Product Design Case: Facebook's Role in Creating a Shared City Space
Company: Meta
Role: Product Manager
Category: Product Design & Strategy
Difficulty: medium
Interview Round: Other
Facebook wants to help design a public space in a city, a place open to everyone. As the product manager asked to support this, explain how you would approach it: what Facebook should aim to achieve, who the space is for, what you would build or contribute, and how you would know it worked.
```hint Start from the motive
Before sketching anything, decide why Facebook would take this on and what part it plays; that choice shapes who you design for and what Facebook can add that a city could not do alone.
```
### Clarifying Questions
- Is Facebook building and running the space itself, or helping a city or community group design one, with its products and funding as the main contribution?
- What does Facebook want out of it: stronger local communities, goodwill in a city where it operates, or a place to try its own products?
- Is a specific city or kind of space in mind, such as a plaza, a park or a stretch of street, and is the local government a partner?
- How much may the space rely on Facebook's apps or devices, given that many visitors will not use them?
### What a Strong Answer Covers
- A stated reading of Facebook's role and a goal tied to why Facebook would do this
- The people the space serves, segmented, with one group prioritized and why, including people who do not use Facebook
- Needs and frustrations with public spaces today, linked to what Facebook is in a position to contribute
- Concepts compared and prioritized, deciding what belongs in the physical space and what belongs in software
- Success measures with guardrails, and the risks of a tech company shaping a public place, such as privacy and community trust
### Follow-up Questions
- How would you keep residents who do not use Facebook from being left out of both the design and the use of the space?
- If the city asked for visitor data collected through your product, what would you share and what would you refuse?
- What would you need to see from the first space before recommending a second one?
Overview: A product design prompt asking how a product manager would help Facebook design a public space in a city. It tests framing an ambiguous brief, deciding Facebook's role and goal, serving residents including non-users, balancing physical and digital contributions, and measuring success alongside privacy and trust risks.