Product design PM interview question: How would you design an app to help people choose which cheese to buy at a grocery store?
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My first clarifying question before we get started is whether we are envisioning an app that is not affiliated with any particular cheese maker or cheese seller such a grocery stores, so an independent app. (Assume yes).
My second clarifying question is around our key objective for designing this app to help users. Are are looking for user satisfaction in that it delights our users and drives engagement or is something like revenue more top of mind? (Assume user satisfaction).
Great - the way I'd like to go about this is a quick discussion about this app, from there we can do a user segmentation and prioritze one, from there we can do a quick brainstorm on potential pain points and needs and prioritize one of those and then from there we can come up with a few solutions and evaluate on impact and some other metrics. I can then walk through an MVP and discuss success metrics and considerations. Does that sound good?
Alright, I think today there aren't really many great ways to go look up cheese even though there are many thousands of cheeses available with flavor complexities that are not super well understood. They also differ in richness and quality. People like to pair their cheese with other foods and wines. With that in mind, I'd like this app to be an experinece that adds a lot of value to users in the way users understand and experience cheese. It should be something users get excited about.
So, there are many types of users - (1) the average cheese enthusiast who likes to enjoy cheese and is intersted in learning more, (2) professional cheese tasting users that have a very sophisticated palate and are pick about these cheeses and (3) industrial buyers like hoteliers, restauraters, event planners etc.
I'd like to prioritise (1) the cheese enthusiast as I think it really bring a lot of people into the addressable market for the app which could help us make an impact to a large set of users. Most people know they like cheese but aren't really saavy about how cheeses may differ or good tasteful pairings that can elevate their experience Is that reasonable for you?
Getting into pain points next, let me take a second to brainstorm...
(1) Knowing what cheeses are good for what good recipes, knowing what cheese to pair with what wine
(2) How to compare and contrast between different cheeses
(3) If I'm having a potluck party, knowing what cheese might go well with what other people might be bringing
(4) what types of cheese/wines are my friends exploring and recommending, and a way to learn about or try those
Of these pain points, I think #1 is probably one of the biggest pain points, I think the others are very valid but to get started, I think #1 would be a good one to solve for most people. Does that sound good?
I will take a second to brainstorm some solutions..
(1) Having a good recommended list of cheese, food, wine mappings and allow the user to select the cheese, wine and special food ingredients to buy (static list)
(2) Allowing the user to insert the names of a few dishes or wines they are planning to have and generate a list of strongly recommended cheese pairings and buy those (more interactive)
(3) Get recommendations from friends on what cheese to try for a set of dishes/wines the user uploads to get recommendations for
(4) Based on the user's preferences, having a list of recommended cheeses to try and wines to pair with
To prioritise, I'd evalaute these on dimensions of impact to user and ease of implementation:
1 -M / H
2-H/M
3-H/M
4-H/L
Based on this evaluation trix, I'd go with 2 and have a database built out that the user can querry based on the dishes or wines they have in mind and generate an output of the recommended cheese as an MVP. I might be able ot make this more fun and engaging with recommendations on, "this might also pair well with x food" and in a next phase, onboard friends and have them add their recommendations that can then be surfaced among friends. I really like this MVP which then paves the way for cooler more fun and engaging features as well that would get the user to come back regularly to check on recommendations and be delighted regularly.
For the MVP, success metrics can be simple such as, # of users searching for cheeses weekly or monthly, and of those that search, how many come back to do more searches after closing out of the app. We could add bells and whistles to see if we are getting positive feedback and get users to rate the recommendation as well. I'd also want to measure how long people are in the app as a sign of how useful they find it.
Considerations wise, I think everyone has preferences and might disagree about recommendations. Just like amazon reviews, this might be an opportunity to gather qualitative reviews about pairings which can be useful for future users. We'd obvously need to look into our data storage capabilities.
I assumed we would have an infrastructure for buying and payments but if that does not exist, I think the user journey could be supported better by either pointing them to where they could make the purchase or add that functinoality so that the app becomes a one stop shop.
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12 Tips for Successful Retail Store Management
The retail landscape has changed drastically in the last 20 years. As technology evolves, we&#;ve seen more people shopping online rather than in brick and mortar stores. While this isn&#;t necessarily a bad thing, because traditional retail stores can embrace the eCommerce trend too, it has definitely shaken up the retail world.
Most significantly, it&#;s created more competition, so in order to compete in the modern world of retail, you need terrific store management. From product placement and store layout to the use of data when making business decisions, it&#;s never been more important to manage a retail store well.
Importantly, retail store managers need to remember that technological advancements can give you a serious advantage, rather than be a hindrance to your retail operations. Let&#;s take a deeper look at retail store management, why it&#;s important, and how you can drive your business further.
Effective retail management takes more than understanding retail terminology and selling products. Successful store management requires a range of different skills, and you&#;ll often need to wear several hats. Retail management involves sales, scheduling, inventory control, reporting, team management, conflict resolution, hiring, performance management, staff training and much more.
There are plenty of benefits to quality retail management, including:
These are just a few of the things that happen when you manage a retail environment well. Let&#;s look at some helpful tips on how to be successful in retail management.
Use these tips to help you become a better, more effective retail manager.
