If you are a PM at Exponent, how would you design a system to prevent multiple users sharing the same account and/or encourage them to create unique accounts?

This question essentially asks you to propose methods or systems that can deter multiple users from sharing a single user account and instead motivate them to create and maintain their individual accounts in the context of the product or service provided by Exponent. It is a product-centric question and involves thinking from the perspectives of user behavior, system security, user experience, and business interests.

Some points you may want to touch upon while answering this question include:

1. Understanding the reasons why users might share accounts.
2. Proposing solutions that directly tackle those reasons.
3. Ensuring the solutions maintain or improve user experience without compromising security.
4. Articulating how these solutions align with Exponent's business interests.

Many users may choose to share accounts primarily to save costs. As a PM at Exponent, I must understand that while discouraging account sharing is essential for security and monetization, it should not alienate or deter our users.

One approach can be implementing a system that limits simultaneous log-ins or session use, thereby discouraging multiple users from sharing a single account due to the inconveniences it would cause. Moreover, we could enhance the value proposition of individual accounts, like providing personalized experiences or rewards for account usage. This can encourage users to maintain their own accounts rather than sharing.

We could also introduce tiered pricing strategies based on usage level. Offering a cheaper pricing tier or even a free, albeit limited, version could discourage account sharing while boosting our user base.

Sometimes, users might share accounts, not to save costs, but because they don’t find the hassle of creating & managing separate accounts justifiable. To overcome this, it’s essential to make the account creation process as frictionless as possible.

One way to do this can be through easy sign-up options leveraging Google, Facebook, or Apple IDs, which allow users to create an account with just one click. Similarly, employing smart and secure password management could reduce the burden of recalling account credentials, making separate account upkeep less taxing for users.

Moreover, we can enforce stricter device management, limiting the number of devices an account can be logged into simultaneously can deter account sharing without compromising individual user experience. Adding a function to track and report unusual activities, like logging in from different geographical locations within a short timespan, would additionally bolster account security.

However, in all these, it’s essential to strike a balance - neither making individual accounts so restrictive that it affects user experience negatively, nor so free that it fails to deter account sharing!