Facebook restaurant reviews and reservations: business case, data needs, team goal

You are a product manager at Meta working on Facebook. You think Facebook should launch a restaurant product where people can read and write reviews of restaurants and reserve a table, competing with services such as Yelp. Nothing has been built yet: you first need your leader's support, and if the idea is approved you will lead the team that builds it. ### Clarifying Questions - Does "booking" mean reserving a table without leaving Facebook, and would Facebook run its own reservation system or connect to the systems restaurants already use? - Can anyone review a restaurant, or only people who can be shown to have eaten there? - Is this a feature inside the Facebook app, next to restaurant Pages, search and Messenger, or a separate app? - What should the pitch win: approval for a small exploratory team, or funding for a full launch? ### Part 1 — Pitch the idea to your leader Explain how you would make the case for building this product: what the pitch contains, in what order, and what exactly you would ask your leader to approve. ```hint Answer the obvious objection first Restaurant reviews and reservations are already served by established apps. Build the pitch around what Facebook can offer diners and restaurants that those apps cannot. ``` #### What This Part Should Cover - The diner problem, the segment that has it, and evidence that it is large. - Facebook's specific advantage in solving it. - A focused first version and a bounded, concrete ask. - The main risks and how an early test would reduce them. ### Part 2 — The data you would need What data would you gather to support the pitch and to decide whether to continue? For each piece, say where it would come from and which decision it informs. ```hint Today versus tomorrow Separate what existing activity on Facebook and outside research can show now from what only a live test with real diners and restaurants can show. ``` #### What This Part Should Cover - Demand signals in current Facebook activity, and the privacy limits on using them. - Restaurant supply and restaurants' willingness to take part. - Market and competitor information that sizes the opportunity. - A test plan with success criteria agreed before it starts. ### Part 3 — A goal for the team Assume the idea is approved and you lead the team. Propose the team's goal and explain why you chose it over the alternatives. ```hint Two sides, one number Look for the outcome that shows diners and restaurants are both getting value, then ask how a team could hit that number while making the product worse. ``` #### What This Part Should Cover - A primary goal tied to Facebook's purpose and to value for both diners and restaurants. - Input metrics the team can move directly. - Guardrails against gaming and harm. - How the target and its time frame are set. ### What a Strong Answer Covers - One consistent thread: the problem named in the pitch is the one the data tests and the goal measures. - A Facebook-specific reason to build the product rather than a copy of an existing review app. - The two-sided cold start: enough restaurants and reviews in a city before diners find the product useful. - Review integrity, user privacy and restaurant trust treated as core concerns. - A staged plan with explicit decision points instead of an all-or-nothing launch. ### Follow-up Questions - Your leader asks why Facebook should build its own reservation system instead of partnering with an existing reservation provider. How do you answer? - Three months into a pilot, bookings are growing but few diners leave a review afterward. What do you investigate and what do you change? - How would you stop restaurants from buying fake reviews or pressuring diners into good ratings?