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Problem Statement: You are the product manager at Netflix. You see there is a 10% drop in the Average View Duration. Find the Root Cause.

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Clarification Questions

πŸ‘©πŸ»β€πŸ« Me: Thank you for the question! Before diving into the root cause, I’d like to clarify a few details to ensure I fully understand the problem. Does that sound okay?

πŸ‘©πŸ»β€πŸ’» Interviewer: Yes absolutely, please go ahead!

πŸ‘©πŸ»β€πŸ« Me: I’d love to understand the platform better first. Netflix is a streaming service that provides a wide variety of entertainment content to its subscribers. It operates on a subscription-based model, where users pay a monthly fee for unlimited access to movies, TV shows, documentaries, and more. Netflix’s content library includes both licensed titles from major studios and original programming produced by Netflix itself. One key aspect that differentiates Netflix is its focus on providing a personalized user experience. Is my understanding of the product correct?

πŸ‘©πŸ»β€πŸ’» Interviewer: Yes that is a strong understanding. You are correct.

πŸ‘©πŸ»β€πŸ« Me: Now, I’d like to further understand the problem statement. Can you help me clarify what we mean by β€œaverage view duration”? Based on my understanding, this refers to the total watch time divided by the number of plays during a given period. From my understanding, this refers to the total watch time divided by the number of plays during a given period. Is that correct?

πŸ‘©πŸ»β€πŸ’» Interviewer: Yes, that’s correct. For Netflix, Average Value Duration is calculated as the total watch time across all users divided by the total number of plays during a given period.

πŸ‘©πŸ»β€πŸ« Me: So it is a user engagement metric. Is it fair to say that the drop is in engagement with content?

πŸ‘©πŸ»β€πŸ’» Interviewer: Yes that is correct.

πŸ‘©πŸ»β€πŸ« Me: Great. Now I would like to under the 10% drop. Is the 10% drop in AVD measured over a specific time frame, such as a week or month?

πŸ‘©πŸ»β€πŸ’» Interviewer: It was observed that there have been gradual drops since last month.

πŸ‘©πŸ»β€πŸ« Me: Noted. ****Are there specific user segments affected? For example, is the drop concentrated in certain regions or demographics?

πŸ‘©πŸ»β€πŸ’» Interviewer: It was observed on a global level, with no specific geography identified.

πŸ‘©πŸ»β€πŸ« Me: Understood. Has this drop been linked to a specific device? For example, since Netflix is accessed on various platforms like mobile, desktop, etc., does it affect one platform more than the others?

πŸ‘©πŸ»β€πŸ’» Interviewer: Nothing in particular, but the drop is slightly higher on mobile devices.

πŸ‘©πŸ»β€πŸ« Me: Interesting. I’d also like to know if this is happening with any particular type of content or genre, or if we’re observing it across all types of content.

πŸ‘©πŸ»β€πŸ’» Interviewer: Nothing in particular. This is happening across all types of content.

πŸ‘©πŸ»β€πŸ« Me: Duly Noted.