Designing a Children's E-Book Library App That Builds a Reading Habit
Company: Microsoft
Role: Product Manager
Category: Product Design & Strategy
Difficulty: medium
Interview Round: Other
Design a digital library product whose purpose is to get children reading more.
```hint Choose the child and the obstacle
A six-year-old still learning to sound out words and an eleven-year-old who can read but would rather play games need different products. Pick an age band and name why those children don't read today before proposing features.
```
### Clarifying Questions
- Which children should it serve first: early readers, middle-grade readers or teens?
- Who brings it to the child: parents at home, schools and teachers, or public libraries lending e-books?
- Does success mean more minutes read, more books finished, or children choosing to read without being told?
- Which devices should it run on (shared family tablets, school laptops, phones), and must books work offline?
### What a Strong Answer Covers
- A stated goal and a chosen age group, plus the adults who buy, set up and supervise
- The specific reasons that group doesn't read: finding the right book, books that are too hard, and competition from games and video
- Prioritized features that build lasting motivation rather than only points and badges
- Success metrics on reading habit and enjoyment, with guardrails against gamed numbers and excess screen time
- Child privacy, safety and book-licensing constraints
### Follow-up Questions
- Children start skimming books to collect rewards. How would you detect it and change the incentives?
- What would change if schools, not parents, were the main customers?
- How would you build a large enough catalog affordably: publisher licenses, public-domain books, or lending through public libraries?
Overview: A product design interview prompt to build a digital library that gets children reading more. It tests choosing an age group and the adults who buy and supervise, finding why those children avoid reading, prioritizing features that build lasting motivation, and defining habit metrics with child safety and privacy guardrails.