Product Sense Case: A New Travel Product With Social Connection at Its Core

You are asked to design a new travel product in which the social element is central rather than an add-on. Decide what "social" should mean here and who the product is for, identify the problems worth solving, propose and prioritize solutions, and explain how you would know the product is working. ```hint Narrow the trip and the people Travel runs from the first idea through planning, the trip itself and the memories afterward, and "social" can mean the people on the trip, people back home or strangers. Settle which stage and which relationship you are designing for before generating ideas. ``` ### Clarifying Questions - Does "social" mean the people traveling together, friends and family following along from home, strangers such as locals and fellow travelers, or is that my call? - Is this a standalone app, or part of an existing product that already has users and connections between them? - Leisure travel, business travel, or both? - Should the first version make money, for example through bookings, or focus on growth and engagement? ### What a Strong Answer Covers - A stated meaning of "social" for this product and a goal, with the reasoning behind both - Traveler segments compared, with one chosen and the reason for the choice - Pain points drawn from that segment's trip journey, ranked by severity - Solutions compared on explicit criteria, and a scoped first version - Success metrics with guardrails, and the risks a social travel product carries, such as infrequent use, privacy and getting enough people on board ### Follow-up Questions - Most people travel only a few times a year. How would you keep the product in use between trips? - Your design only works if other people join. How would you get the first users on board? - If you later had to make money from it, which model fits your design, and what could that model damage?