Calculate expected value for user retention
Last updated: August 13, 2025
Quick Overview
Given the following scenario about user conversion, calculate the the p-value.
Square/Block
August 13, 20250
5
1,973 solved
Given the following scenario about user conversion, calculate the the p-value.
Analytics questions at Square/Block evaluate your ability to define metrics, design experiments, and derive actionable insights from data. This Technical Screen question tests your end-to-end analytical thinking.
What the Interviewer Expects
- Design a rigorous experiment with proper randomization and sample size calculation
- Define primary and guardrail metrics with clear rationale
- Address novelty effects, network effects, and interference
- Segment results appropriately and identify heterogeneous treatment effects
- Propose follow-up analyses when results are ambiguous
Key Topics to Cover
How to Approach This
- Define success metrics carefully. A good metric is measurable, actionable, and aligned with business goals.
- Run experiments long enough to account for novelty effects and weekly seasonality.
- Use funnel analysis to identify where users drop off for maximum optimization impact.
- Segment results by key dimensions (platform, country, user cohort) to catch hidden patterns.
- Consider network effects and interference between treatment and control groups.
Possible Follow-up Questions
- What would you do if a stakeholder wants to end the experiment early because initial results look good?
- How would you handle an experiment where the control and treatment groups are different sizes?
- What if you discover a bug in the logging during the experiment?
- What if the experiment shows a positive short-term effect but you suspect a negative long-term impact?
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Browse Analytics QuestionsSample Answer
Problem Setup
To assess user retention for Square/Block, the analytical question is: "What is the expected value of user retention based on user conversion data?" For this, we need data on user engagement metrics o...
Methodology
To calculate the p-value for user retention, we should employ a two-proportion z-test. This statistical method allows us to compare the retention rates of two groups (e.g., converted users vs. non-con...
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