Essential Work Samples for Evaluating AI Skills in Product Roadmap Validation

Product roadmap validation is a critical process that determines the success or failure of product development initiatives. With the integration of artificial intelligence into this process, organizations can now make more data-driven decisions, identify market opportunities with greater precision, and validate product hypotheses more efficiently. Candidates who possess the skills to leverage AI in product roadmap validation bring tremendous value to product teams by reducing uncertainty and increasing the likelihood of market success.

The ability to effectively utilize AI for product roadmap validation requires a unique blend of technical understanding, strategic thinking, and communication skills. Candidates must demonstrate proficiency in selecting appropriate AI tools, interpreting AI-generated insights, applying these insights to roadmap decisions, and communicating the rationale behind AI-validated priorities to stakeholders. These skills cannot be adequately assessed through traditional interview questions alone.

Work samples provide a realistic preview of how candidates approach AI-driven product validation challenges. By observing candidates as they work through practical scenarios, hiring managers can evaluate not only their technical capabilities but also their problem-solving approach, critical thinking skills, and ability to translate AI insights into actionable product strategies.

The following work samples are designed to assess a candidate's proficiency in using AI for product roadmap validation across different dimensions. Each exercise simulates real-world scenarios that product professionals encounter when leveraging AI to validate roadmap decisions. By implementing these exercises in your interview process, you'll gain valuable insights into which candidates can truly harness the power of AI to drive successful product strategies.

Activity #1: AI Tool Selection for Feature Prioritization

This activity evaluates a candidate's ability to select appropriate AI tools and methodologies for validating feature priorities on a product roadmap. It tests their understanding of various AI capabilities, their ability to match tools to specific validation needs, and their strategic thinking about how AI can enhance the roadmap validation process.

Directions for the Company:

• Prepare a fictional product roadmap with 8-10 potential features for the next two quarters.
• Create a brief document outlining the product's target market, current user base, and business objectives.
• Provide access to a list of AI tools and methodologies (both real and fictional) with brief descriptions of their capabilities, including:
• Natural Language Processing for user feedback analysis
• Predictive analytics for feature impact forecasting
• Computer vision for UI/UX testing
• Recommendation engines for personalization testing
• Sentiment analysis for market reception prediction
• Machine learning for user behavior pattern recognition
• Allow 45 minutes for this exercise.

Directions for the Candidate:

• Review the product roadmap and supporting information about the product.
• Select 3-4 AI tools or methodologies from the provided list that would be most effective for validating the roadmap's priorities.
• For each selected tool/methodology:
• Explain why it's appropriate for this specific product and roadmap
• Describe how you would implement it in the validation process
• Outline what specific insights you expect to gain
• Identify potential limitations or biases to be aware of
• Prepare a brief (5-minute) presentation explaining your selections and implementation strategy.

Feedback Mechanism:

• After the presentation, provide feedback on one strength in the candidate's approach (e.g., "Your selection of sentiment analysis for feature X showed good understanding of market validation needs").
• Provide one area for improvement (e.g., "Consider how you might address the data limitations you'd face with the NLP tool for this specific user base").
• Give the candidate 5 minutes to revise their approach based on the feedback and explain how they would address the improvement area.

Activity #2: AI-Driven User Insight Analysis

This exercise tests a candidate's ability to interpret and apply AI-generated user insights to validate roadmap decisions. It assesses analytical skills, critical thinking, and the ability to translate data into actionable product strategy recommendations.

Directions for the Company:

• Prepare a mock AI analysis report containing:
• User sentiment analysis results for 3-4 existing features
• Predictive usage patterns for 2-3 proposed features
• Competitive analysis data generated by AI
• Anomalies or contradictions in the data that require human judgment
• Include some visualizations (charts, heatmaps) and raw data excerpts.
• Ensure the data has enough complexity to require thoughtful interpretation.
• Allow 40 minutes for this exercise.

Directions for the Candidate:

• Review the AI-generated analysis report.
• Identify the key insights that would impact roadmap decisions.
• Determine which roadmap items are validated by the AI analysis and which might need reconsideration.
• Prepare recommendations for:
• Features to prioritize based on the AI insights
• Features to modify or reconsider
• Additional data or validation needed before proceeding
• Document your reasoning process, including how you weighed conflicting signals in the data.
• Be prepared to explain how you would communicate these insights to both technical and non-technical stakeholders.

Feedback Mechanism:

• Provide positive feedback on one aspect of the candidate's analysis (e.g., "You effectively identified the correlation between user sentiment and predicted adoption rates").
• Offer constructive feedback on one area for improvement (e.g., "Consider how you might address the potential bias in the competitive analysis data").
• Allow the candidate 5-7 minutes to revise one of their recommendations based on the feedback.

Activity #3: AI Validation Strategy Planning

This activity assesses a candidate's ability to develop a comprehensive strategy for implementing AI in the product roadmap validation process. It evaluates strategic thinking, planning capabilities, and understanding of how AI fits into the broader product development lifecycle.

Directions for the Company:

• Create a brief for a new product initiative or significant product pivot.
• Include information about:
• The product vision and goals
• Target market and user personas
• Current validation methods being used
• Timeline and resource constraints
• Key stakeholders involved in roadmap decisions
• Provide a template for the strategy document with sections for approach, timeline, resources, and success metrics.
• Allow 50 minutes for this exercise.