Setting goals is crucial for any leader, and it&#;s a skill you can pass on to your team members too. Whether you own the store or manage it for someone else, you&#;ll always have targets to achieve. Usually these targets are around sales, but there are plenty of other goals you can set yourself.
From reducing staff turnover to increasing customer satisfaction, your business will benefit from goals in order to achieve overall success. Take the time to share your goals with employees, and help them set goals for themselves. This builds a teamwork-first culture.
Data is the best friend of any business owner, and that applies to retail stores too. Once you&#;ve set your goals, you need to monitor your progress. There are plenty of tools to help you do that including Square for Retai, for example, is an all-in-one POS solution with plenty of benefits, but it also gives you access to sales data, trends and forecasting.
Data helps you see what customers are buying, which days your business is busiest, whether you&#;ve got staffing levels correct and other information that&#;s crucial to running your retail business.
While we&#;re on the topic of business tools and data, it&#;s important that you embrace technology willingly. Technology drives business, and retail is no exception. For example, how do you keep track of staffing levels and employee hours? With an easy-to-use system like Square Team Management, you can manage your staff in one convenient place. Keep track of hours, adjust rosters and obtain valuable analytics to help you plan accordingly.
There is also other business software you&#;ll need to get familiar with, such as a POS system, accounting software, and of course digital forms of customer engagement such as your website and social media accounts. Make technology your friend in retail.
There&#;s a lot to be said for hiring the right people in retail. It&#;s not always easy, and you can&#;t always predict how good an employee will be. There&#;s also no right or wrong thing to look for. It just has to suit your business and your goals.
In retail, it&#;s often better to hire based on attitude and personality, rather than experience and qualifications. You can always train someone to perform tasks, but you can&#;t always teach personality and a strong work ethic. Develop the hiring strategies that work for your business, and stick to them.
Once you&#;ve hired your staff, it&#;s worth having a clear onboarding process. This includes training them in your POS system, familiarising them with rostering requirements, and also ensuring they have everything they need to hit the ground running. From uniforms to software permissions, everything should be ready for them on day one so you can get straight down to work and training.
Staff recognition is important in any business, but it often gets overlooked in the fast-paced retail environment. You don&#;t need to have lavish ceremonies to reward people&#;s work, but delivering praise when appropriate is important. If you notice a staff member going above and beyond, let them know that you&#;ve noticed and that you appreciate it.
Delegation can be difficult for many managers. The presiding thought is that it will take too long to teach someone a particular task, so you may as well just do it yourself. That might be true for a one-off task, but being a good manager is about identifying ways to free up your time and empower your staff to grow So, if you have regular tasks that could be better handled by a member of your team, start training them accordingly.
This not only gives you more time but also shows your team members that you trust them with extra responsibility.
All workplaces are only as effective as their manager. Often, the way you work and behave is picked up by your team and that&#;s the culture you&#;re stuck with. So, if you want to inspire your team to perform well, make sure you exhibit positive behaviours and a strong work ethic. It can really rub off on your employees.
Speaking of your employees, take the time to get to know them. It may not seem important to know your employees&#; children&#;s names or the type of dog they have, but it is. Everybody has a life outside the workplace, and it shows good leadership to take an interest in your team. It builds trust, fosters a positive workplace culture, and it even makes it easier for you when managing schedules if you understand an employee&#;s needs outside of the workplace
Anybody who says retail isn&#;t stressful has never worked a Boxing Day sale or a Christmas Eve. There are stressful situations all the time in retail store management, and these require a leader who can remain calm under pressure. Whether it&#;s running out of stock, being short-staffed or dealing with particularly irate customers, there are plenty of occasions where you&#;ll need to keep your cool.
Ultimately, your staff model the environment you create, so if you&#;re constantly stressed or rattled by the unexpected, your staff will be too.
You may have the management experience that your staff don&#;t, but that doesn&#;t mean they can&#;t contribute to decision making. The truth is, your staff may sometimes have more current operational knowledge than you. They&#;re on the floor everyday, talking to customers. They hear the complaints, and they also understand what people love about your store. As such, they&#;re an incredible source of information for the bigger decisions you need to make.
Take the time to meet with your staff. Ask them for ideas and other information about day-to-day operations. What&#;s working well? What do they think could improve in the long-term? Most importantly, follow up on your staff&#;s ideas. You don&#;t have to implement every single suggestion, but if you don&#;t, let them know why, because it&#;s important they feel their opinion matters. It&#;s also a great way to teach them more about the decision-making process of retail management.
Being able to identify trends is crucial to your success in shop management. Of course, there are retail technology trends that you should be aware of, such as providing customers with the opportunity to order online or schedule pick-ups. But it&#;s also about the smaller trends you see on a daily basis. Be observant, because things that are happening in your store may help you identify trends that nobody else has noticed.
Is your customer demographic changing? Perhaps a new audience is gravitating towards your products. Are certain parts of the store attracting more attention than usual? Are customers who buy a certain type of item also interested in other specific products? All of these trends can help you better manage your store layout and maximise your sales potential.
Overall, you need a range of different skills to run a retail store. The tips above present a great platform for success, and with the right tools and mindset, you can go a long way in retail store management.
Are you interested in learning more about retail store product management? Contact us today to secure an expert consultation!