Copy of PM Interview Guide

Explore

Product

Future of X
Future of X

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Step 1: Big Ideas List

Voice Assistants / Chat Bots

Definition

Pros

Cons

Context Awareness

Definition

The ability for technology to understand a user’s context and alter its services accordingly

Pros

Creates a personalized experience that better tailors experience to users interests

Cons

Data privacy / security

Pigeon-holing recommendations based on past behavior and not potential future interest areas

Sharing Economy

Definition

P2P based activity of acquiring, providing, or sharing access to goods and services that is often facilitated by a community-based on-line platform.

Pros

Creates efficiency

Creates more variety for users

Cons

Cannot fully control the user experience, which can cause negative experiences

Often dependent upon population centers

Often leads to disintermediation

Optimal Character Recognition

Definition

Technology that enables you to convert different types of documents, such as scanned documents, PDF files, or images captured by a digital camera into editable and searchable data.

Example:

Recognition of handwriting, shapes, etc into editable/searchable data

Pros

Eliminates transcription

Saves paper and is environmentally friendly

Creates efficiency and collaboration benefits

Turns what’s lost into things being found (can’t find a picture, video, receipt, etc.)

Cons

Data loss. What if the technology gets it wrong? This saves people time but can cause negative experiences if things aren’t done well

Data privacy and security. How is this being used?

Provisioning access to this information

AI / Machine Learning

Definition:

Blah Blah

Pros

Blah Blah

Cons

There are inherent biases and limitations based on experience and implementation of the designers

There are inherent biases and limitations based on the limited nature of data, accessible data, and unstructured data

Can a computer come up with something truly innovative or creative...or is it just replication of past experiences?

Internet of Things (IoT)

Definition:

Blah Blah

Pros

Blah Blah

Cons

Blah Blah

Blockchains and Distributed Ledgers

Definition:

Blah Blah

Pros

Blah Blah

Cons

Blah Blah

Natural Language Processing

Definition:

Allowing machines to understand humans

Branch of AI

Pros

Creates efficiency

Allows for advanced analytics of textual data (mining twitter, facebook, etc.)

Behavorial profiling based on content

Cons

Misunderstanding the nuances of human communication

Cultural differences across languages (potentially dangerous and/or cause serious conflicts)

Understanding language is not the same thing as understanding intent, context, and underlying emotion

Personalization

Gamification

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Step 2: Apply Big Ideas

Figure out how to relate 2-3 of your big ideas to the question.

How will this product look differently in 10, 20, 30 years in the future?

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Step 3: Use your structure and critically answer the question

Now, you have a solid structure. “I think <Big Idea #1> will change the future radically. This is how it will affect X. I also think <Big Idea #2> will revolutionize how we view X…” Don’t just talk about the awesomeness of the future — also talk about some risks and tradeoffs. After all, if you really understand these future ideas, you’ll realize that there’s always a tradeoff.

Example

Ok, here’s an example. Let’s say your interviewer asks you a question that boils down to a “future of libraries:”

“What is the future of libraries?”

“How will we consume books in the future?”

“How would you improve the library system?”

They’re all the same question, essentially!

Okay, now I’ll pick two “Big Ideas”: context-awareness and the sharing economy. Keep in mind the answers below are simplified.

Context Awareness + Libraries

Context awareness, or the ability for technology to understand a user’s context and alter its services accordingly, will radically change the future, especially libraries. Currently, when a “user” walks into a library, they have to search the catalog for their desired books, often failing to find something that you need, or missing an opportunity for getting a book you would have otherwise loved.

Imagine a future where, when you walk into libraries, you’ll be able to scan a unique user-identification barcode at a terminal, which will allow the library to recommend exactly what you should read. This will be based on your schooling, current interests, and possibly even your browser history (if you opt-in). The library then can essentially personalize its information to match your interests, instead of showing you a bunch of advanced accounting books that you have no interest in.

Of course, libraries are also about exploration. The algorithms that suggest content should still suggest fresh, new information. There are some big risks here with user privacy and over-learning on someone’s interests, which we should make sure to address…

The Sharing Economy + Libraries

Another important way I believe libraries will evolve: the growing principles of the sharing economy. There are an incredible number of physical books sitting at people’s houses, that are growing dust in bookshelves. There’s huge untapped potential here for sharing and being more sustainable.

In the future, the sharing economy will help us share not just our homes or our cars, but also our personal possessions, like books. Imagine a future where, if you want a book that’s unavailable at your library, you can instead exchange books with your neighbor, who has a copy.

This “decentralized library system” will bring tons of personal, social connections across communities. One issue with this, however, is that cataloguing all these books will be hard work. Advanced OCR technology may be able to help with this. If a user takes a picture of their bookshelf and all of their books get catalogued for them, but the technology isn’t quite there yet…

Step 1: Big Ideas List

Voice Assistants / Chat Bots

Context Awareness

Sharing Economy

Optimal Character Recognition

AI / Machine Learning

Internet of Things (IoT)

Blockchains and Distributed Ledgers

Natural Language Processing

Personalization

Gamification

Step 2: Apply Big Ideas