Swiggy’s Orders have dropped by 20% | PM Interview: Root Cause Analysis
What would you do if you were a PM at Swiggy and you saw that the orders had dropped by 20%?
Root cause analysis is a common PM interview question used to gauge a candidate's PM sense. It is generally known as an RCA-type question.
In simple terms, RCA deals with finding the cause of some sort of problem within the product.
Why did anything happen?
It’s like trying to debug an issue, but based on the information available.
This type of question may sound simple, as most of the RCA question does.
But RCA can be tricky sometimes. Especially if you have not practiced a structured approach.
The important aspect of solving an RCA problem in a PM interview lies in the structuring of the solution and analysis. This provides a clear picture of the candidate’s thought process and also helps the candidate to think clearly.
The basics of RCA-type questions lie in asking too many clarification questions.
This will help the PM candidate to get more information about the problem at hand, but will also be able to think clearly with more data points.
Let's understand how to approach an RCA question.
How to go about RCA Analysis?
Before delving into this issue, The candidate needs to propose a structured approach to address the problem as a Swiggy PM.
Here’s how I would approach the problem as a PM.
- Firstly, I will provide a concise overview of the product and service in question, establishing a shared understanding.
- Following this, I will pose clarifying questions, ensuring we’re aligned and that I am comprehending the issue accurately.
- Subsequently, I’ll dissect the problem, examining it through four distinct factors:
a. Basic Systems check,
b. Internal Factors,
c. External Factors, and
d. Factors Beyond Our Control.
4. Then based on the data collected I will summarise the findings and try to pinpoint the factor that caused this issue.
5. Lastly, I will offer potential solutions to address the issue, along with insights on how similar situations might be preempted in the future.
I have created a Template explaining the structure that I use during the PM interview. If you wish to get the template for free. Share your email id in the comments below and write: “RCA template”.
Now that we have understood the structure of how to approach the RCA problem. Let's delve into the problem and evaluate it.
Candidate: Swiggy’s Orders have dropped by 20%.
Here’s I would like to put forth a structure, on how I will tackle this problem and find the root cause.
- Provide Context and overview of the product.
- Ask some clarifying questions on the same.
- Then will try to break down and find issues in different categories.
a. Basic Systems check,
b. Internal Factors,
c. External Factors, and
d. Factors Beyond Our Control.
4. Identify the issue and build hypothesis
5. Provide a solution to tackle the same.
Does this sound good?
Interviewer: Yes
Candidate: Give me a couple of minutes to collect my thoughts.
Interviewer: Sure
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[After 2 minutes]
Candidate: So here we are talking about the food delivery company Swiggy. A little bit of context about Swiggy so that we are on the same page.
Brief About Swiggy
Swiggy is a leading online food delivery platform that connects users with a variety of restaurants, offering them the convenience of ordering food from their mobile app or website.
The platform provides services such as real-time order tracking, diverse restaurant options, and quick delivery times.
Swiggy’s business model revolves around commission fees from restaurants, delivery charges from customers, and sometimes promotional tie-ups.
Swiggy’s app also has Genie service, Swiggy Dineouts, and Instamart.
Does this sound right? or anything I missed?
Interviewer: That sounds correct.
Candidate: OK, Swiggy has currently seen a drop of 20% in orders, is this drop seen in food orders? or drop in other services as well like, Instamart, and Dineout?
Interviewer: Just in food orders.
Candidate: How do we define Orders at Swiggy? The metrics that have dropped what is it?
Interviewer: Its number of orders/day compared to the average orders in the last 30 days.
Candidate: On which platform (mobile app, website, or both) have you observed the 20% drop in orders?
Interviewer: Both
Candidate: Over what period has this 20% drop been observed? Is it a sudden drop, or has it been a gradual decline over time?
Interviewer: sudden decline in the past 2 days
Candidate: Is this drop consistent across all geographic regions, or is it more pronounced in specific areas?
Interviewer: Across India
Candidate: So, the drop is happening across India, which indicates it’s likely a widespread issue rather than something localized.
