[Clarifying questions - provide my understanding of the product] By Uber, we mean the ride sharing app where users can go from point A to point B by booking a cab online.
[Clarifying questions - try to understand the metric that dropped] Now, I'm trying to understand where exactly the metric dropped in the user journey. So, are users able to log into the app and select the pickup location and destination? Are users able to view the list of rides? Are users able to request ride? Are users able to view the matched driver and ETA? Are the drivers coming on time? Are they able to complete the ride? Are we seeing any drop off in the user journey?
[Let's assume drivers are cancelling the ride.]
Now, in real life I will have the information of whether we pushed any changes on the backend or UX that is resulting in this drop. So I will be inclined to dive deeper into the internal systems bracket but before that I will quickly touch base other brackets just to ensure I'm not missing out any other possible causes of this drop.
Do we have some information on the timeline of the drop or should I assume we are seeing this drop week on week? Do we have information on the geography where this is happening or should I assume we are seeing this globally?
[assume globally]
Now, I will quickly go over the systems bracket. I would look at our logger system that is logging the metrics to our database - if something changed there or is it working properly. I would also look at the metric formula to understand if we changed anything in the formula that calculates this metric.
[assume nothing changed]
Now, I will quickly focus on the external factors. I will look whether our 'competitor' launched any new campaign or product or feature that's leading to less engagement in our app. Also, there may be a new competitor in the market that's driving our users/drivers away from our platform. Maybe that's why drivers are not getting enough riders so cancelling rides or drivers are getting a better deal elsewhere and cancelling rides. Next, I would look at 'other websites' via which users would generally land in our app. Did something go wrong there? For example, when facebook was down lots of other businesses were also affected, businesses that had entry point through facebook. For this example, I would also see if our third party payment integration is working properly. Then, I would look at seasonality. Is it that there was festivals (like durga puja) or events (like world cup) going on and now it's over so there's a drop? If yes, then I would look at the past trends and compare the decrease. I would also look at trends in the market - like are there any driver strike going on in any particular region? Or is eco friendly campaign going on where people are riding public transport to save earth? So maybe there are less riders and therefore drivers are cancelling as they aren't getting sufficient trips. I would also look at demographics - is this happening within any particular region, customer segment?
[Assume none of this is valid]
Now, I will quickly look at out of control factors before diving deep into internal factors. Here, I would look at whether any catastrophic event like tornado, was got our data center down. Since, we clarified first that our users were able to log into our app so we rule this out. I would also like to see if any political changes happened that banned the use of internet or our app in any certain location. Since, we already confirmed earlier that this is globally so we rule out this option as well.
Now, I would like to dive deep into internal factors. I would like to see if we release any other feature or product that's leading to cannibalization of the the uber trips product? Is it fair to assume that it didn't happen or do we have information on this? [assume it didn't]
Next, I would like to see if we pushed any changes on the backend or UX recently? Is it fair to assume that this is the case or do we have information on this? [assume we pushed some changes - we are now using Uber's in house maps and not Google maps API]
Next, I would like to analyze the bug reports. Are we seeing an increase in bug reports and run a sentiment analysis with the data team to understand the types of bugs being reported.
Next, I would like to see if we are seeing this change across all devices. Are we seeing this across Uber website and app as well? Let's assume only in Uber apps. Then are we seeing this across both android and iOS? Let's assume that's the case. I would then investigate if we are seeing this across any particular versions of android and iOS. [Let's assume that we seeing this in older versions of android and iOS] In that case, we already confirmed that we pushed new UX change where Uber's map were integrated instead of Google maps API. I would assume that older versions of Android and iOS are unable to handle this change and maybe that's why drivers are not able to reach destinations or pickup locations on time and cancelling rides. To fix this problem, I would work with our engineering and UX team to roll back to the previous version immediately and then work with them to see how our in-house maps can support older versions of android and iOS.
To summarize, I have taken a broader look at all the possible causes of Uber trips being down. I explored, the systems, the external factors, out of control factors and finally provided a deep dive analysis in the internal systems. We agreed that the problem was in the recent UX changes where Google Maps API was replaced by in-house Uber maps. Older versions of iOS and Android are unable to handle this change. This is causing our drivers who are using older versions of Android and iOS cancel rides as their apps are crashing frequently. I would work with UX and Engineering team to fix this problem.
