4 Types of Cases

Introduction

There are 4 key categories of cases dealt with during interviews. In this section we will break down what the types of cases are, why it's useful to identify and label these case types, and how to identify the type of case that you're working on.

4 Types

The 4 types of cases, in the order in which I would recommend attempting and getting comfortable with them are:
1. Profitability
2. Market entry
3. Pricing
4. Unconventional
5. Business development - covered in the frameworks, but not interesting/important enough to get into separately
In my personal experience, the order of frequency would put unconventional cases above pricing for sure, and possibly higher up. But they're a little more loaded, and you're better off having a base of the other 3 cases under your belt, before you start solving unconventional cases. However, if you have spent some time working on your structuring, during the foundations phase, you should be well equipped to handle all of these cases.

Benefits of Identification

The benefits of identifying the type of case are that it helps guide you in terms of having a rough idea of what to do. As such, you would be in a better position to:
- Ask relevant clarifying questions and gather information which will be most relevant
- Structure the problem at least at the top level effectively, and probably use effective structures even in subsequent levels
Keep in mind that one of the risks to beware of is that one might get very fixed in their approach. We tend to assume that new problems are like old problems, and it becomes difficult to look at a new case with a fresh pair of eyes. You must therefore be careful in ensuring that you are truly comprehensive in your structuring and avoid going down a fixed path because of practise or a hunch. For this reason, it is often recommended that you not cross a certain threshold of cases, to avoid becoming robotic. That threshold varies from person to person. So I would only recommend that you look out for and work to circumvent this red flag.

How They Are Given

A lot of cases aren't purely one type or the other, but a mix of a few. I will not get into the wording used to provide each case, because it is diverse, and still easy enough to identify after you've done a few cases. I will cover some of the common types of cases given in practise however:

- Profitability -

plain and simple without other elements, but possibly interesting twists inside the structure.

- Market entry -

plain but comprehensive. Market entry is a large framework, and sometimes the focus of the case is to see if you're able to go through a complete framework, while listing out and diving into a wide range of considerations.

- Market entry focused on profitability -

simple and mathematical. Market entry has a cost benefit component, which the interviewer may choose to double down on. When this is done, time usually doesn't permit moving to many other phases, so this becomes the key deciding factor for the recommendation.

- Market entry with a pricing angle -

interesting and detailed. This is rare, but you may be asked to close your case with a pricing recommendation, which essentially adds a distinct caselet inside the case.

- Pricing -

plain and simple. In absolute frequency, this may not be too high, but pricing cases may appear as standalones with interesting caveats to discover somewhere inside the structure.

- Pricing x profitability -

nuanced but fun. Sometimes pricing comes out to be a required step in providing a recommendation for a profitability case. Conversely, even in a pricing case, there is sometimes the requirement that you check on the viability or profitability of the recommended pricing.

- Unconventional -

fun and interesting. Unconventional cases can be purely unconventional, in which case you need to create an appropriate framework on the spot. They can also have elements of any other case type blended, requiring embedding of those frameworks at various levels.

You've probably noticed that within the above options really all possible combinations exist. The fact is that the interviewer could choose to give the case any kind of spin, in order to see how you handle it. In reality as well, businesses may find new needs and cases can shift a bit in their requirements The important idea is to understand how to layout a structure for any of these case types, and how to use these structures in any situation.