Product sense: what should a website for monthly rentals do, and for whom?

You are a product manager asked to design a website for monthly rental units. Decide what the site is for and whom it serves, choose what to build first, and explain how you would judge whether it is succeeding. ```hint Pick a side, then a step Renting involves people who list units and people looking for one, and a long path from searching to moving out. Choose one side, walk its path, and find the step where it loses the most time, money or confidence today. ``` ### Clarifying Questions - Does "monthly" mean ordinary leases with rent paid each month, or stays booked by the month, from one month up to under a year? - Is this a listings site connecting many landlords and renters, or a site for one landlord's or property manager's own units? - Which part of renting is in scope: finding a unit, applying and signing, or paying rent and handling requests after move-in? - Is there a market to start in, such as a single metro area? ### What a Strong Answer Covers - A stated reading of "monthly rental" and of the site's role, settled before any features - The people who list units and the people who rent them compared, with one side chosen to design for and the reason - That user's journey, with its pain points ranked - Features prioritized with explicit criteria, plus how the site gets enough units and renters to be useful at launch - A primary success metric with guardrails, and risks such as fake listings and fair-housing rules ### Follow-up Questions - How would you get the first listings and the first renters in a new city? - How would you keep scam listings off the site without driving away honest landlords? - If inquiries per listing rose but signed agreements did not, where would you look first?