Method guide
S&O Framework
The method behind the S&O cases. Read the cases to learn the pattern; read this the night before to recall it.
The universal question framework: COGS+FI
Say it as "cogs plus fi." Use it to check you have covered every dimension before you move to structure. Do not move to your MECE tree until you have ticked all six.
C
Context
What market, product, timeframe? What changed in the business recently?
O
Objective
What does success look like? Stop decline, hit a target, or explore options?
G
Granularity
Where is the problem? Which segment, region, product, cohort, channel?
S
Scale
How big? Magnitude, percent change, baseline, trend direction, sudden or gradual?
F
Funnel
Where in the process is the breakdown? Which step? The funnel IS your MECE structure.
I
Impact
What is the business cost? Revenue, users, efficiency? Quantify the upside of fixing it.
MECE structure per category
Process Improvement
- Value chain: Input to Process to Output
- People / Process / Technology
- Capacity vs Demand
- Upstream cause vs downstream symptom
Revenue Growth
- Revenue = Volume x Price
- Volume = New users + Existing expansion
- Price = ARPU x transaction frequency
- By stream: FX, subscriptions, interchange, interest
Cost Optimisation
- Profit = Revenue minus Costs
- COGS (direct) vs OpEx (indirect)
- Fixed vs Variable costs
- Unit economics: cost per customer vs revenue per customer
Expansion
- Market Attractiveness
- Competitive Viability: where is the niche?
- Entry Strategy: build / partner / acquire
- Financial model: payback period, CAC, ARPU
35-minute time allocation
| Phase | Time | Note |
|---|---|---|
| Objective | 2 min | Restate and confirm before anything else |
| Clarifying questions + data extraction | 12 min | Spend the most time here |
| MECE structure | 4 min | Name your buckets out loud |
| Analysis + root cause | 9 min | Rule out fast, deep-dive the suspect |
| Solutions | 6 min | Short-term + long-term, specific |
| Close | 2 min | Recommendation + success metrics |
What is being scored: 6 dimensions
All six must be covered in every answer.
| # | Dimension | Bar |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Objective confirmed | Always first |
| 2 | Clarifying questions | 12+ minutes |
| 3 | MECE structure | Named aloud |
| 4 | Data-driven | Facts, not guesses |
| 5 | Solution quality | Feasible + creative |
| 6 | Success metrics | Always close with them |
What fails vs what passes
| Fails | Passes |
|---|---|
| "I think we should improve the customer experience and maybe look at pricing..." | "My recommendation is country-specific document guidance, live in 2 weeks. Based on the math, this recovers 7,000 activations a month." |
| Goes silent for 30 seconds, then starts speaking | "Give me 20 seconds to structure this. I am splitting into three MECE buckets: A, B, and C. Starting with A..." |
| Jumps to solutions after 2 minutes of questions | Spends 12 minutes on questions, builds MECE from what the interviewer reveals, then proposes solutions grounded in data |
| "The problem could be revenue, or maybe costs, or perhaps the market..." | "Root cause one is X, I am confident because of Y. Root cause two is Z, but fixing X first will also resolve Z." |
| "We should hire more people, invest in technology, and improve processes." | "Immediate: add document guidance this week, near-zero cost. Month 1: recovery flow. Month 6: vendor renegotiation." |
Language that signals structured thinking
To open
- "Let me confirm the objective..."
- "Before I structure, I have a few questions..."
- "I want to split this into X MECE buckets..."
- "Give me 20 seconds to think through the structure..."
During questions
- "Is this concentrated in a specific segment?"
- "Walk me through the end-to-end process..."
- "What changed in the business at the same time?"
- "What would success look like in 90 days?"
During analysis
- "The data points toward Bucket B because..."
- "Let me rule out Bucket A quickly..."
- "The root cause, not the symptom, is..."
- "Of these, the highest-leverage cause is..."
To close
- "To summarise my recommendation..."
- "If I were the decision-maker, I would..."
- "To measure success, I would track three metrics..."
- "The single most important action is..."
Quick reference card: read the night before
COGS+FI question checklist, mapped to the five clarifying batches.
C
Context (Batch 1)
Current metric vs before? Sudden or gradual? What changed in the business at the same time?
O
Objective (Batch 2)
What does success look like? Deadline? Stop decline vs reach a new target?
G+F
Granularity + Funnel (Batch 3, most time)
Walk me through the end-to-end process. Which step has the biggest drop-off? Concentrated in one segment, region, channel? Qualitative signal? Company-specific or market-wide?
S
Constraints (Batch 4)
Regulatory, technical, or budget limits? Existing team? Already tried something?
I
Impact (Batch 5)
Current cost of the problem? If fully solved, what does the business gain in money, users, or efficiency?
The one rule
Never assume. If you do not know something, ask. If you cannot ask, say: "I am going to assume X, is that reasonable?" That single habit separates candidates who guess from candidates who think.
What they actually want
They want you to think like an owner. Not "here is my analysis" but "here is what I would do, why, who owns it, and how I would know it is working." Be decisive. Hold your view when pushed back on.