Drop in Google Pay Payments - Root Cause Analysis
Google Product Management Interview Question - Product Root Cause Analysis - You observe a 10% decrease in the number of payments. What could have caused this issue?
Problem Statement:
You are the Product Manager for Google Pay. You observe a 10% decrease in the number of payments. Conduct a root cause analysis to determine potential reasons and devise appropriate solutions.
How am I being evaluated?
During this product execution question, the interviewer assesses my ability to:
Organize and logically structure my problem-solving approach.
Apply logical reasoning in identifying potential root causes.
Demonstrate thoroughness by exhaustively listing possible causes.
Clearly and concisely communicate my thought process, analysis, and recommendations.
Describe the Product:
Google Pay is a digital payment application allowing users to make secure, fast, and easy payments via Unified Payments Interface (UPI). Users can:
Make peer-to-peer money transfers.
Scan merchant QR codes for quick payments.
Pay bills and recharge services.
Check bank balances seamlessly.
Integrate seamlessly with partner merchant apps.
Google Pay aims to simplify financial transactions by eliminating the friction associated with cash, cards, and traditional banking methods.
Major competitors in India include PhonePe, Paytm, BHIM, and Amazon Pay.
Ask Clarifying Questions:
Q) Has this 10% decrease in payments happened suddenly or gradually over a period of time?
A) It’s a gradual decline observed consistently over the past 2-3 months.
Q) Is the drop uniform across peer-to-peer, merchant payments, and bill payments, or specific to one area?
A) It is specific to merchant payments. Peer-to-peer transfers and bill payments remain unaffected.
Q) Has this decline affected specific geographic regions, user demographics, or device types?
A) No, the decline is uniformly spread across all geographies, demographics, and device types.
Q) Have we noticed any recent product releases or updates coinciding with this decline?
A) Yes, recently we rolled out a significant UX change—replacing merchant payment SMS notifications with in-app widgets.
Q) Have competitors introduced major new features or campaigns recently?
A) PhonePe ran a marketing campaign, but its effect was minimal compared to the overall 10% drop observed.
Q) Have there been any notable technical issues, outages, or increased crash reports?
A) No unusual outages, crashes, or significant technical issues reported recently.
Q) Are we sure about the accuracy of our logging methods and data collection?
A) Yes, no recent changes or inaccuracies in logging or data collection.
Framework to Analyze the Problem:
To diagnose the issue comprehensively, I'll explore:
External Factors: Competitor activity, market trends, regulatory issues.
Demographic Factors: Age, geography, gender-based impact.
Internal Factors: Recent product changes, UX/UI updates, technical issues.
User Journey Analysis: Step-by-step merchant payment journey, looking for friction or failure points.
External Factors:
Q) Have there been any significant product launches or aggressive marketing campaigns by competitors recently?
A) PhonePe launched a marketing campaign recently. However, the impact observed from this was minor and doesn't fully account for the overall 10% decline in payments.
Q) Have any new major competitors entered the digital payment market recently?
A) While the market frequently sees new entrants, no significant competitor entry has occurred recently that would cause such a notable impact.
Q) Have there been any negative news reports, regulatory changes, or government actions affecting Google Pay or the UPI ecosystem?
A) No, there have been no recent negative PR events, regulatory changes, or government interventions affecting Google Pay.
Q) Are there any network or ISP-level issues affecting users' ability to access Google Pay?
A) We have checked with major ISPs and telecom networks; all services are operating normally.
Q) Could seasonality or macroeconomic trends have caused this decline?
A) We’ve reviewed historical data and see no evidence of similar seasonal trends or macroeconomic impacts explaining this recent decline.
Demographic Factors:
Q) Is the 10% decline specific to any demographic group (age, gender), geography, or particular market segment?
A) No, our analysis indicates the decline is uniform across all demographics, regions, and market segments, affecting all users similarly.
Internal Factors:
Q) Have there been recent product changes, UI/UX updates, or feature releases coinciding with this decline?
A) Yes. We recently rolled out a significant UX change, replacing merchant payment SMS notifications with in-app widget notifications for payment prompts.
Q) Have there been any recent technical issues, app crashes, or outages?
A) No, we have not observed any increase in technical issues, crashes, or service outages.
Q) Has there been a notable increase in negative user feedback, poor app ratings, or increased uninstall rates?
A) We reviewed recent customer feedback and app store ratings and found no abnormal increase in negative sentiment or uninstall rates.