Strategy question
What is the role of a Product Manager in decommissioning a product? What are the steps involved?
- Strategy
- Medium
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What this question tests
Understanding of the full product lifecycle, checking whether you know decommissioning is a deliberate, planned process, not just flipping a product off.
How to approach it
- Clarify scope: are we decommissioning a standalone product, or a feature within a larger product, since stakeholder impact differs.
- Identify the PM's core responsibilities: building the business case for sunset, communicating with stakeholders, and planning a migration path for affected users.
- Start with data: confirm the decision with usage, revenue, and cost-to-maintain data, since decommissioning should be evidence-based, not a guess.
- Plan the migration: identify what alternative product or feature existing users should move to, and build a transition plan, not just a shutdown date.
- Communicate on a timeline: give users advance notice, typically 60 to 90 days depending on complexity, with clear reasons and migration instructions.
- Execute in phases: stop new signups first, then support existing users through transition, then fully shut down, monitoring for unexpected dependencies throughout.
What a strong answer includes
- Frames decommissioning as an evidence-based decision, not just a cost-cutting instinct, tying it to usage and revenue data.
- Names migration planning as central to the process, since users left without an alternative will churn angrily or complain publicly.
- Describes a phased shutdown, stop signups then support then shut down, showing real operational sequencing knowledge.
Common mistakes
- Treating decommissioning as simply turning off a product with no migration plan for existing users.
- Skipping stakeholder communication and giving users too little notice before a shutdown.
Likely follow-up questions
- How would you handle a small but vocal group of users who depend heavily on the product?
- How would you decide the right amount of notice to give before shutdown?
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Learn the skill behind it
Chapters of the AI PM course that teach what this question tests.
- Chapter 4: Discovery and strategy for AI products
- Chapter 9: Prove it paid off: outcomes, economics, and pricing
- Chapter 14: Get the job: the AI PM interview loop