Superhuman · Execution · Mid · 45 to 60 minutes

Calendar Events or Quick Quotes next?

Superhuman is a premium email app focused on helping people move through email faster. Answer this product management case and get it graded line by line against a weighted rubric.

prioritization
strategic thinking
judgment under uncertainty
roadmap planning
stakeholder communication

The situation

You are a PM at Superhuman preparing input for the next planning cycle. The product lead wants a recommendation on which of two candidate investments should get the team's next meaningful block of capacity. One option is Calendar Events, a larger calendar-related feature that is currently the highest-volume customer request in this area. The other is Quick Quotes, a much smaller workflow enhancement with lower explicit request volume. Assume Calendar Events would likely take most of a quarter for a small cross-functional team, while Quick Quotes could be designed, built, and shipped in a few weeks. You cannot staff both at the same time. The timing matters because Superhuman is growing quickly, and leadership wants a prioritization approach that fits the company's current stage, not a generic scoring exercise. Sales and support are hearing repeated asks for Calendar Events, while product and engineering are also looking for ways to keep improving the core experience without slowing down. Your recommendation will go to product, engineering, and go-to-market leaders, who need a clear call on what to build now, what to defer, and why.

What to produce

Write a 1 to 2 page product recommendation memo.

Your answer must

Make a clear recommendation on which option to build next, and explicitly state what should not be built in this cycle.
Use a prioritization approach that fits Superhuman's current stage, and explain why that approach is appropriate here.
Compare Calendar Events and Quick Quotes on at least four dimensions, including demand, effort, expected user value, and opportunity cost.
State any assumptions you are making, identify the most important unknowns, and propose how you would validate them quickly.
Define success metrics for the option you choose, plus 2 to 3 key risks and how you would mitigate them.

Constraints

Recommend only one primary build for the next cycle, no split staffing across both options.
Use only the information in the prompt, if you add facts, label them as assumptions.
Assume team capacity and headcount are fixed for the planning period.

Format

Use five short sections: recommendation, decision framework, option comparison, risks and mitigations, success metrics and next steps.

How Superhuman actually played it

Superhuman's product lead compares two 2020 features, the most requested Calendar Events and the small Quick Quotes, to show how prioritization differs by stage, starting with the wedge for early teams. The post argues that deciding what not to build comes first. Good for understanding stage-appropriate prioritization.

Match the prioritization method to company stage
Decide what not to build before deciding what to build
Small enhancements can beat the most requested feature

Built from Product at hypergrowth: prioritization for fast-scaling startups by Ketki Duvvuru.