Hi there,

Ok, so it truly depends.

If there is clear logic missing, then that's a problem. As a very simple example, if they give you revenues and you don't think to ask for costs, that's bad!

But, if they give you IT costs, wage costs, and raw material costs, and you don't think to ask shipping costs, well, that's less bad.

Ultimately, you need to be thinking critically like a consultant and asking for information in a way that ensures you do not miss information. There are clever ways to do this (wording the question right, building up your critical thinking skills, etc.)

In real life, at a client site if you don't ask something that's needed, that's pretty bad right?

All that said, you still should be ok. The above is in an ideal world and for a perfect case performance.The interviewer will likely give the info to you. At the very least, they will hint at it. As long as you adjust based on that and don't get rattled, you should still be just fine in the case.

Hi there!

That's a great question. 

Basically, when you start a case, make sure that you are clear on the information that you were provided with i.e., you noted down correctly all the data points and the question that you need to answer. 

Then, reflect on whether you can already provide an emerging hypothesis. Or if there's any information that you'd additionally need in order to increase your level of confidence in that hypothesis. Then ask that question. 

If not, then set up the structure that will enable you to reach a hypothesis and solve the client's problem. Prioritise the structure to start from the most important things. 

This should enable you to find out everything that you need to solve the problem (in theory). In practice, the interviewer will nudge you along the way. 

It's perfectly fine if you don't figure out everything from the beginning. They are not interested in a flawless performance, but in understanding how you think through the problem. 

Best,
Cristian

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