One phone, three students

A product design question from a product manager interview, set at Rankshala, a fictional government exam prep company.

The question

Skills this case tests

A starting structure

Goal → who owns the phone vs who studies → a day in the life → pain points → ideas that fit the window → v1 → metric

How to approach this case

Start by understanding the phone, not the student. Ask who owns it, when the aspirant gets it, how much data the household has and who else uses the device. Then clarify what Rankshala wants: more learners studying regularly, better exam results or more paid plans. Map the people involved, because the person who studies is not always the person who controls the phone or pays. Segment aspirants by how and when they can study, not just by exam. Walk through one full day for a learner and note every point where study gets interrupted or lost. Rank pain points by how often they break a study session. Prefer ideas that work within the limits rather than ones that assume a better phone. A strong close names a habit metric, a guardrail that protects the household and a clear first version.

The full method for product design (product sense) questions · A worked example answer

After the mock interview you get scores on five skills, what to fix with quotes from your answers, and the ideal path for this case.