Google Maps · Metrics · Mid · 45 to 60 minutes

Google Maps navigation starts fell 11%

Google Maps is a mobile and web app that helps people find places, get directions, and start turn by turn navigation. Answer this product management case and get it graded line by line against a weighted rubric.

metric diagnosis
funnel analysis
hypothesis prioritization
cross functional judgment
execution planning

The situation

You are the PM for mobile navigation at Google Maps. In the weekly business review, your director flags that navigation starts on mobile are down 11 percent week over week. This is a core product metric, and leadership wants a clear plan by tomorrow on how you would investigate and what actions you would take first. You do not yet know whether the drop is broad or isolated, whether it affects Android, iOS, or certain trip types more, or whether it is caused by user behavior, a release, an experiment, or a technical issue. Several partner teams are involved, including search, ads, routing, and mobile engineering, so jumping to a fix too early could create churn or reverse the wrong thing. At the same time, waiting too long could hurt a high intent user journey and make the problem worse. Your task is to outline how you would frame the problem, identify the most likely place to investigate first, and recommend a practical response plan under time pressure.

What to produce

Write a 1 page triage memo, 600 to 800 words.

Your answer must

State the first clarifying questions you would ask, grouped into logical categories such as scope, users, timing, releases or experiments, competition, funnel, and business goal.
Map the mobile navigation funnel from app open to navigation start, and explain how you would use step level conversion data to isolate the likely break point.
Prioritize 2 to 3 plausible root cause hypotheses for the drop, and tie each one to the funnel step and evidence you would seek next.
Recommend a ranked action plan for the next 24 to 72 hours, including at least one immediate mitigation and one deeper follow up.
Explain the trade offs behind your prioritization, including impact, effort, confidence, and risk of acting on incomplete information.

Constraints

Do not assume you already know the cause, you must show how you would narrow it down.
You cannot propose a full redesign or multi quarter rebuild, focus on decisions available to a PM in the next few days.
If you need more data, specify exactly what data you would request and how it would change your next step.
Keep the response focused on the mobile navigation experience, not on unrelated Maps surfaces.

Format

Use short sections with headings: clarifying questions, funnel diagnosis, hypotheses, action plan, and risks.

How Google Maps actually played it

An interview-style answer on an 11 percent weekly drop in mobile navigation starts. It uses clarifying questions, funnel investigation and a prioritized list of fixes.

Ask what changed before diving into the data
Investigate the funnel to the step that broke
Rank solutions by impact and effort

Built from Google Maps navigation starts dropped by 11% by Sreerag Panat.