Design a Agent Dashboard for Visa Agents: PM Interview|Product Design |Take home Assignment

11 min readJan 17, 2024

Imagine you are a product manager for B2C Visa booking company (Atlys), write a PRD for the Visa Status page which the Visa agents will use to track Visa applications.

In the world of product management, the ability to effectively create and communicate a Product Requirements Document (PRD) is a skill that can make or break a product’s success.

A PRD serves as the blueprint for a product, outlining its features, functionalities, and goals. It’s the compass that guides product teams, ensuring everyone is aligned on what needs to be built and why.

Aspiring product managers and seasoned professionals alike often encounter PRD-related scenarios during interviews, making it a critical skill to master.

In this article, we’ll delve into a PRD PM interview question which was given as a take home assignment.

Whether you’re preparing for a product management interview or simply aiming to enhance your PRD skills, this case study will provide valuable insights and practical tips to help you excel in the world of product management.

Apart from Guesstimation, product strategy and behaviour question, product design style question are also asked.

If these type of questions are asked in face to face setting then you can go ahead with the CIRCLE method. But if given as a taken home assignment you are expected to write a more detailed PRD.

We have designed a perfect PRD template which you can use in submitting take home assignment or also as a PM in your day to day job. If you are interested type ”PRD template” in the comment section.

Below is the PRD which was submitted by the candidate to the interviewer as a take home assignment.

Read the PRD carefully, the candidate has provided detailed specification for the feature. But still the candidate has missed on some important details. Mention those in the comment section.

The assignment ends when you see the separator like the below one.

Product Management: PRD take home assignment

The interview started with a face to face meet. And at the end of the interview the interviewer asked the candidate to submit a take home assignment to gauge his/her PM skill in real environment.

Below is the conversation of the candidate with the interviewer before he starts working on the assignment.

Candidate: Ok, as far as I understand Atlys is a B2C company where users apply for visa application. So by building for Agents is the company moving towards B2B environment?

Interviewer: Yes, the company see’s potential users in travel agents, who likes to book visa in bulk, So the company is trying build a product for these users.

Candidate: Ok, So will the travel agents have a completely different dashboard and what will be the flow?

Interviewer: Yes a completely different dashboard, flow you decide you are the PM of the product.

Candidate: What is the scope of the PRD? and what is the timeline to submit this?

interviewer: Scope you decide. You can submit in 2–3 days.

Candidate: Status page is where the Agents will view the status of the visa application that they submitted?

Interviewer: Yes.

Below starts the assignment submitted by the candidate.

Problem Statement:

You are product manager for the Atlys B2B Agent experience. Write a PRD for the Visa Status page which the agents will view to see the status of the VISA applications.

Overview:

Goal: Allow agents to successfully view the status of the Visa application which they had applied from the Atlys Dashboard.

Stakeholders: The stakeholders section provides details of the ownership of the feature across different teams.

Product Manager: Charlie Sheen
Product design: Jamie Oliver
Engineering Head: Charlie Chaplin
Backend Engineer: Tony Stark
Front End Engineer: Ed Sheeran
QA Owner: Taylor Swift

Feature Background:

The Agent dashboard in Atlys is a B2B dashboard which is designed specifically for the travel agents to apply Visa applications.
Agents use this dashboard to manage the clientele Visa related requests. From document uploads to applying in bulk for group travels.
The Visa status page will be used by the agents to view all their Visa applications in one single page.
The aim of the feature is to provide agents with a single platform for all their Visa related needs.

Success Criteria

Once the feature is completed, user will be able to view all the Visa application in one place and take necessary action based on the status of the application.

User Stories

The feature is broken down into multiple user stories, this will help team to build fast and prioritise the feature based on the requirement.

Ps: Priority 1 is the highest.

Detailed Requirements:

Below are the detailed description of all the 4 user story.

Visa Listing Table: User Story 1

When the user clicks on the Visa Status in the left nav, the user will see the Visa application listing table.
All the visa application will be listed in the table, with the latest entry on the top.
The table will be paginated, with 10 entries per page.
Users can also view group entries by clicking on the dropdown.
The table has 7 columns with the following column name and their usage.
Application ID: ID of the visa application. (clickable)
Applicant Name: Name of the Visa applicant. (clickable)
Country: Country for which the visa is applied.
Visa Type: we have 3 visa types,Business, Travel, and Study.
Submission Date: Date when the application was submitted.
Status: The current state of the visa application(more detail about status below)
Actions: 4 Action buttons, Document error, Edit, Download and Delete.

Status: Every application can be in any of the following 5 Status.
Draft: In this state the application is not submitted and agent still has to upload some documents. An error will be shown in the document icon in action button in this state. When the user clicks on it, will be taken to the upload page.
In Progress: The application is submitted and is under review and been given for processing.
Approved: The Application has been approved and users can Download the Visa receipt by clicking in the download action icon.
Missing Document: There is some missing document or incorrect document uploaded. The error will be shown in the document icon in action button in this state. When the user clicks on it will be taken to the upload page.
Rejected: The application has been rejected due to some constraints. When the user clicks on the application, user can see the reason of rejection.
Action: Here we have 4 action buttons.
Document Error: This will check for the incomplete documents or pending document upload. If true the icon will show error on it and will be clickable to user and will direct to the upload document page.
Edit: This will be enabled for only those application which are in Missing Doc or Draft state. User can edit the Visa detail and documents. When user clicks on edit option the Application detail modal will open.
Download: This will be enabled for only those applications whose status is Approved. User can Download the Visa receipt.
Delete: User can delete the Application from any state. The application will be deleted and if need arise to reinstate the application, new application is to be created.
Warning message to be shown if the user tries to delete the application.

