Essential Work Sample Exercises for Hiring Top Product Strategy Managers

Product Strategy Managers are the architects behind a company's product success, bridging the gap between market needs and business objectives. Their ability to analyze data, identify opportunities, and develop strategic initiatives directly impacts your company's growth and competitive positioning. However, traditional interviews often fail to reveal a candidate's true capabilities in these critical areas.

The difference between an average and exceptional Product Strategy Manager can mean millions in revenue and market share. While resumes and behavioral interviews provide some insights, they don't demonstrate how candidates actually approach strategic challenges or communicate complex ideas to stakeholders. This is where well-designed work samples become invaluable.

Work samples allow you to observe candidates applying their skills to realistic scenarios they'll face in the role. For Product Strategy Managers, this means evaluating their analytical thinking, strategic planning abilities, communication skills, and cross-functional leadership—all competencies that are difficult to assess through conversation alone.

The following exercises are designed to reveal how candidates think, plan, and execute in situations directly relevant to product strategy. By implementing these work samples in your hiring process, you'll gain deeper insights into each candidate's capabilities and significantly increase your chances of identifying those rare individuals who can truly drive your product strategy forward.

Activity #1: Market Opportunity Analysis

This exercise evaluates a candidate's ability to analyze market data, identify opportunities, and develop strategic recommendations—core skills for any Product Strategy Manager. By observing how candidates approach data analysis and translate insights into actionable strategies, you'll gain valuable perspective on their analytical thinking and strategic planning capabilities.

Directions for the Company:

• Prepare a dataset containing market research information about a fictional or anonymized product category relevant to your business. Include competitor information, market trends, customer feedback data, and basic product performance metrics.
• Create a brief that outlines the current state of the product, business objectives, and key challenges.
• Allow candidates 48 hours to review the materials and prepare their analysis.
• Schedule a 30-minute session where the candidate will present their findings and recommendations.
• Prepare specific questions to probe the candidate's thinking process and test how they respond to new information or constraints.

Directions for the Candidate:

• Review the provided market research data and product information.
• Identify 2-3 key market opportunities based on your analysis of the data.
• Develop strategic recommendations for how the company should position its product to capitalize on these opportunities.
• Prepare a 15-minute presentation outlining your analysis, the opportunities you've identified, and your strategic recommendations.
• Be prepared to explain your methodology and reasoning during a 15-minute Q&A session.

Feedback Mechanism:

• After the presentation, provide one piece of positive feedback about an aspect of their analysis or recommendation that was particularly insightful.
• Then, offer one constructive suggestion about an area they may have overlooked or a different perspective they could consider.
• Give the candidate 5-10 minutes to respond to this feedback and adjust their recommendation accordingly, observing how they incorporate new perspectives.

Activity #2: Product Roadmap Prioritization Exercise

This exercise assesses a candidate's ability to make strategic trade-offs and align product initiatives with business objectives—essential skills for effective product strategy management. It reveals how candidates balance competing priorities and communicate their reasoning to stakeholders.

Directions for the Company:

• Create a list of 10-12 potential product features or initiatives with brief descriptions.
• Provide context about the product, its current state, target customers, and 2-3 key business objectives (e.g., increase user engagement, expand to new market segments, improve retention).
• Include constraints such as engineering capacity (e.g., "Your team can only deliver 4 of these initiatives in the next two quarters").
• Prepare to role-play as different stakeholders (engineering lead, sales director, CEO) who have competing priorities.

Directions for the Candidate:

• Review the list of potential product initiatives and the provided business context.
• Prioritize the initiatives based on their potential impact on business objectives and feasibility within the given constraints.
• Create a simple product roadmap for the next two quarters, explaining why you've selected and sequenced these particular initiatives.
• Prepare to present your roadmap and defend your prioritization decisions to stakeholders with different perspectives.
• During the stakeholder discussion, be prepared to adjust your roadmap based on new information while maintaining focus on the most important business objectives.

Feedback Mechanism:

• After the initial presentation and stakeholder discussion, provide feedback on one aspect of their prioritization approach that was particularly effective.
• Then, suggest one area where their reasoning or communication could be strengthened.
• Give the candidate 5 minutes to revise their roadmap or improve their explanation based on this feedback.

Activity #3: Cross-Functional Collaboration Role Play

This exercise evaluates a candidate's ability to lead without authority and navigate cross-functional challenges—critical skills for Product Strategy Managers who must align diverse teams around a unified product vision. It reveals how candidates handle resistance, build consensus, and drive initiatives forward.

