Product Sense Exercise: Prioritized Improvements for TED and Its Talk Library

You are asked to improve TED, the organization best known for its short talks that anyone can watch for free. Decide which part of TED and which audience you would focus on, explain why, and recommend what you would build first and how you would know it worked. ```hint Narrow before you build TED is a conference, a talk library, a network of local events and more. Name one goal and one audience first; the right improvement for a teacher planning a lesson is not the right one for someone listening on a commute. ``` ### Clarifying Questions - Should I treat TED as the whole organization, including the conference, TEDx events and education content, or focus on the talks experience on the website and app? - What should success mean for a mission-driven nonprofit here: wider reach of ideas, deeper engagement from existing viewers, or funding through membership and sponsorship? - Must talks stay free to watch, or may I propose paid features? - How much of TED's viewing should I assume happens on third-party platforms such as YouTube and podcast apps rather than on TED's own products? ### What a Strong Answer Covers - A goal that fits TED's mission of spreading ideas, and why it is the right one to optimize now - A deliberate choice of surface and user segment, with the alternatives considered and set aside - Pain points grounded in how that segment discovers, consumes and acts on talks - A short list of solutions prioritized by impact, effort and fit with TED's brand, with the top one specified concretely - Success metrics with guardrails, and the main risks of the proposal ### Follow-up Questions - How would you tell whether viewers learned or acted on an idea, rather than only watched a talk? - If your top proposal raised completion and return visits but cut total views, would you ship it? - How would your plan change if the target were TEDx organizers instead of viewers?