Frameworks
Framework
A ready-made list of buckets for a common kind of case; know the words, do not recite them.
Facts checked against sources onWhat does Framework mean?
A framework is a ready-made structure for a common problem type, such as the three Cs for a market entry. Frameworks are worth recognising, because interviewers use the words, but reciting one is a common way to lose marks: it is generic, it misses the driver that matters in this business, and it sounds rehearsed. Instead, pin the question, write the maths of the goal, and use what you know about the business to decide which branch matters.
Where does it come up in case interview prep?
- Crack any case in five movesLesson in What a case interview is, and how to prepare
- What is really being judgedLesson in What a case interview is, and how to prepare
- Hypothesis first, and frameworks as vocabularyLesson in How to structure any problem
- Structured brainstorming, and ranking the ideasLesson in Brainstorming and creativity
- The map, type by typeLesson in The map of case types
- Which case type is this?Lesson
Related terms
- MECEBuckets that do not overlap and together cover everything.
- Issue treeA branching diagram that breaks a problem into smaller parts.
- Driver treeAn issue tree built from the numbers that drive an outcome.
- HypothesisYour best early guess at the answer, which you then test.
- Porter's Five ForcesFive pressures on how profitable an industry is; vocabulary, not a case structure.
- Porter's generic strategiesCompete on lowest cost, on being different, or by focusing on a niche.
- BCG growth-share matrixSorting businesses by market growth and relative market share.
- Ansoff matrixFour growth routes: existing or new products in existing or new markets.
Learn it in context
See Framework at work in a lesson from What a case interview is, and how to prepare, with checks as you go.
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