Krack the Case: Consulting Guide 2021, C&A Club, IIT Guwahati

This document is a comprehensive consulting guide created by the Consulting & Analytics Club (C&A) at IIT Guwahati for 2021. It aims to provide resources for aspiring consultants. The guide covers a wide range of topics, beginning with an overview of consulting and case interview mindsets. It then delves into core concepts such as issue trees and the MECE (Mutually Exclusive and Collectively Exhaustive) approach, followed by guesstimate techniques. The guide also explores strategic tools like SWOT, PESTEL, Porter's 5 Forces, and value chain analysis, as well as case frameworks for pricing strategy, market entry, and profitability. Additional sections offer advice on creating effective slide decks, a glossary of terms, an introduction to the PM world, user personas, research, and case examples. The guide emphasizes a structured approach to problem-solving, communication skills, and practical application of frameworks. It is designed to assist individuals at all skill levels in preparing for consulting and product management interviews.

Consulting
Guide’21.
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Disclaimer
All the content and concepts used in this deck are accurate to best of our knowledge.
Any data, definitions or inspiration from the Internet have been acknowledged, wherever possible.
This guide was prepared by the undergraduate student team at Consulting & Analytics Club, IIT Guwahati.
If you find some discrepancy in the material, feel free to contact us at [e-mail]
Or reach out to us at:

From the Team
The Consulting & Analytics Club, IIT Guwahati proudly presents our 2021 edition of the “Krack the Case” Consulting G
We’ve aimed to make this an all-in-one guide to cater to all skill levels, and aid your induction into this omnipresent s
We hope that the material we’ve created and curated aids you in your journey to ace consulting and PM interviews!
Created by the undergraduate student team at C&A IITG, this guide draws examples from discussions, talks, and pee
learning sessions organised within the club. As such, we’ve tried to recreate the bottom-up system of discussion that
from the grassroots to more complex fundamentals, to make the content accessible to a wide range of skill-levels. W
ensured our curated material is up to industry standards, and included the names of our sources at the end – in case
wish to delve deeper.
We at C&A have always strived to create communities of learners and teachers. This spirit of peer-assisted learning r
both our in-house and open-to-all events, bolstering outputs through collective motivation and healthy competition.
On that note, we’re thrilled to introduce to you our annual Winter Consulting course! This free 4-week consulting
bootcamp has no pre-requisites, and includes projects, certification, industry webinars, and meticulously-curated con
Stay tuned for this year’s reveal on our social media handles!
We hope this guide is an enriching read and an invaluable resource to consulting & PM aspirants out there. Do feel fr
reach out to us at [e-mail] with any comments, feedback, and/or corrections!

(click on the topic headings to jump to the respective t
I. A Peek into Consulting
II. Issue Trees and MECE Approach
III. Guesstimates
IV. Strategic Tools
– SWOT
– PESTEL
– Porter’s 5 Forces
– Task Environment
– Value Chain Analysis
– BCG Growth Matrix
Contents
V. Case Frameworks
– Pricing Strategy
– Market Entry
– Profitability
VI. Making Amazing Slide Decks
VII. Glossary of Useful Terms
VIII.A Glimpse of the PM World
IX. User Personas and Research
X. Case Examples
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A Peek into
Consulting

Identify Challenges of the Company and Define all
complex problems
Role of a Management Consultant
Create and implement a structured approach
towards solving the problems
Understand the condition of the market and position
of the company and address problems accordingly
Recommend a proper elaborate action plan to solve
the problem and fight the challenges
Continuous Evaluation of the proposed solution and
modifying it according to newer scenarios

Case Interview Mindset
1.
2.
3.
4.
Understand the
case properly and
ask clarifying
questions to get a
better look into the
actual problem at
hand.
Analyse the case
problem and
construct a
structured
approach towards
solving it.
Generate relevant
insights from
existing
knowledge, initial
clarifications and
related concepts
and frameworks.
Communicate the
assumptions,
insights and
recommendations
in a structured
form.

General Tips
• Be prepared with different frameworks. Practice a few cases beforehand and stay updated on industry
news.
• Communication skills would be of utmost importance. While solving the case, think out loud!
• Do not get stuck on calculations! Round off numbers, and use them quickly and efficiently.
• Ask clarifying questions in the beginning. Asking the right questions increases chance to come up with
an accurate solution.
• Do not make any assumptions unless necessary, even if you do make sure to communicate with the
interviewer to get them validated.
• Whenever a framework is used, communicate the approach of solving the case rather than mentioning
the exact framework.
• Keep communicating with the interviewer to let them know of your thought process. In most cases, the
interviewers will help you get back on track if they see you going in the wrong direction.
• Be calm, confident and patient with your approach.

Issue Trees &
MECE Approach

• Making an issue tree is essentially
“Mapping” the problem
• Helps in clear and structured thinking for
problem solving
• Aids in categorizing ideas which covers
all possibilities without going deep into
minute details
• The issue tree and each of the sub-trees
are a MECE structure
Problem
Sub-Issue 2
(2)
Sub-Issue 1
(1)
Issue 2
Issue 1
Sub-Issue 1
(2)
Sub-Issue 2
(1)
Issue Tree

• MECE stands for Mutually Exclusive and Collectively Exhaustive.
• Mutually Exclusive part means that the smaller pieces of the issue tree cannot overlap, thus creating
more efficiency as no two parts overlap. Hence there is no repetition.
• Collectively Exhaustive means creating an issue tree such that when all sub-classes are taken
together it sums up the entire possibilities. This ensures that it does not miss any new ideas or
possibility.
• While creating MECE, one should also ensure that the sub-objects that the issue is divided into belong
to the same class and one should not use too many sub-objects to make the division.
• Ideally up to 3 sub-objects are desirable for each problem.
MECE Approach

Identify Root
cause reason.
Not the
symptoms
Find all root
cause and
reasons
Identify causes
efficiently
using
hypothesis
and data given
in the case.
Using MECE to make Issue Tree
1. Divide and Conquer
Start with the root cause of problem and divide it into sub-problems keeping in mind the MECE approach.
2. Add mini MECE layers to each subsequent layers
This will help to solve the problem efficiently at each layer.
3. Continue until you solve the problem