Ask clarifying questions to dissect the problem statement:

Me: To reiterate the problem statement, the order fulfillment rate for the orders placed on PharmEasy has decreased by 12% overall?

Interviewer: Yes.

Me: Is this decline generic or specifically on orders placed through their website, mobile application, or their option to place orders on whatsapp?

Interviewer: We are seeing the decrease specifically taking into consideration the orders which are placed on the website and the mobile app.

Me: PharmEasy also has an option to book Lab Tests. Are we considering these as orders and including them in our calculations?

Interviewer: No, only medicines and other healthcare product orders are considered.

Me: How is the order fulfillment rate calculated? Is it simply the number of orders whose delivery has been completed divided by the total number of orders placed?

Interviewer: Yes.

Me: I would like to clarify if canceled orders are counted as an order which was placed but not completed.

Interviewer: Yes. Such an order would be counted in the denominator of the calculation but not in the numerator as that only includes orders which are completed successfully.

Me: Has there been a change in the method of calculating the order fulfillment rate recently?

Interviewer: No, there have been no changes to the calculation method.

Me: The metric must be measured through some analytics tool, have we confirmed there is no malfunction of this analytic tool?

Interviewer: Yes, everything seems to be fine in that aspect.

Me: Has this decrease been observed in a specific region or across all regions where PharmEasy operates?

Interviewer: The decrease has been observed across multiple regions.

Me: Is the drop sudden or over a period of time? Over what period has this 12% decrease been observed? (e.g., week over week, or month over month)

Interviewer: The decrease has been sudden, observed over the past month compared to the previous month.

Me: Is the drop consistent across all user segments/demographic categories, or are there specific segments that are experiencing larger drops?

Interviewer: The drop is consistent across all user segments/demographic categories.

Me: Is the drop experienced across all types of orders, or only specific ones (e.g., prescription medicines, over-the-counter products)?

Interviewer: The drop seems to be associated with orders which consist of at least one prescription medicine.

Identify Possible Causes: 

List out all possible internal and external factors that could have led to this situation. The actual cause could be one ofthem or a combination of both, in some situations. Use data obtained from the clarifying questions to further narrow down.

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Me: Now that I have clarified the problem statement, and since we see that the decrease is associated with orders containing prescription medicines, I am going to explore a few internal factors that might have led to the decrease, then move on to operational and external factors. Does that work?

Interviewer: Yes, this works. You may proceed with exploring internal factors.

Internal Factors: 

(a) Product Changes: 

Me: Were there any recent app updates or feature changes?

Interviewer: Yes, there were some updates but nothing major that should affect order fulfillment.

Me: I would like to clarify the user journey to understand any possible changes in it?
User Journey for placing an order on PharmEasy:
The user adds delivery address -> search for medicine name in search bar-> add medicine to cart -> go to cart and click continue -> Uploada prescription OR select 'I don't have a prescription', which will lead to PharmEasy scheduling a consultation call with a doctor -> click on continue-> confirm order details and make payment

Interviewer: Yes, that is the correct userjourney. 

Me: If the user chooses to continue without a prescription, then the order gets placed but the order delivery only happens after the scheduled doctor's call is successful.

Interviewer: Yes, that is right.

(b) Tech Issue/Bug: 
Me: Have there been any bugs or issues that were reported, or support tickets raised?

Interviewer: No significant bugs or issues have been reported recently.

Me: Can the lower fulfillment rate be traced back to specific app versions, or devices (website users vs mobile app users), or mobile operating systems (Android users vs iOS users)?

Interviewer: No, the drop in fulfillment rate is consistent across all versions and devices.

(c) Backend Infrastructure Change:

Me: Have there been any backend infrastructure changes, such as server migrations or database updates, that could have caused service interruptions or data loss?
Interviewer: No significant backend changes have been made recently.

Operational Changes:

Me: Have there been any operational changes, such as an increase in the number of orders placed on the app or a decrease in the number of delivery executives operating over the past month?

Interviewer: No significant operational changes have been reported.

Me: Has there been a decline in the quality of customer service, whether in-person, via the app, or through customer support?

Interviewer: No decline in customer service quality has been reported.

Me: Have there been any failures to meet customer expectations regarding delivery times, availability of items, and service quality?

Interviewer: Yes, there have been many orders which were canceled a day after they were placed. 

Me: PharmEasy vouches for a delivery within 24-48 hours, which stage was these orders in before they were canceled? 

Interviewer: Yes, most of these orders were not even in the ‘Order is being packed stage’ when they were canceled.

Me: In reference to the user journey I clarified earlier, were these canceled orders ones that specifically required a doctor consultation for the prescription?

Interviewer: Yes, these were orders that required a prescription but the user did not have one at the time of placing the order and hence they chose the option which scheduled a consultation with a doctor.

Me: Could a decrease in the number of doctors tied up for consultations have created scheduling delays, causing many orders to get delayed and even canceled?

Interviewer: Yes, there has been a decrease in the number of doctors available for consultations in the last month, leading to scheduling delays and affecting order fulfillment.

External Factors:

Me: Now that I have an idea what the root cause mightbe, I am just going to quickly run through some probable external factors thatmight have additionally contributed to the decrease.

Interviewer: Sure, please proceed.

Me: Is there increased competition with userspossibly comparing PharmEasy's services with other apps?

Interviewer: There has been no drastic increase in competition as such.

Me: Could there have been any major event that led to a decrease in order fulfillment (e.g., a big festival, natural disasters, etc.)?

Interviewer: No major events that could af services have occurred.

Me: Has there been any negative media coverage or change in public sentiment about PharmEasy?

Interviewer: No significant negative media coverage or change in sentiment.

Me: Have there been any government or regulatory changes affecting medicine procurement and delivery operations?

Interviewer: No recent regulatory changes.

Me: Could there be seasonal effect on delivery options or economic downturns affecting customer behavior?

Interviewer: There has been no significant seasonal variation or economic downturn reported.

Analyze the Causes:

Decrease in Doctors Tied Up for Consultations:

Data Analysis: Examine the number of available doctors for consultations before and after the observed drop in order fulfillment rate. Compare the scheduling delays and the number of orders delayed or canceled due to these delays.

User Feedback: Review user feedback and complaints regarding delays in consultations. Identify any correlations between negative feedback and lower order fulfillment rates.

Consultation Trends: Analyze if there is a noticeable increase in the time taken for consultations and approvals. Determine if there is a specific time of day or week when the delays are more pronounced.

Plan and Implement Solution(s):

Recruitment: Increase recruitment efforts to onboard more doctors for consultations. Provide incentives for doctors to join and conduct more consultations.

Improve Scheduling:

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Implement an efficient scheduling system to minimize delays. Use AI or machine learning to predict peak times and ensure adequate doctor availability.

Enhance User Communication:

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Communicate clearly with users about expected wait times for consultations. Provide updates and notifications to keep users informed about their order status.

Monitor/Analyze:

Set up real-time monitoring of order fulfillment rates and consultation scheduling. Track the effectiveness of increased doctor availability through the following metrics:
-Consultation Completion Rate: The percentage of scheduled consultations successfully completed.
-Order Cancellation Rate: The percentage of orders placed but canceled after implementing solutions.
-Order Fulfillment Rate: The percentage of orders successfully fulfilled after implementing solutions.
-User Satisfaction: CSAT, User feedback and rating post-consultation.

No significant seasonal variation or economic downturn has been

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