Are programming or CS fundamentals asked in product management interviews at IIMs?

Product management interviews at IIMs typically don't test programming in detail - concepts and product sense matter more than CS fundamentals. The OP clarified - "Generally programming aspects are not asked in detail from what I have heard from friends." This is consistent across PM hiring at IIM C (Rs 27L fees, Rs 34.23 LPA avg) and other IIMs for business PM roles. PM interview structure at top MBA campuses:

1. Product sense questions (design a product for X user, improve feature Y),

1. Case study (root cause analysis, metric deep dive),

1. Guesstimates (market size, revenue modeling),

1. Behavioral/fit (why this company, past experiences),

1. Strategy questions (competitive analysis, GTM strategy). Technical depth required:

1. System design concepts (high level, not implementation details),

1. Data structures awareness (when to use what, not coding),

1. API concepts,

1. Database basics (SQL queries sometimes asked),

1. Understanding of tech stack tradeoffs. What is NOT typically asked:

1. Writing production code,

1. Algorithms/LeetCode problems,

1. Advanced CS theory,

1. Infrastructure deep dives,

1. Language-specific syntax. However, certain PM roles have higher tech bar:

1. Technical PM at FAANG: expects ability to read code + design API specs,

1. Platform PM at infrastructure companies: deeper tech knowledge needed,

1. AI/ML PM at specialized firms: ML concepts + data pipelines understanding. For non-engineers at IIM C, standard PM roles at consumer companies (Amazon, Flipkart, Swiggy, Zomato, Paytm, PhonePe) work fine without CS background. Preparation:

1. Read "Cracking the PM Interview" by Gayle McDowell,

1. Practice product design questions on exponent.com,

1. Understand unit economics + metrics,

1. Take a Coursera course on SQL + basic APIs. OP interned at American Express in Data Science & Strategy role - bridge between pure PM and analytics. This shows non-engineers can crack analytical PM roles at IIM C. Check your eligibility at collvera.com/eligibility