Product design exercise: building a better parking lot for drivers and operators

You are asked to design a parking lot. Treat it as a product problem: pick the kind of lot and the people it serves, then propose what you would build and how you would measure whether it works. ```hint Walk through one visit Follow a driver from deciding where to park until they drive out again, and notice who else (the lot's operator, the business the lot serves) has a stake at each step. That shows you where the real friction is. ``` ### Clarifying Questions - What kind of lot is it: one serving a single destination such as a mall, office park or airport, or a standalone paid lot? Is it open-air or multi-storey? - Am I designing for the owner who runs the lot, the drivers who park in it, or both? Is the owner's main goal revenue, full occupancy or a better driver experience? - Which vehicles must it handle: only cars, or also two-wheelers, oversized vehicles and electric cars that need charging? - Is the physical layout in scope, or only the product and technology that run on top of an existing lot? ### What a Strong Answer Covers - A scope stated before any features: the type of lot, the primary customer and the one goal the design optimizes for - Pain points mapped to the stages of a visit, with a reasoned choice of which stage to fix first - A prioritized set of solutions, including how the lot knows which spaces are free and what happens when that technology fails - Success metrics tied to the chosen goal, with guardrails for the operator's revenue, accessibility and drivers' privacy ### Follow-up Questions - How would you detect which spaces are free? How would you choose between a sensor in every space, ceiling cameras and counting cars in and out of each level? - The exit gate cannot read a car's plate, or the network is down at closing time. What does the driver experience? - Would you let drivers reserve a space in advance, and how would you handle people who reserve and never arrive?