Metrics question
If your engineering team wants to do a bug fix and your sales team wants to implement a new feature, how do you decide which one to do? You can only do one.
- Metrics
- Easy
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What this question tests
Tests prioritization judgment under a forced trade off between quality debt and new revenue-driving work, and the reasoning framework used to decide.
How to approach it
- Clarify the specifics: how severe is the bug (does it block core functionality or is it a minor annoyance), and how large and time-sensitive is the sales-requested feature.
- Assess the bug's impact: number of users affected, whether it blocks a core flow like checkout or login, and whether a workaround exists.
- Assess the feature's impact: expected revenue or deal size at stake, and whether it is a one-off customer ask or a broader market need.
- Apply a decision framework: fix the bug first if it affects a large user base or a revenue-critical flow, since unresolved bugs compound and erode trust broadly.
- If the bug is minor and has a workaround, prioritize the feature if it unlocks clear, sizable revenue with a firm deadline.
- Communicate the decision and timeline for the deprioritized item so neither team is left without visibility into when their ask will be addressed.
What a strong answer includes
- Refuses to answer in the abstract and instead names the specific factors, severity, affected users, revenue size, deadline, that would actually decide this trade off.
- Defaults toward fixing a severe, broadly-affecting bug first, since unresolved core-flow bugs compound reputational and revenue damage over time.
- Considers the feature's true urgency, such as whether it is tied to a specific deal with a deadline versus a general nice-to-have ask.
- Closes the loop by committing to communicate a timeline for whichever item is deprioritized, which is what actually maintains trust with both teams.
Common mistakes
- Giving a generic 'it depends' answer without naming the specific factors that would drive the decision.
- Always defaulting to sales requests over engineering quality issues, or vice versa, without reasoning through the specific case.
Likely follow-up questions
- How would you handle it if both teams disagree strongly with your final call?
- How would you prevent this kind of forced trade off from recurring so often?
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Learn the skill behind it
Chapters of the AI PM course that teach what this question tests.
- Chapter 9: Prove it paid off: outcomes, economics, and pricing
- Chapter 2: Data fluency: SQL, logs, and reading the truth yourself
- Chapter 14: Get the job: the AI PM interview loop