As a Product Manager for FB Watch, your team is currently engaged in a redesign project. While this redesign has led to an increase in watch time, it has also resulted in a decrease in likes and comments. Should you proceed with launching this update?

This question is designed to assess your decision-making abilities as a Product Manager. You are confronted with a trade-off scenario where an idea presents both benefits and drawbacks. In particular, there is an increase in watch time, but a decrease in likes and comments on FB Watch due to a redesign. The challenge is to find a balance between user engagement (likes and comments) and actual usage (watch time). When formulating your response, take into account: The goals of FB Watch – which metrics are most critical for the platform? Is it more important to focus on watch time or on engagement metrics like likes and comments? Identifying and evaluating the trade-off. Employing a data-driven approach. What do the statistics reveal? How significant are the changes in the metrics? Possible solutions to address the issue. The long-term effects of your choice.

There isn't a one-size-fits-all answer to this; it largely depends on the specific strategic objectives of the product. For FB Watch, the main metric likely revolves around watch time, as the platform focuses on video content consumption. If the redesign has led to an increase in watch time, it suggests that users may be dedicating more time to viewing video content, which is a favorable outcome. Nonetheless, we must not ignore the decline in likes and comments. These metrics are crucial for assessing user engagement, and a decrease may signify reduced interaction from users. It's essential to consider the rise in watch time alongside the drop in engagement. With this in mind, before reaching a conclusive decision, I would seek to understand the reasons behind this trend. I would examine whether there is a link between the decline in likes/comments and the redesign. If it turns out that the redesign has indeed triggered the drop, I would recommend implementing the redesign while also iterating on it to enhance engagement metrics, since the primary aim is to boost watch time.

In order to make a well-informed choice regarding the launch of the FB Watch redesign, my first step would be to analyze the available data. It is crucial to determine what holds greater value for the platform. As a product manager, I understand that FB Watch's main objective is likely to enhance users' watch time, since the platform is designed for video sharing and viewing. Therefore, if the redesign has successfully increased this metric, that would be a significant achievement. Nevertheless, engagement remains extremely important as well. A decline in likes and comments might indicate that users are less engaged with the content or find it less shareable. These factors are vital for social media platforms, as they contribute to ongoing growth and maintain content quality. Considering this uncertainty, I recommend a dual approach: First, proceed with the redesign since watch time has shown improvement. Second, continue conducting A/B testing to uncover the reasons behind the decrease in engagement and refine our approach based on those insights. Our team should also investigate other analytics such as share rates, unique viewers, and completion rates to pinpoint the reasons for the reduced engagement.