Application Detail Modal: This modal can be accessed from the Edit Action button or by clicking on the Application Name and Application ID.
The modal provides a detail view of the application. Which is divided into 2 main sections.
Visa Details: Here we have all the basic details about the applicant. This is editable, provided it is in edit states(Draft). Save option to be present at the end if the user edits this space.
Documents: Here agents can see all the documents uploaded. If the user clicks on the edit icon, then will be redirected to the upload document page.

When the Application is rejected, the error will be highlighted with the error box below the document, providing the reason due to which the rejection happened.
The action here is not reversible, user can start with a new application process.

Search Bar: User Story 2

The search feature here will be applicable to the 2 columns in the current phase. Application Id and Application Name.
Token based search to be implemented here provided names can be split into Name and Surname.
The search should have lookahead feature, which should provide similar suggestions in the dropdown while the user is searching for any id or name.
User can click on the suggestion and the clicked suggestion row will appear in the table below.
User can click on the cross in the search bar to go back to original list state.
If the user deletes the application after searching, the list will be back to the original state after successful deletion.

Status page Filter: User Story 3

The Filter option will be present next to Search bar.
Users can apply filter to 4 options: Country, Visa Type, Status and Submission date.
User can selects any of the 4 options or combination of the 4 options.

Once the user selects the option it will be added below as a new drop down. Here users can select the logic of the filter.
Each option will have different sets of logic which will make it easier for the user to filter through.
Country: Is equal to, is one of, not equal to, is empty, is not empty
Visa Type: is equal to, Is one of, not equal to, is empty, is not empty
Status: is equal to, Is one of, not equal to, is empty, is not empty
Submission date: on, is before, is between, is after, is on or after, is empty, is not empty.

Users can use the combination of these filter to get the application data they need.
Users can also delete the filter by clicking on the delete icon.
When the user leaves the Visa status page the Filter to be removed during the next visit.
User can select one of each filter options at a time.

Status Page notification bar: User Story 4

The Notification bar can be accessed from any of the page.
When the Status of the application changes User is to be notified about the changes.
The notification bar can be used for other notification as well, related to payment, account update etc.

But for the context of Visa Status page the notification will be set when state of application changes.
Users can access the notification by clicking on the Bell icon on the top.
The number of notifications not read to be shown on the icon.
When user clicks on the icon the notification modal opens below.
The modal will have all the notifications, And the ones which are not read, will be in unread state.
User can click on the notification and will be taken to the Visa status page. Here User will be shown the Application for which the alert was generated.
The notification is meant to provide update to the user no matter which page the user is in.

Future scope:

The future scope consideration is to allow users to update the documents for applications with Missing doc status from the Visa Status page.
This will make it easier for the user to manage the document for the already-applied visa application and upload the correct document from the same page.
Scope for restarting the process of the rejected visa application from the visa status page. Option for users to re-upload documents for Rejected Visa application and File a new application.
Notify(email) the users about the Visa application status and notify them if rejected, providing a reason why.

Metrics

The North Star metric for this feature will be the Download of the Visa Receipt. This will be an indicator to the overall success of the feature. And also help us understand if the we are able to provide any value to the agent with the feature.
The number of downloads will be direct indicator to the revenue generated by the company and the users satisfaction.
If the success or adoption of the feature is to be measured the visa Status page visit/ page session is the metrics to look after.
Apart from the north star metric, each user story will be measured for its adoption and usage.

Logs/History

The history of the users actions needs to be logged in the history. In the Visa Status Page, Agents can Edit the Draft, or Missing Doc status Application and delete an Application.
For the edit action the link to the edited application to be present in the log.
Below is how the logs will appear in the History page.
Agent <Agent name> edited Visa type for Application <application id>.
Agent <Agent name> deleted Application <application id>.

Historical Data

Some of the Agents might have been already onboarded before the Visa Status page was designed. For these users there existing application should be visible once the feature is live.
This is making sure the feature is backward compatible. And all the historic data is also available and not just the new data.

Conclusion

The candidate provides a detailed PRD for the Pm take home assignment. With just 2–3 days the output here is commendable. What things in the PRD do you think could have been done better?

Though the candidate has not provided explanations for some of the decisions taken. Like why only 4 column's can be filtered? These questions are something which are expected in the interview after the assignment is submitted.

In the world of product management, mastering the art of creating a compelling Product Requirements Document (PRD) is an invaluable skill.

It serves as a guiding light for product teams, ensuring everyone is on the same page and focused on the same goals. T

Through our PRD case study, we’ve explored the intricacies of crafting an effective PRD, from defining clear objectives to prioritizing features and communicating a coherent vision.

As you prepare for product management interviews or seek to elevate your skills in the field, remember that practice and attention to detail are key.

Each PRD you create is an opportunity to refine your approach and hone your ability to transform ideas into actionable plans.