Metrics question

How would you go about validating the need for an app to split the bill when people go out to restaurants or bars?

Practice this question out loud. An AI interviewer asks it, follows up like a real interviewer would, and scores your answer. Type or speak.

What this question tests

Tests lean validation methodology before committing to build a product, appropriate for the clear, narrow scope of this question.

State the hypothesis: users at restaurants or bars in groups want an easier way to split costs than manual calculation or asking the server.
Run cheap validation first, survey and interview target users about current bill-splitting behavior, pain frequency, and existing workarounds like Venmo.
Check existing proxy signals, the search volume and App Store presence of Splitwise or Venmo's group features, as evidence others have already validated demand.
Build a lightweight test, a simple prototype or manual concierge test with a small group of real users at actual outings, measuring real usage.
Define success as the share of surveyed users reporting real pain plus willingness to try the prototype, and actual completion rate during the pilot.

Distinguishes stated interest from revealed behavior, the key validation discipline, rather than relying on survey answers alone.
Uses existing competitor presence, Splitwise and Venmo, as real market evidence to inform rather than dismiss the analysis.
Ties success to an actual completion rate in a small real-world pilot, not just stated intent.

How would you distinguish real demand from people just being polite in a survey?
What would make you decide not to build this?