Consulting Group Case and Inbox Playbook

A group case, one-way video answer, and inbox exercise require different outputs. A group case requires a shared decision, which makes listening, evidence handoffs, and integration visible. A one-way video response is an individual spoken answer and should be rehearsed as concise evidence, not as a group exercise. An inbox task asks you to prioritize and communicate from supplied messages. Use the exact current invitation for format, timing, recording, and platform rules. The worked examples below are original practice and do not claim to reproduce a named firm's assessment.

What is a consulting group case, and how is it different from a live case?

A standard live case can center on one candidate's reasoning with an interviewer. A group case adds a shared output and coordination problem. That does not establish one universal group size, role split, exhibit pattern, or timing.

How should I divide roles without becoming quiet or dominant?

Assign functions, not status. Useful functions include objective keeper, evidence integrator, calculation checker, and synthesis owner. Roles can rotate. A candidate contributes by moving the decision forward, not by maximizing airtime.

Say: “I can track the decision criteria and integrate our exhibit conclusions. Could someone own the calculation check and someone else challenge the recommendation?”

If another person proposes roles, add value inside the structure. If no roles are needed for a short task, do not spend the exercise designing a team chart.

What should I do when teammates receive different exhibits?

Use this conditional sequence:

1. If everyone has the same exhibit, agree on the question and split checks or interpretations.
2. If exhibits differ, each person reports source, conclusion, implication, and uncertainty.
3. If values conflict, compare definition, period, population, and unit before combining them.
4. If one exhibit changes the decision, let that evidence redirect the group rather than defending the original view.
5. Before presenting, state which evidence supports each reason and which assumption remains conditional.

Worked shared-exhibit group case

Prompt. CityCycle is considering an e-bike subscription launch. The team must recommend launch, pilot, or decline. Aisha receives customer demand, Ben receives unit economics, and Carla receives operating capacity.

Objective keeper: “Our decision is whether CityCycle should launch, pilot, or decline. I suggest we test demand, contribution, and operational feasibility, then name the condition that could reverse our choice.”

Aisha: “My survey exhibit covers 1,000 existing riders. Twenty percent express strong interest, but the source is existing customers rather than the full city. The implication is a potential launch pool, with a representativeness risk.”

Ben: “My economics exhibit shows €18 monthly contribution per active subscription before the €90,000 launch cost. At 500 active subscribers for ten months, contribution is €90,000, so 500 is the simplified first-year break-even average.”

Carla: “My capacity exhibit shows the repair team can support 350 additional bikes without hiring. Above that, contribution falls by €6 per subscription month because of contractor maintenance.”

Challenge: “Our break-even calculation assumes €18 contribution, but capacity reduces that above 350. We should not recommend a full launch from the 500-subscriber threshold.”

Reconciliation. At 350 subscribers for ten months, contribution is 350 × €18 × 10 = €63,000. The next 150 subscribers contribute 150 × €12 × 10 = €18,000. Total is €81,000, still €9,000 below launch cost.

Shared recommendation. “Pilot rather than fully launch. Survey interest supports testing demand, but the capacity-adjusted contribution estimate does not cover the €90,000 launch cost at 500 average subscribers. The pilot should validate paid conversion and test whether maintenance productivity can preserve €18 contribution above 350 bikes. Expand only when the revised break-even path is supported.”

The group changed its answer when Carla's exhibit altered the economics. That is integration, not a failure to align.

How should I contribute in a virtual group case?

Name the document and evidence location: “In the capacity exhibit, row three shows the contribution decline above 350 bikes.” Use short handoffs and invite a specific check. If audio or screen sharing fails, use only the backup allowed in the instructions and ask the facilitator how to proceed.

Do not narrate every cursor movement. Summarize what changed: “I updated the break-even because the marginal contribution falls above capacity.”

How do one-way video answers differ from group-case collaboration?

A video answer has no live teammate to integrate. It needs an answer-first structure and specific proof. The exact recording, preparation, retry, and timing rules require current official confirmation.

Written rehearsal prompt: Tell me about a time you improved a team's decision.

Illustrative answer: “In a university consulting project, our team chose survey responses as the primary market-size input. I noticed the sample overrepresented existing users, so I proposed a second estimate from transaction data and mapped why the two populations differed. The transaction estimate was 28% lower. I did not ask the team to discard the survey. I used it for customer needs and the transaction data for market scale. We revised the launch recommendation to a pilot and added an acquisition threshold. I learned that integrating evidence often means assigning each source the question it can answer, rather than choosing one winner.”

Practice the anchors, not the exact wording.

How should I prioritize a consulting email or inbox exercise?

Rank by consequence, true deadline, dependency, and reversibility.

Illustrative inbox: At 9:00, you receive three messages. A client asks by noon whether a forecast includes a discontinued product. A teammate requests formatting help for tomorrow's internal review. A project lead asks for your availability next week.

Priority. First verify the forecast scope because it can change a client decision and has a noon deadline. Second acknowledge the teammate and agree a later handoff because the review is tomorrow. Third send availability once the decision-critical check is underway.

Complete response card:

Subject: Forecast scope check by 10:30

I am checking whether the current forecast includes the discontinued product because it could change today's client decision. I will compare the product list with the source file and send a corrected figure or confirmation by 10:30. Until then, please hold the forecast slide. I will update the model owner and copy you on the result.

The response leads with the action, explains the consequence, assigns the owner, and gives a next update. It does not make an unsupported claim before checking the source.

Rehearse a concise video answer with a specific decision and follow-up.

What should I say, write, and document under time pressure?

Say the conclusion and evidence. Write the requested output. Document assumptions, units, source labels, owners, and next updates. Do not create extra artifacts that the exercise does not request.

For a group recommendation: decision, two reasons, risk, next step. For a video response: situation, personal decision, actions, result, reflection. For an inbox reply: action, evidence, owner, deadline, update.

The current official instructions decide whether notes, external tools, or saved materials are permitted.

How does this connect to the assessment-center route?

Use the consulting assessment-center guide for logistics and stage routing. Use the written case and presentation playbook when the required output is a memo, deck, model, or presentation.

This page intentionally does not state current West Monroe, EY-Parthenon, Deloitte, KPMG, or Big Four formats. Named routes, role and country differences, timing, and recording rules need current primary evidence.

Sources

• Candidate invitation and linked official instructions for the current group, video, or inbox exercise.
• Road to Offer, Consulting Assessment Center Guide.
• All CityCycle, video, and inbox examples on this page are original illustrative practice.