Root-causing a 30% decline in Stories activity on Facebook

You are the product manager for Facebook Stories at Meta, and Stories usage has dropped by 30%. Walk through what you would do: how you would confirm the drop is real, work out where it is concentrated and what caused it, and decide on next steps. ```hint Separate posting from viewing Stories has two sides that depend on each other. Find out whether fewer people are posting, fewer are watching, or the same people are simply doing less, before you look for causes. ``` ### Clarifying Questions - What does "usage" mean on this dashboard: daily users who view Stories, users who post them, total story views, or time spent? - Over what period is the 30% measured, and against which baseline: the previous week, the same period last year, or a forecast? - Did the drop appear suddenly on one date, or build gradually over weeks? - Is it global, or concentrated in particular platforms, app versions, countries or age groups? ### What a Strong Answer Covers - Defining the metric, time window and baseline, and checking the data before diagnosing anything. - Separating posting from viewing and decomposing the metric so the change can be localized. - Segmenting by platform, app version, region, user cohort, type of poster, source of the story and entry point. - Internal and external hypotheses tested in a sensible order, using the timing and shape of the drop as evidence. - Actions matched to each likely cause, with metrics that confirm recovery. ### Follow-up Questions - Suppose posting is flat but viewing fell sharply on iOS alone, starting on a single day. What would you check first? - The decline is concentrated in stories that people had been sharing from Instagram to Facebook. What does that suggest, and what would you do? - If the drop is gradual and spread evenly across every segment, how would you tell whether people are moving to another format or another app, and how would you respond?