Dropbox · Product sense · Mid · 45 to 60 minutes

How should Dropbox onboard mobile first users?

Dropbox is a cloud storage and file sync service that lets people access photos, documents, and other files across devices. Answer this product management case and get it graded line by line against a weighted rubric.

product sense
onboarding design
experimentation
metrics
tradeoff analysis

The situation

You are a PM on Dropbox's growth team in 2014. Dropbox's original experience was built for a world where most people first installed it on a desktop, then used mobile to view files while away from their computer. That assumption is breaking. More people now discover Dropbox on smartphones, sometimes because the app is already on the device, or because a friend told them to try it. When they open the app, many do not yet understand what Dropbox does, and the current mobile flow pushes them straight into account creation. Internal research suggests many new mobile users never reach the core value of having their stuff available across devices. Leadership wants a proposal for the mobile new user experience that improves activation, not just signups. The hard part is that Dropbox's value becomes much clearer after a user connects both phone and computer, yet every extra step adds friction on a small screen. You need to recommend how the first session on mobile should work, what moments to prioritize, and how you would validate the approach.

What to produce

A 1 to 2 page product brief.

Your answer must

Define the target new user segments and the main onboarding problem you are solving.
State a clear product goal and 2 to 4 metrics that would show whether the new experience is working.
Compare at least two onboarding approaches, explain the tradeoffs, and recommend one.
Describe the end to end first session flow, including how users learn Dropbox's value and how, if at all, cross device setup fits into onboarding.
Outline an experiment plan and the biggest risks or failure modes you would watch for.

Constraints

Do not assume users already know what Dropbox is or already have an account.
The solution must work for both iOS and Android using Dropbox's existing mobile and desktop products.
The proposal should help truly new mobile users without making sign in meaningfully worse for returning users or people who already have Dropbox accounts.
Scope is onboarding and cross device handoff, not a rebuild of Dropbox's core sync or storage systems.

Format

Use sections for user problem, goals and metrics, options considered, recommended flow, and experiment plan.

How Dropbox actually played it

Dropbox treats growth as part of the product experience and looks for holes that slow it down. This post explains why the mobile new-user experience was rebuilt so users reach the value of having their stuff anywhere. It is an early example of growth work focused on onboarding gaps rather than tricks.

Fix the biggest experience holes before trying growth hacks.
Help users reach the core value in the first session.
Mobile is where first impressions often form.

Built from Building Dropbox’s New User Experience for Mobile, Part 1 by Dropbox Tech.