by Aakash Gupta

Tag: product design interview

CIRCLES Framework for PM Interviews: The 7 Steps and Where It Falls Short

Post author By Aakash Gupta
Post date October 21, 2026
No Comments on CIRCLES Framework for PM Interviews: The 7 Steps and Where It Falls Short

Table of the seven CIRCLES steps: comprehend the situation, identify the customer, report the customer's needs, cut through prioritization, list solutions, evaluate tradeoffs, summarize your recommendation — The seven CIRCLES steps as Lewis Lin walked me through them on The Growth Podcast, March 28, 2025. Paraphrased, with step names from my write-up of the episode.

The CIRCLES framework step by step as its creator Lewis Lin teaches it, with the step he skips, where it falls short, and what I use instead.

Tags CIRCLES framework, pm interview, product design interview, product sense interview