CB Insights·Product Manager·Onsite - Product Sense / Strategy·Intermediate

Intermediate

Apr 2026

Summary

CB Insights product interview centered on designing a Close Friends sharing feature for Instagram, with heavy emphasis on how you'd think about the roadmap and what you'd actually ship first. Pretty open-ended, which I wasn't fully prepared for.

Questions Asked (1)

Design a new Instagram feature that lets users share posts exclusively with their Close Friends list. Walk through your goals for the feature, how you'd build a roadmap, and how you'd prioritize what to ship.

Product Sense & IdeationRoadmap PrioritizationProduct Strategy

Author's notes

This felt like three questions stitched into one and I kind of answered them in the wrong order.

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AI HintsAI Generated

Suggested Approach

Start by clarifying the feature's purpose and aligning it with Instagram's broader goals, then outline a structured roadmap that moves from discovery to launch, and finally explain how you'd prioritize features using a framework like RICE. Emphasize user research, metrics, and iterative delivery.

Pro tip: Anchor your answer in Instagram's existing Close Friends feature and its user behavior data, showing you understand the platform's ecosystem. Also, highlight how you'd measure success with specific metrics like engagement rate among Close Friends users versus general users.

1. Define Goals and Success Metrics

Clarify the feature's objective (e.g., increase private sharing, boost engagement) and define measurable success metrics (e.g., adoption rate, posts per user, retention).

2. Conduct User Research and Competitive Analysis

Gather insights on user needs for private sharing and analyze how competitors like Snapchat or BeReal handle close-friend sharing to identify gaps and opportunities.

3. Build a Phased Roadmap

Outline a roadmap with phases: MVP (basic sharing to Close Friends list), iteration (enhancements like notifications or reactions), and scaling (integration with other features).

4. Prioritize Features Using a Framework

Apply a prioritization framework (e.g., RICE, MoSCoW) to decide what to build first, considering impact, effort, and alignment with goals.

5. Plan Launch and Iteration

Describe how you'd launch (e.g., A/B test, beta with power users), measure results, and iterate based on feedback and metrics.

Key Points to Mention

Leverage existing Close Friends list to reduce friction and increase adoption.
Define clear success metrics such as percentage of users using the feature, average posts per user, and engagement lift.
Prioritize MVP features that deliver core value (e.g., ability to share posts exclusively) before adding nice-to-haves.
Consider privacy and user control as key differentiators, ensuring users feel safe sharing with a smaller group.
Use data from similar features (e.g., Close Friends Stories) to inform roadmap and prioritization.
Plan for cross-functional collaboration with design, engineering, and data teams to execute effectively.

AI-generated suggestions, not part of the candidate's original notes. May be inaccurate — verify before relying on them.