Explainer · Problem Solving & Consulting · Intermediate

Written cases and group cases: the formats that test triage and teamwork

Some processes hand you a stack of documents and a deadline, or put you in a room with other candidates. Same problem-solving, different traps. Plan for both.

Metanoia Editorial · 3 Oct 2026 · 6 min

Written cases and group cases: the formats that test triage and teamwork

What is happening

In a written case you receive a brief, a set of documents and questions, and a fixed time to prepare a short presentation, often a handful of slides, which you then present and defend. It tests the same reasoning as a spoken case plus two extra skills: deciding what to ignore under time pressure, and turning analysis into a client-ready story without help. Written cases are less common than spoken ones, but they appear in some final rounds and in other employers’ assessment centres.

In a group case, several candidates solve one problem together while assessors watch. Being right matters less than how you help the group get somewhere: proposing a structure, building on others’ ideas, keeping time, bringing in a quiet member, and summarising. Dominating is marked down as surely as disappearing.

Why it matters

Candidates who have only practised spoken one-to-one cases are often surprised by these formats. A little specific preparation removes most of the surprise.

The framework

Time plan for a written case

  1. First 10%: read the questions, then skim everythingMark each document as essential, useful or ignore.
  2. Next 15%: structure and hypothesisDraft your answer and the slide titles before calculating anything.
  3. Next 45%: analysisOnly the calculations your slide titles need. Note assumptions.
  4. Next 20%: slidesAnswer-first titles, one message per slide, a recommendation slide at the front.
  5. Final 10%: rehearse and anticipateSay the synthesis aloud once and list three likely challenges.

What this means for you

Fresh graduateIf a process mentions an assessment centre or a written exercise, practise one full timed run before the day.
Early professionalIn group cases, your work experience shows best as facilitation: proposing a plan and keeping the group on it.

What to do

  1. Take any annual report or long article, set a 45-minute timer, and produce three answer-first slides on one question.
  2. Learn three group-case phrases: one that proposes structure, one that builds on someone else, one that summarises.
  3. In practice groups, ask an observer to count how often each person speaks and whether they build or compete.
  4. Read the drill below and decide your time plan before you look at the model answer.

Practice drill

Plan sixty minutes and twenty-five pages5 min, timed

You receive a 25-page pack on whether a regional hospital group should open a new clinic, with 60 minutes to prepare four slides and a 10-minute presentation. Write your minute-by-minute plan and your four slide titles before reading anything.

  1. Apply the time plan percentages.
  2. Slide titles should be sentences with blanks you will fill.
Show a model answer

Plan: 0 to 6 minutes, read the questions and skim all 25 pages, marking each document; 6 to 15, write the hypothesis and slide titles; 15 to 42, analysis for those titles only; 42 to 54, build the slides; 54 to 60, rehearse the synthesis and list likely challenges.

Titles: (1) “We recommend [opening / not opening] the clinic in [location]”; (2) “Demand: the catchment can support about [X] visits a year”; (3) “Economics: the clinic breaks even in about [Y] years”; (4) “Risks and next steps: [main risk], tested by [action]”.

Reflect

Do it with the pillars

The Rope
The Rope’s Module 7, Group Assessments and Assessment Centres, covers scoring, roles and phrases, and in-tray and presentation exercises.The Pack
The Pack’s FGD / LGD Simulations module gives you a practice group session with feedback.

Further reading

Bain interviews: an overview, including written cases ↗CaseCoachHow first- and final-round interviews differ ↗CaseCoach

External pages are linked, never copied. They belong to their publishers and may change.

Sources & provenance

Original Metanoia explainer. The description of written case formats reflects CaseCoach’s preparation guide and Bain interview overview (see Further reading); the time plan and drill are ours. Formats change, so check each firm’s current process.

Written for

Fresh graduateEarly professional

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