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How to Answer Product Sense Questions

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Product sense questions are open-ended prompts that ask you to design a new product or improve an existing one. There is rarely one “correct” answer; what matters is the thinking behind your choices.

The prompts may vary, but they can all be answered with the same framework.

① Clarifying Questions
Scope + constraints

② Strategy
Mission + landscape

③ User Types
Segment + select

④ Pain Points
Root problems

⑤ Solutions
Ideas that map

⑥ MVP
Smallest version

We'll walk through it step by step using a product sense prompt from the OpenAI loop:

You have technology that allows humans to understand animals. What will you build?

Step 1: Clarify the prompt

Clarifying the prompt has two parts.

First, look for loaded or ambiguous terms i.e., words or phrases that could reasonably mean different things. Clarify them instead of quietly making assumptions. This is especially important with novel technology prompts.

Not every prompt needs this. A familiar prompt such as Google’s “Design a garage door opener” is already clear enough. Don’t ask questions for the sake of it; simply note that no clarification is needed and move on.

Second, establish the context you're building in. This includes the company, target market, available resources, and timeline. Here’s where you can state reasonable assumptions, then give the interviewer a chance to correct you.

Step 2: Define the strategy

Before choosing a user or solution, explain why this opportunity makes sense, both in the market and for this company specifically.

Draw from the company’s mission and strategy, relevant market trends, why the company is well positioned to act, and the mission of the product you’re proposing. You don’t need to cover every point; choose the ones that matter most for the prompt.

End by naming a north star metric that defines success. Keep this section to one or two minutes.

Step 3: Choose a user type

Break the broad audience into specific user types with meaningfully different needs, behaviors, or situations.

Then pick one user type to prioritize. Useful criteria include:

  • How painful is the problem for this user type?
  • How well does the use case fit the company's mission?
  • Is there a clear willingness to pay?
  • Will this user type give us the best signal on whether the core product works?

Step 4: Find the pain point

The goal isn't just to list problems; it's to show that you understand the person experiencing them.

Picture a day in this user's life: what they do, what they care about, what they worry about, and what they wish were easier. The deeper your empathy, the more specific the pain points you identify will be.

Identify at least three pain points, then choose one.

Step 5: Explore solutions

This is where your product taste shows. Come up with at least three genuinely different ways to solve the pain point, and show which idea you're most excited about.

Then make a choice and explain it. Possible considerations:

  • Which idea gets closest to the root problem?
  • Which can your team realistically build in the time available?
  • Which stands out from what already exists?
  • Which is most likely to move the north star metric you chose in Step 2?

Step 6: Define the MVP

Defining the MVP is about showing judgment. Start with the prerequisite: what has to work before the product can deliver any value? Then choose the smallest set of features that gives the user something useful and helps you test that prerequisite.

Be explicit about what you're leaving out and why. Every feature you keep should help prove the product's core value or move the north star metric from Step 2.

Showing the MVP

Some interviewers will ask you to sketch or prototype the idea. They're not looking for a complete product. They want to see whether you can turn your thinking into a clear experience.

If you're sketching: Show the one or two moments that carry the most value, such as the current emotional state and a distress alert. Don't draw every screen.

If you're prototyping: You should already have notes from the interview. Paste them into Claude as context, then add a few instructions using the template below:

Here are my notes from the interview:

[PASTE YOUR NOTES HERE]

Using these notes, build a [MOBILE APP / WEB APP / OTHER] prototype for [USER TYPE].

Create [NUMBER] screens:
1. [SCREEN AND ITS PURPOSE]
2. [SCREEN AND ITS PURPOSE]

The most important user flow is: [CORE FLOW]

Make sure the prototype includes: [KEY INFORMATION, ACTIONS, OR STATES]
Leave out: [WHAT IS NOT IN THE MVP]
Design direction: [STYLE, TONE, OR REFERENCE]
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