Directions for the Company:

• Develop a scenario involving a product initiative that requires collaboration between multiple departments (e.g., product, engineering, marketing, sales).
• Create brief profiles for 2-3 role players who will represent different departments, each with their own priorities and concerns.
• Brief your role players on their characters' perspectives and typical objections.
• Prepare a meeting agenda and any relevant background materials for the candidate.
• Allocate 30 minutes for the role play exercise.

Directions for the Candidate:

• Review the product initiative details and meeting agenda provided.
• Your goal is to lead a cross-functional meeting to align the team on next steps for the initiative.
• Prepare to address concerns from different stakeholders while keeping the discussion productive and focused on business objectives.
• Develop a plan for how you'll structure the conversation to build consensus and create clear action items.
• During the meeting, demonstrate your ability to listen effectively, address concerns constructively, and guide the team toward alignment.

Feedback Mechanism:

• After the role play, provide feedback on one aspect of the candidate's facilitation that effectively moved the discussion forward.
• Then, suggest one approach they could have used to better address a particular stakeholder's concern or create stronger alignment.
• Give the candidate 5 minutes to explain how they would apply this feedback if they could redo a portion of the meeting.

Activity #4: Competitive Response Strategy

This exercise tests a candidate's ability to analyze competitive threats and develop strategic responses—a crucial skill for Product Strategy Managers who must help their companies maintain competitive advantage. It reveals how candidates think about differentiation and strategic positioning in dynamic markets.

Directions for the Company:

• Create a scenario where a major competitor has just launched a new product or feature that threatens your company's market position.
• Provide information about your product, its current value proposition, target customers, and competitive advantages.
• Include details about the competitor's new offering and initial market reception.
• Give candidates 24 hours to prepare their response strategy.
• Schedule a 30-minute session for presentation and discussion.

Directions for the Candidate:

• Analyze the competitive threat based on the information provided.
• Develop a strategic response that addresses how your company should:
• Position its product against this new competitive offering
• Adjust messaging and marketing strategy if needed
• Adapt the product roadmap to maintain competitive advantage
• Leverage existing strengths while addressing any newly exposed weaknesses
• Prepare a 15-minute presentation outlining your analysis and recommended strategy.
• Be prepared to discuss the trade-offs involved in your recommendation and how you would measure success.

Feedback Mechanism:

• After the presentation, highlight one particularly strong element of their competitive response strategy.
• Then, identify one assumption or approach they could reconsider to strengthen their strategy.
• Give the candidate 10 minutes to refine their strategy based on this feedback, observing how they incorporate new perspectives and adapt their thinking.

Frequently Asked Questions

How long should we allow for each work sample exercise?

Most of these exercises require 30-45 minutes of interview time, plus preparation time for both the candidate and your team. For remote positions, consider spreading these across different days. For on-site interviews, you might combine 2-3 exercises in a half-day session, ensuring adequate breaks between activities.

Should we use real company data for these exercises?

While using real scenarios creates authenticity, we recommend using anonymized or slightly modified data to protect confidential information. The key is creating realistic scenarios that test relevant skills without revealing sensitive business information.

What if we don't have team members who can effectively role-play for the collaboration exercise?

Consider training a few team members in advance or bringing in product managers from other teams who can provide authentic perspectives. The quality of role players significantly impacts the exercise's effectiveness, so invest time in preparing them properly.

How should we evaluate candidates across multiple exercises?

Create a scorecard that maps specific behaviors and outputs from each exercise to the key competencies for the role. Have each evaluator score independently before discussing, and weight exercises based on their relevance to your specific Product Strategy Manager role.

Should we share these exercises with candidates in advance?

For exercises requiring significant preparation (like the Market Opportunity Analysis), provide materials 24-48 hours in advance. For role-playing exercises, share the basic scenario but reserve some elements for the live session to test adaptability.

What if a candidate has a different approach than what we expected?

This is valuable information! Evaluate the quality of their thinking and reasoning rather than whether they arrived at a predetermined "right answer." Strong candidates might identify opportunities or approaches your team hadn't considered.

Implementing these work samples will dramatically improve your ability to identify Product Strategy Managers who can truly drive your business forward. By observing candidates tackle realistic challenges, you'll gain insights that no resume or traditional interview can provide.

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