How would you improve Google Maps? A worked PM interview answer
When asked how to improve Google Maps, start by identifying a concrete user problem, prioritize one segment, and make a clear trade-off in your proposed solution. Explain the risks and how you’d test your choice. Avoid vague feature lists—commit to a specific direction and justify it.
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Start with a specific user problem, not just a new feature
A common but weak answer to 'How would you improve Google Maps?' is to suggest adding a social feed to share locations. While this may sound innovative, it skips over the core step of understanding what users struggle with today. Instead of jumping to a feature, begin by articulating a concrete moment where users are dissatisfied or underserved.
For example, some users report that Google Maps directions are unreliable in areas with weak cell service. This leads to missed turns and frustration when traveling through rural areas. Identifying this moment grounds your answer in real user pain, which is more compelling than proposing features for their own sake.
Segment users and prioritize one group
Google Maps serves many user types: commuters, tourists, delivery drivers, cyclists, and more. Trying to improve the product for all of them at once leads to vague answers. Instead, segment the user base and select one group to focus on.
Suppose you choose frequent travelers who often drive through rural or remote areas. This segment is distinct from city commuters, and their main problem is unreliable navigation when offline. Stating your focus gives your proposal clarity and direction, and it shows you can make trade-offs.
Worked example: Improving offline navigation for rural drivers
Assume you are focusing on drivers who regularly travel through regions with poor connectivity. The core complaint is that Google Maps often fails to provide accurate rerouting or even basic directions when the connection drops. This leads to users missing exits, taking wrong turns, or getting lost.
Your improvement: enhance offline navigation by automatically downloading larger map areas and predictive routing data before a trip starts, based on the route and known weak-signal zones. For instance, if a user is planning a 200-mile drive through rural Iowa, Google Maps would proactively cache the full route and alternative detours, rather than just a small buffer around the intended path.
Assumptions for this example: - 5% of US Google Maps users do at least one rural trip per month. - 40% of those report navigation issues due to connectivity, based on hypothetical survey data. - Phone storage space is a concern for many users, so large downloads must be handled thoughtfully.
You would explicitly state these assumptions to the interviewer and invite correction if they do not match their expectations.
Why prioritize this improvement over others?
Other improvements, like adding restaurant recommendations or augmented reality features, are appealing but do not address a clear pain point for rural travelers. Prioritizing offline navigation helps a distinct segment with a pressing need that current competitors also struggle to solve.
By focusing on this, you make a deliberate trade-off: you are not investing in features for urban users or social sharing, but rather in reliability for rural navigation. This shows you understand that product decisions require focus and often mean saying no to other good ideas.
Explicit trade-offs and a competing option
A competing option is to invest in live traffic data for urban commuters to improve real-time rerouting. This could benefit a larger user group overall, but the incremental value may be lower because urban navigation is already strong and users have reliable connectivity.
The trade-off here is between depth (solving a critical problem for a smaller group) and breadth (offering incremental improvements to a larger audience). You choose depth, arguing that solving a severe reliability issue for rural drivers will create outsized value for those users and differentiate Google Maps from competitors.
Risks and how you’d validate your recommendation
The main risk is that users may not want large map downloads due to limited device storage or data caps. Another risk is that the technical challenge of predicting all possible detours could make offline routing unreliable anyway.
To validate this direction, you would run a limited pilot for rural routes in a test market. Measure opt-in rates, app uninstalls, and navigation success rates. If you observe that opt-in is low or user complaints about storage increase, this is evidence that the approach needs adjustment—perhaps by allowing users to control the download size or opt out entirely.
What would change your mind?
If pilot data shows that less than 10% of targeted users opt in, or if there is a significant uptick in app uninstalls attributed to storage concerns, you would reconsider your recommendation. Alternatively, if iterative testing reveals that users are still getting lost even with larger map downloads, you might pivot to working on a better fallback mode, such as low-fidelity turn-by-turn directions using only GPS.
Being explicit about what evidence would change your recommendation demonstrates mature decision-making and openness to data.
Example of weak reasoning and a stronger approach
A weak answer is: 'I’d add a social sharing feature because users like sharing places.' This is not grounded in a specific user pain or context, and it assumes demand without evidence.
A better answer is: 'I’d improve offline navigation for rural drivers because many report getting lost when their connection drops. This addresses a real pain for a distinct group, and I’d validate it by piloting the solution and tracking opt-in and uninstall rates.' The stronger answer is more focused, evidence-based, and demonstrates an understanding of trade-offs.
Practice exercise and review checklist
Set a timer for seven minutes. Pick a segment of Google Maps users (such as delivery drivers, cyclists, or tourists). Identify a concrete problem for this group, propose one improvement, and reason through a competing option, key trade-off, and how you’d validate your choice. State at least one assumption and what would make you change your mind.
Self-review checklist: - Did I specify a user segment and their problem? - Did I clearly prioritize one improvement over others? - Did I explain a trade-off and competing option? - Did I identify a risk and an experiment to test my idea? - Did I state what new evidence would change my recommendation?
Practice this exercise with different segments every few days to build fluency. Consider using PMMockr for realistic scenario prompts and timing.
FAQ
Should I use a specific framework to answer Google Maps improvement questions?
Frameworks can help organize your thoughts, but it’s more important to show clear prioritization, evidence-based reasoning, and explicit trade-offs. Don’t let a rigid structure override the need for a focused, justified recommendation.
How much detail should I give about implementation?
Focus on the user problem, prioritization, and reasoning. Only discuss technical details if they are relevant to risks or trade-offs. You do not need to specify engineering solutions unless asked.
What if the interviewer disagrees with my chosen user segment?
State your assumptions explicitly and invite correction. If the interviewer suggests a different segment, adapt your answer, showing that you can adjust your thinking based on new constraints or priorities.