Facebook product sense: helping travelers make good use of airport layovers

Facebook wants to build something that makes airport layovers better for the people sitting through them. Design the product. ```hint Split the layover A short connection and an overnight one are different problems. Decide which travelers and which layover lengths you are designing for before you pick features, and ask what Facebook knows or offers that a generic travel app does not. ``` ### Clarifying Questions - Should this live inside the Facebook app, next to Groups, Events, Messenger and Pages, or can it be a standalone app? - Does "layover" include unplanned waits caused by delays and cancellations, or only scheduled connections? - Is the goal mainly engagement and connection for Facebook users, or should the product also open a revenue path, for example through businesses at or near airports? - Should the first version be global, or can I start with a set of large hub airports? ### What a Strong Answer Covers - A reasoned choice of segment (traveler type and layover length) and why Facebook is well placed to serve it - Pain points specific to waiting between flights: uncertainty about time, not knowing what the airport or nearby city offers, boredom or isolation, and the risk of missing the next flight - Solutions that use Facebook's assets (the friend graph, Groups, local business Pages, Messenger), prioritized by impact and effort into a clear first version - A north-star metric with guardrails, including one that protects travelers from missed connections - The privacy and safety risks of exposing a traveler's location and plans, with mitigations ### Follow-up Questions - Most people have only a few layovers a year. How would you keep the product from being forgotten between trips? - Would you let travelers who do not know each other meet up during a layover? What would have to be true before you shipped that? - How would you tell whether a suggestion to leave the airport was a good one?