Community Answers (1)
[Clarifying questions - provide my understanding of the product] By Uber, we mean the ride sharing app where users can go from point A to point B by booking a cab online. [Clarifying questions - try to understand the metric that dropped] Now, I'm trying to understand where exactly the metric dropped in the user journey. So, are users able to log into the app and select the pickup location and destination? Are users able to view the list of rides? Are users able to request ride? Are users able to view the matched driver and ETA? Are the drivers coming on time? Are they able to complete the ride? Are we seeing any drop off in the user journey? [Let's assume drivers are cancelling the ride.] Now, in real life I will have the information of whether we pushed any changes on the backend or UX that is resulting in this drop. So I will be inclined to dive deeper into the internal systems bracket but before that I will quickly touch base other brackets just to ensure I'm not missing out any other possible causes of this drop. Do we have some information on the timeline of the drop or should I assume we are seeing this drop week on week? Do we have information on the geography where this is happening or should I assume we are seeing this globally? [assume globally] Now, I will quickly go over the systems bracket. I would look at our logger system that is logging the metrics to our database - if something changed there or is it working properly. I would also look at the metric formula to understand if we changed anything in the formula that calculates this metric. [assume nothing changed] Now, I will quickly focus on the external factors. I will look whether our 'competitor' launched any new campaign or product or feature that's leading to less engagement in our app. Also, there may be a new competitor in the market that's driving our users/drivers away from our platform. Maybe that's why drivers are not getting enough riders so cancelling rides or drivers are getting a better deal elsewhere and cancelling rides. Next, I would look at 'other websites' via which users would generally land in our app. Did something go wrong there? For example, when facebook was down lots of other businesses were also affected, businesses that had entry point through facebook. For this example, I would also see if our third party payment integration is working properly. Then, I would look at seasonality. Is it that there was festivals (like durga puja) or events (like world cup) going on and now it's over so there's a drop? If yes, then I would look at the past trends and compare the decrease. I would also look at trends in the market - like are there any driver strike going on in any particular region? Or is eco friendly campaign going on where people are riding public transport to save earth? So maybe there are less riders and therefore drivers are cancelling as they aren't getting sufficient trips. I would also look at demographics - is this happening within any particular region, customer segment? [Assume none of this is valid] Now, I will quickly look at out of control factors before diving deep into internal factors. Here, I would look at whether any catastrophic event like tornado, was got our data center down. Since, we clarified first that our users were able to log into our app so we rule this out. I would also like to see if any political changes happened that banned the use of internet or our app in any certain location. Since, we already confirmed earlier that this is globally so we rule out this option as well. Now, I would like to dive deep into internal factors. I would like to see if we release any other feature or product that's leading to cannibalization of the the uber trips product? Is it fair to assume that it didn't happen or do we have information on this? [assume it didn't] Next, I would like to see if we pushed any changes on the backend or UX recently? Is it fair to assume that this is the case or do we have information on this? [assume we pushed some changes - we are now using Uber's in house maps and not Google maps API] Next, I would like to analyze the bug reports. Are we seeing an increase in bug reports and run a sentiment analysis with the data team to understand the types of bugs being reported. Next, I would like to see if we are seeing this change across all devices. Are we seeing this across Uber website and app as well? Let's assume only in Uber apps. Then are we seeing this across both android and iOS? Let's assume that's the case. I would then investigate if we are seeing this across any particular versions of android and iOS. [Let's assume that we seeing this in older versions of android and iOS] In that case, we already confirmed that we pushed new UX change where Uber's map were integrated instead of Google maps API. I would assume that older versions of Android and iOS are unable to handle this change and maybe that's why drivers are not able to reach destinations or pickup locations on time and cancelling rides. To fix this problem, I would work with our engineering and UX team to roll back to the previous version immediately and then work with them to see how our in-house maps can support older versions of android and iOS. To summarize, I have taken a broader look at all the possible causes of Uber trips being down. I explored, the systems, the external factors, out of control factors and finally provided a deep dive analysis in the internal systems. We agreed that the problem was in the recent UX changes where Google Maps API was replaced by in-house Uber maps. Older versions of iOS and Android are unable to handle this change. This is causing our drivers who are using older versions of Android and iOS cancel rides as their apps are crashing frequently. I would work with UX and Engineering team to fix this problem.