A framework is a starting structure, not the answer.
Six case types cover almost everything you will be asked in a consulting or general-management interview. Each one below breaks down into a simple diagram you can redraw from memory, the questions that keep you honest, and the mistakes candidates actually make under pressure.
Six families
Profitability · Entry · Growth · Pricing · M&A · Abstract
One diagram, three questions and one worked example per family.
Before you memorise a diagram
A framework tells you where to look. It never tells you what you'll find.
If you deleted the framework, could you still explain why this structure fits this problem?
Which branch of your tree is actually driving the answer, and which is just filling space?
01 / The approach behind every framework
Structure the problem before you structure the slide.
Every framework below is one instance of the same three-step approach: name the metric or decision that matters, break it into two to four parts that are genuinely distinct (no overlap, nothing important left out), and use the case facts to decide which part deserves your time. Memorising the diagram without this habit produces a candidate who recites a template instead of solving the case in front of them.
Name it
State the exact metric or decision in one sentence before drawing anything.
Break it apart
Split it into parts that don't overlap and don't leave anything important out.
Follow the evidence
Use the case facts, not intuition, to decide which branch is actually driving the outcome.
02 / The framework explorer
Six frameworks. One structure each.
Switch between families to see the diagram, the questions worth asking, a short example and the mistakes candidates most often make with that specific framework.
When to reach for it
What changed in revenue, cost or mix — and why now?
Profit fell or rose unexpectedly and management wants the cause identified before anyone proposes a fix.
The structure
Profit
= Revenue − Cost
Revenue
Price × Volume
Break down further by product, channel or customer segment before concluding anything.
Cost
Fixed + Variable
Segment by cost driver — labour, materials, logistics — not just by accounting line item.
Questions that keep you on track
- Over what exact period did profit change, and against which baseline — last month, last year, or budget?
- Separate price, volume, mix and cost effects individually before you hypothesise a single cause.
- Is the movement one-off (a lost contract, a bad quarter) or structural (a shifting cost curve, a permanent demand change)?
Where candidates go wrong
Jumping straight to cost-cutting before confirming whether the driver is revenue, cost or mix.
Reporting 'sales fell' as a single fact when it is actually a mix of price and volume moving in different directions.
Ignoring mix shift — an average number can hide a move toward lower-margin products or customers.
A short illustrative example
A five-city gym chain's monthly profit fell 18% even though membership grew 6%. Splitting the numbers shows average revenue per member fell 12% (a discount campaign dragged on too long) while per-member cost rose 4% (new locations added fixed rent before reaching break-even utilisation). The real story is a mix and cost problem hiding behind a healthy top-line growth number — not a demand problem at all.
03 / Continue practising
A diagram is not a rehearsal.
Once a framework feels familiar, test it against a full case and against your own estimation skill.