Directions for the Candidate:

• Develop a comprehensive strategy for using AI to validate the product roadmap for this initiative.
• Your strategy should include:
• Which AI technologies and methodologies you would employ at different stages of validation
• How you would integrate AI validation with traditional methods (user research, market analysis, etc.)
• A timeline for implementing the AI validation process
• Required resources (tools, data, expertise)
• How you would measure the effectiveness of the AI validation process itself
• Potential challenges and mitigation strategies
• Consider ethical implications and potential biases in your AI validation approach.
• Prepare to present your strategy in a 10-minute presentation.

Feedback Mechanism:

• Provide positive feedback on one aspect of the candidate's strategy (e.g., "Your phased approach to implementing AI validation tools shows good understanding of change management").
• Offer constructive feedback on one area for improvement (e.g., "Your timeline might benefit from more specific milestones for measuring validation effectiveness").
• Give the candidate 10 minutes to revise the specific section of their strategy that relates to the improvement feedback.

Activity #4: AI-Validated Roadmap Stakeholder Communication

This exercise evaluates a candidate's ability to effectively communicate AI-validated roadmap decisions to stakeholders. It tests communication skills, stakeholder management, and the ability to translate complex AI insights into compelling business rationales.

Directions for the Company:

• Prepare a scenario where AI validation has led to controversial roadmap decisions:
• AI data suggests deprioritizing a feature that the sales team strongly supports
• AI insights recommend investing in an area that wasn't previously considered high priority
• Some AI findings contradict traditional market research results
• Create profiles for 3-4 stakeholders with different perspectives and concerns (e.g., Sales Director, Engineering Lead, CEO, Customer Success Manager).
• Assign team members to role-play these stakeholders during the presentation.
• Allow 30 minutes for preparation and 15 minutes for the presentation and Q&A.

Directions for the Candidate:

• Review the AI validation results and roadmap decisions.
• Prepare a presentation for the stakeholder group that:
• Clearly explains how AI was used in the validation process
• Presents the key findings and resulting roadmap decisions
• Addresses potential concerns from different stakeholders
• Balances technical explanations with business impact
• Acknowledges limitations of the AI analysis where appropriate
• During the presentation, respond to questions and concerns from the stakeholders.
• Be prepared to defend decisions while remaining open to feedback.

Feedback Mechanism:

• Provide positive feedback on one aspect of the candidate's communication (e.g., "You effectively translated complex AI concepts into business terms that resonated with the stakeholders").
• Offer constructive feedback on one area for improvement (e.g., "Consider how you might address the Sales Director's concerns more directly with supporting data").
• Allow the candidate 5 minutes to revise their approach to addressing the specific stakeholder concern mentioned in the feedback.

Frequently Asked Questions

How long should we allocate for these work samples in our interview process?

Each activity is designed to take between 40-60 minutes including preparation, execution, and feedback. We recommend selecting 1-2 activities that best align with your specific needs rather than attempting all four in a single interview. For senior roles, you might consider having candidates complete one activity (like the AI Validation Strategy) as a take-home assignment before discussing it in person.

What if our company doesn't currently use AI for product roadmap validation?

These exercises are still valuable even if you're just beginning to explore AI for roadmap validation. They help identify candidates who can lead this transformation. You can modify the exercises to focus more on the strategic implementation of AI rather than expertise with specific tools. The AI Tool Selection activity is particularly useful for companies just starting their AI journey.

How should we evaluate candidates who have strong product skills but limited AI experience?

Look for candidates who demonstrate strong critical thinking about how AI could be applied, even if they lack deep technical AI knowledge. The ability to ask intelligent questions about AI capabilities and limitations, recognize potential biases, and think strategically about implementation often matters more than technical expertise, which can be supplemented by data scientists or AI specialists.

Should we provide real company data for these exercises?

While using real data can make the exercise more relevant, we recommend creating fictional scenarios based on real challenges your company has faced. This protects sensitive information while still testing relevant skills. If you do use real data, ensure it's anonymized and doesn't reveal confidential information about your roadmap or strategy.

How can we ensure these exercises don't favor candidates with prior AI experience in similar companies?

Focus your evaluation on the candidate's thinking process rather than specific tool knowledge. Provide sufficient context about the AI tools in the exercise so candidates without specific experience can still demonstrate their ability to apply these tools strategically. Also, consider the candidate's ability to identify when AI might not be the right solution – this often demonstrates more sophisticated understanding than simply applying AI to everything.

Can these exercises be conducted remotely?

Yes, all of these activities can be adapted for remote interviews. For the stakeholder communication exercise, team members can join a video call to role-play stakeholders. For the other activities, you can use collaborative tools like Miro, Google Docs, or specialized interview platforms to observe the candidate's work and thinking process in real-time.

The integration of AI into product roadmap validation represents a significant opportunity for companies to make more informed, data-driven decisions about their product strategy. By using these work samples in your hiring process, you'll be able to identify candidates who can not only understand AI's capabilities but also strategically apply them to validate and strengthen your product roadmaps. These exercises go beyond theoretical knowledge to reveal how candidates actually approach the complex challenges of leveraging AI for product decisions.

For more resources to enhance your hiring process, check out Yardstick's AI Job Descriptions, AI Interview Question Generator, and AI Interview Guide Generator.

Ready to build a complete interview guide for AI in Product Roadmap Validation? Sign up for a free Yardstick account