Metrics question
Uber has seen a dip in the ride confirmation rate. As a PM at Uber, you are responsible to investigate and fix the issue. How will you go about it?
- Uber
- Metrics
- Hard
Practice this question out loud. An AI interviewer asks it, follows up like a real interviewer would, and scores your answer. Type or speak.
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What this question tests
Structured investigation and fix plan for a marketplace metric decline under real operational pressure.
How to approach it
- Confirm the metric definition and timeframe: which region, driver or rider initiated cancellations, and over what period the dip occurred.
- Rule out a measurement or logging error before assuming a real behavioral shift.
- Segment by geography, time of day, and driver versus rider cancellation to find where the drop concentrates.
- Check external causes: surge pricing changes, a competitor promotion, weather, or local events affecting driver supply.
- Check internal causes: a recent app update, matching algorithm change, or pricing change that affected driver acceptance.
- Propose a fix based on findings, such as adjusting matching radius or surge thresholds, and set a monitoring window to confirm recovery.
What a strong answer includes
- Starts with confirming data accuracy before jumping to root cause hypotheses, a discipline senior PMs apply under pressure.
- Segments the drop by driver versus rider initiated cancellations, since the fix differs sharply between the two causes.
- Names a plausible real cause, e.g. assumes a recent matching radius change increased driver travel time to pickup, hurting acceptance.
- Proposes a specific fix tied to the diagnosed cause and a clear monitoring metric to confirm it worked.
Common mistakes
- Proposing a fix before segmenting the data to find where and why the drop is concentrated.
- Not distinguishing rider versus driver initiated cancellations, which have very different causes and fixes.
- No monitoring plan to confirm the fix actually worked after shipping.
Likely follow-up questions
- How would you distinguish a rider versus driver caused cancellation?
- What would you check first, internal or external causes?
- How would you confirm your fix actually worked?
More metrics questions
- Late deliveries lead to customer churn. What data we should look at to prove this hypothesis for a food delivery app?PayPal · Metrics · Medium
- Which metrics would you track for Uber Pool during the first 6 months after product launch?Uber · Metrics · Medium
- How would you describe and assess how the Uber Marketplace (the matching platform) is doing, for UberX?Uber · Metrics · Hard
- How would reduce cancellations for Uber?Shopify · Metrics · Medium
- What is the most important metric for Uber Eats? Why?Uber · Metrics · Medium
- There is a data point that indicates that there are more Uber drop-offs at the airport than pick-ups from the airport. Why is this the case and what would you do within the product to change that?PayPal · Metrics · Hard
More questions from Uber
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