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Written PRD / Strategy Memo

Product

What it tests

Strategic product thinking, written communication, and ability to diagnose real business problems with a concrete plan

Format

  1. 1Candidate receives a realistic scenario: CEO message about enterprise churn and competitive threat
  2. 2Must research the company's actual market and write a full PRD with problem statement, solution, technical approach, success metrics, and risk analysis
  3. 3Maximum 4 pages — quality of writing evaluated equally with quality of thinking

What to look for

  • Did they do real research or write generic platitudes?
  • Are the trade-offs explicitly named, or is everything a priority?
  • Technical section: would a Staff Engineer find it useful or hand-wavy?
  • Success metrics: are thresholds specific enough to actually make a kill decision?

Adaptation guide

Replace the CEO scenario with a real challenge your company faces. The more specific the context, the more signal you get.

Full description

Format:

  1. Candidate receives a realistic CEO message about enterprise churn threat
  2. Must research the company, write a full PRD: problem, solution, tech approach, metrics, risks
  3. Maximum 4 pages

Time: 48 hours

What to look for:

  • Real research vs. generic platitudes
  • Explicit trade-offs and non-goals
  • Technical depth an engineer would respect
  • Kill criteria with specific thresholds

Adaptation: Replace the scenario with a real challenge your company faces.

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