Critique Three Products You Love, Then Design a Companion App for One

This question comes in two stages. First, describe three products you love and explain why. They can be physical or digital; everyday objects such as a chair or a hair dryer are fine. Then choose your favorite of the three. The VP responsible for that product asks you to design an app for it. You decide the goal, the success metrics and the constraints. ### Clarifying Questions - Should the three products be ones you own and use, or can you include products you admire but have not used yourself? - Can the app depend on changes to the product, such as adding a sensor or a wireless chip, or must it work with units customers already own? - Does the VP have a business outcome in mind, such as sales, retention or service revenue, or is the goal entirely yours to set? - Is the app only for the people who use the product, or may it also serve buyers, retailers or repair staff? ### Part 1 — Three products you love Present the three products. For each one, explain what makes it good, beyond the fact that you like it. ```hint Name the person and the choice For each product, say whose problem it solves and point to one decision its makers took that a cheaper or more common alternative did not. A spread of product types also gives you a better pick for the next stage. ``` #### What This Part Should Cover - A specific user and problem for each product, not only personal taste - Concrete design choices and trade-offs that explain why it beats the alternatives - Variety across the three, and at least one honest weakness or idea for improvement ### Part 2 — An app for your favorite Choose your favorite and design the app its VP asked for. Set the goal, define how success will be measured and state the constraints you will work within, then describe what the app does. ```hint Start from what the app can reach Before listing features, decide what the app can actually sense or control about the product. An app for an object with no electronics and an app for a connected device solve very different problems, so let that shape the goal you set. ``` #### What This Part Should Cover - A goal tied to a real problem owners have with the product and to an outcome the VP cares about - Constraints covering the hardware, platforms, cost and the customers who already own the product - A first version whose features come from prioritized user pain points - A north-star metric with supporting metrics and guardrails that match the goal ### What a Strong Answer Covers - Product judgment that carries across both parts: what makes the favorite product good shapes what the app should and should not do - A clear structure in Part 2: users, pain points, solutions, prioritization, then metrics - Metrics that reflect the chosen goal rather than downloads - A candid view of where an app adds value for this product and where it would only add clutter - Good use of time: concise product descriptions in Part 1, depth in Part 2 ### Follow-up Questions - Most owners never install an app for a product like this. How would you get it into their hands, and which number would tell you it is failing? - If the VP wants the app to earn revenue, how would your goal and metrics change, and what would that put at risk? - With one quarter and a small team, what would you cut from the first version?