Foundations

A format where you choose which branch to explore next.

A business problem you solve aloud with an interviewer: understand it, analyse data, recommend a decision.

Price minus variable cost per unit — what each sale adds towards fixed costs and profit.

New information introduced mid-case to test whether you adapt.

A table, chart or fact sheet the interviewer shares during the case.

Your best current guess at the answer, stated so it can be tested — it does not need to be right.

A format where the interviewer moves you through set questions, common at McKinsey.

A breakdown of a problem into smaller questions, each branch distinct and together covering the whole.

Mutually exclusive, collectively exhaustive: no overlaps, no gaps.

How long an investment takes to earn back its cost.

The criteria used to assess each step of your answer.

Comparing a result with something you know to catch errors.

The implication of a finding for the client's decision.

The closing answer: recommendation first, then reasons, risks and next steps.