Airport Terminal Vending Concept: Choosing the User, the Range and a First Version
Company: Microsoft
Role: Product Manager
Category: Product Design & Strategy
Difficulty: medium
Interview Round: Other
Your task is to design a vending machine for airports. Decide whom it serves, what it sells, where it stands and how buying from it works.
```hint Map who is there and when
List the groups of people who spend time in an airport and the moments when each one has a need that nothing nearby meets well. Pick one group and one moment before you design anything.
```
### Clarifying Questions
- Is the main goal revenue for whoever operates the machines, a better experience for the people using the airport, or both?
- Will the machine stand before security, near the gates, or is placement ours to choose?
- Is the product range open, or should it stay with food and drink?
- Are we designing for one airport, or for a machine that has to work across many airports and countries?
### What a Strong Answer Covers
- A stated goal and a chosen user segment, compared against the other groups who spend time in airports
- Needs and pain points that are specific to airports rather than to vending in general
- A product concept covering what it offers, where it stands and how people pay and receive items, with a prioritized first version
- Success metrics with guardrails
- Operational and business risks that follow from the chosen placement and range, with mitigations
### Follow-up Questions
- How would you decide what to stock at each location, and how would the mix change over time?
- How would you price items so buyers do not feel gouged while each machine still covers the cost of its space and restocking?
- How would you pilot this at one airport, and what result would justify a wider rollout?
Overview: A product design interview question that asks for a vending machine concept for airports. It tests choosing whom to serve among the groups who spend time in an airport, finding needs specific to airports, deciding what the machine offers and where it stands, scoping a first version, and setting success metrics and risks.