Candidate: Have there been any recent changes or updates to the Swiggy platform — such as app updates, changes in the delivery charges, or new features — just before this decline began?
Interviewer: Nothing out of the blue. We do have regular releases/updates being pushed.
Candidate: Have you noticed any changes in customer feedback or complaints over the past few days, such as issues with deliveries, payment failures, or app performance?
Interviewer: we do get support requests for payment failures etc. But we did not see any increase. It was BAU.
Candidate: Have you noticed any recent marketing campaigns, discounts, or new features introduced by competitors like Zomato or Eat Club? Specifically, anything launched in the last few days that could attract Swiggy users?
Interviewer: When I see their marketing campaigns I see, at the time of this drop Zomato had their 10th anniversary.
Candidate: OK, that would be significant, Can you give me more information on this, Like were they running any campaigns apart from regular campaigns? Have they seen an increase in orders in the same period?
Interviewer: Don’t have information on the increase in their order count. But yes we have seen them running a special discount campaign for its customers.
Candidate: Is this drop recurring or a one-time drop? is this drop seasonal?
Interviewer: No, this drop is not seasonal. And if I see the trend I do see some drop at the same period in last 2–3 years.
Candidate: OK, So every time in the same period the drop is happening for the past 3–4 years?
Interviewer: Yes.
Candidate: Ok, has there been any significant external events recently — such as major festivals, public holidays, or events that could have influenced people’s ordering behavior?
Interviewer: This is India, so we do have festivals going on thoughout. But no festival during the period of the drop.
Candidate: Ok, since the drop was observed in India, was there any natural disaster in the region, which might have occurred in the last 7 -10 days? or during the period.
Interviewer: Nothing that I know of.
Candidate: Ok, I believe I have enough information to go ahead and create a hypothesis, about what caused the drop of 20% in orders at Swiggy.
What caused the Issue?
Based on the thorough analysis and investigation I was able to narrow down the issue to 1 major possible cause, because of which the drop might have occurred.
Competitors Activity: It seems likely that Zomato’s anniversary celebration, possibly accompanied by aggressive promotions or discounts, may have led to the sudden 20% drop in Swiggy’s orders.
What will be my Next steps?
Now that I have a hypothesis I need to validate both of them.
Gather Information: Collect detailed information on Zomato’s anniversary promotions, including the types of discounts offered, Did the same drop happen in the last 5 years at the same time? What was the action taken?
Social media engagement: Since the drop has been significant, check the social media posts of the competitors. Do they have more engagement than regular?
This will help us understand the valid hypothesis.
Interviewer: How can you mitigate this in the future?
Candidate:
I as a PM would take a couple of steps to mitigate this in the future.
- Monitor Competitor Activities: Set up a system to closely monitor competitor activities, especially during significant events like anniversaries or major promotions. Use this data to anticipate market shifts and plan proactive counter-strategies.
- Develop a Response Framework: Create a framework for quickly responding to competitive threats in the future. This includes predefined promotional tactics, communication strategies, and internal processes for rapid execution.
- Marketing Team: Since this is more on the reach of promotions to the user. Will work with the marketing team to have a marketing strategy ready in case of a sudden drop in the future.
Interviewer: Good, that is with the case study.
What to read after this?
- Linkedin won’t get you a Job
- 10-Step Guide to Prepare for a Product Manager Interview
- Basic Guide on UX Laws that Every Product Manager Needs to Know
- Simple Guide to Transition from Engineering to Product Management.
- How does the Product Manager make decisions?
- Product Management in 2024: Navigating Change and Excelling in Your Career
Final Thoughts:
RCA-type questions never have one right answer. There might be multiple reasons for an issue to happen.
So don’t get fixated on the solution, always try to get hints from the data the interviewer is providing.
Sometimes what you might think is a problem might just be part of the issue. So always ask for more insights and let the interviewer direct the interview.
The most important of all is to stay calm. Be clear on your head and think from multiple angles. Because that's what PMs do.
I hope this mock interview-style content was helpful, I am always open to feedback. You can share your thoughts in the comment section below.
