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In this entire Product Estimation Section, we'll delve into the concept of estimation questions, explore valuable frameworks to solve them during interviews, examine various types of estimations, provide interview examples, and offer some useful tips. Let's begin.

What is a product estimation question?

An estimation question, often referred to as a Fermi problem, involves solving a problem using a straightforward, rough calculation that doesn't require complex mathematics like calculus (thank God, hush) or trigonometry. Estimation questions are valuable for making informed approximations of quantities, variances, or limits.

A couple of examples of product management (PM) estimation questions are:

  1. What is the size of the pet industry in the USA?
  2. How much energy is consumed by streetlights in New York City?
  3. How many Teslas run in the state of California every day?
  4. What is YouTube’s daily revenue?
  5. How many electric cars would it take to map the Republic of India in 2030?
  6. Estimate Google’s Play Store earnings.

In practical terms, these skills prove invaluable when tackling strategic challenges like determining the Total Addressable Market (TAM) for your product, evaluating competitive performance, or deciding on investments that yield the highest Return on Investment (ROI).

The skill of making estimates using basic arithmetic proves useful when assessing market opportunities, predicting technology expenses, and projecting future outcomes for product concepts.

It's important to understand that estimations are, by nature, approximations (निकटतम अनुमान-Hindi or सर्वात जवळचे अंदाज-Marathi). There isn't an exact answer, but there are better and worse methods for arriving at an estimate. Your chosen approach will ultimately shape the interviewer's perception of your abilities.

Framework to solve estimation-based questions