve – I didn’t see you provide a methodology for understanding the business objectives or define one.  To identify the business objectives I would

a.       Align product goals with corporate direction

b.       I would look at customer needs and market conditions

c.       I would look at competition

d.       I would look at metrics within the existing product and look for areas of improvement

e.       I would trace the user journey and find friction point

2.       You move onto U where you define two user personas.  I would use a set of criteria to pick which one to focus on.  Reach, Impact, alignment with goals, etc.

3.       You then move on to user problems (pain points)

4.       You pick amongst the pain points – again with criteria. 

5.       You don’t propose any solutions

How I would Answer. 

If it’s a framework question, then I would layout this framework – if it’s about actually doing product improvement I would use this framework

·       Ask clarifying questions

o   What’s wrong with the CX (customer experience) today?

§  What challenges does this cause for users?

o   If we improve the CX what is the outcome we are looking for?

o   Which step along the user journey (awareness, acquisition, activation, engagement, monetization) is the issue worst?

o   Ask who, what, where, when, why and how questions

·       Describe the product

·       State a goal – improve use experiences as related to … use info from the clarifying questions.

·       Define users personas

·       Use criteria to pick which persona to focus on

·       Define the pain points and or user journey

·       Use criteria to pick a step in the user journey / pain points to focus on

·       Brainstorm solutions (3-4 one can be a moon shot)

·       Use criteria to pick against the solutions (Reach, Impact, effort)  

·       Define how you would measure success

·       Are their any counter metrics your would watch

o   As we increase the CX with the free version I’d keep an eye on impact on paid subscriptions, etc.

·       Identify any limitations.

I find the courses and videos on the site very helpful.  You clearly know what you are doing – these questions are a game, where applying the framework and hitting all the steps makes a big difference.  You should check out the videos on the site as well.

 

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