BCG Online Case

Assessment
User reference guide & helpful tips
Welcome to BCG!

In preparation for your upcoming Online

Case Assessment with BCG, we have created
this short document to help you get ready.

Please take the time to read through

this document, which explains what you
can expect during the Online Case
Assessment, and provides some tips
and tricks to help you be successful!

Best of luck!

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What is BCG's Online Case Assessment?
What can you expect?

Format
100% online, taken from your home on your personal
computer; conducted by our chatbot, Casey

Duration
~35 minutes: short introduction video + 30 min to complete
the case + 1-min video recording at the end

Assessment Details
Case consists of 8-10 questions + a video recording at the end

Questions can be multiple choice, short answer, or fill-in

At the end, you will be asked to answer a question over video.

You will have 1 minute to prepare, and 1 minute to record the
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video.
Example of the case interface (1 of 3)

Casey will guide you through the test questions,and

give you relevant context as needed 3
Example of the case interface (2 of 3)

You will be asked

some multiple-choice
questions; please read the
questions carefully

Casey will occasionally

remind you of remaining time
until the end of the test
You can also view the
running countdown clock in the
top right corner
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Example of the case interface (3 of 3)
Start screen Preparing your answer (60 sec) Recording your answer (60 sec)

At the end, you will need After you click “Start Once recording starts,a timer
to record a video of Recording”, the question will on the top left will let you know
yourself appear.There will be a countdown how many seconds you have left
to let you know how many to record.
When prompted,please seconds you have left.
allow myInterview.com to
use your microphone and The recording starts
camera automatically after the countdown
runs out.If you are ready before
Click “Start Recording” that ,you can click “Start Now” to 5
to begin the process. immediately begin recording.
Tips to set you up for success before
you take the online case assessment
• We recommend that you complete this practice case prior to your formal assessment, to
familiarize yourself with the format of the test. Please note the practice case is shorter
than the real case, as it is meant to get you comfortable with the chatbot and video
interview interface.

• You will have 30 mins to complete the actual assessment. Casey will help you keep track of
time, however, please plan accordingly.

• You will not be able to go back and reference exhibits, review, or change previous answers.

• All answer submissions are final. You must work through the case in the order of questions
asked. You will not receive your final score.

• You will have only 1 attempt to record your 1-min video at the end of
the assessment:
– You will be given 1 min to prepare your answer, and 1 min to record your delivery via video

• Please refer to the following FAQs for additional technical information 6

Tips & tricks during the assessment: time management
Countdown clock on the
right corner helps you to
track how much time left

Before every question,

you'll see question number
and how many questions left
Every 5 minutes you'll have
a pop-up reminder on how
much time left
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Assumed knowledge & glossary of key terms (1/2)
Remember,this is a 'real' case study assessment,you should prepare for this test as you would a regular case study interview.
That means some business knowledge will be required, as well as some analytical problem solving – we strongly
recommend that you practice case study interviews before attempting the test.In order to help get you started we have
included an initial & non-exhaustive glossary of business terms below,to give you an idea of the kind of language that may be
used in the assessment.

• Fixed costs: business costs that are not dependent on the amount of goods or services produced by the business, such as rent and management team salaries.
• Variable costs: Business costs that change proportionately to the amount of goods and services produced by a business– for example, raw material costs. Variable
cost per unit equals total variable costs divided by units sold.
• Complementary goods: products which tend to be consumed together (e.g., an iPhone and mobile applications). Thus, increasing demand for one tends to increase
demand for the other.
• Substitute goods: products which can be used for the same or similar purposes and therefore substitute one another (e.g., skim milk and semi-skim milk)
• Expected profit: The profit that a business expects to make, weighted by the probability of all potential profit outcomes. For example, if there is a 60% chance that a
business will make $100,000 on a deal, and 40% chance that it will lose $50,000, then the expected profit on the deal is 60% x $100,000 + 40% x (-$50,000) = $40,000.
• Stand-alone value: The value of a company in a merger or acquisition, before taking into account the value of any synergies between the acquiring company and the
target company.
• M&A Synergies: The potential financial benefit of combining two companies in a merger or acquisition. These may include revenue synergies such as the potential to
cross-sell each others’ products, thus increasing sales overall. They may also include cost synergies such as the potential to streamline duplicated management and
administrative functions.
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Assumed knowledge & glossary of key terms (2/2)
It is also important to be familiar with the key elements of a company’s income statement, as they are necessary to
understand a company’s profitability. Do read through the below definitions in detail as they are often used in the Online
Case Experience.
Revenue Also known as sales, this is the total amount of money received by a business for providing goods and services. For
example, for a car manufacturer, this would be the number of cars sold multiplied by average price per car.

Cost of Goods Sold The direct costs involved in producing a product or providing a service - for example, the cost of raw materials and factory
(COGS)/Cost of Sales labor needed to produce a car. Unless otherwise stated in the question, these are assumed to be variable costs.

Gross Profit Revenue less Cost of Goods Sold (variable costs).

Operating Expenses Costs incurred by a business that are not directly linked to production of a company’s goods and services. For a car
manufacturer, these could include marketing costs, salaries for non-factory employees, and rental of office space.
Unless otherwise stated in the question, these are assumed to be fixed costs.

Operating Profit/ Gross Profit less Operating Expenses (fixed costs). Unless otherwise stated, profit in the Online Case Experience refers
Operating Income to Operating Profit.

Net Profit/ Operating Profit less non-operating expenses such as Interest and Tax. This concept is less often used in the Online
Net Income Case Experience and will be further explained in the question if necessary.

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 How do I access the test?
In an invitation email you receive from BCG team there will be a link to theassessment. Please
make sure you access the link during the time indicated in your invitation email, otherwise it won't
be available.

If you cannot open the link, please contact your recruiter.

What hardware and other technical requirements are needed to complete this test?
A webcam-enabled laptop and a calculator are both required for this test.Do not access the
Frequently Asked test on a mobile phone. Please use Chrome, Firefox, or Opera as the web browser. Do not use
Internet Explorer. Google Chrome is the preferred browser for this test.Please disable VPN.
Questions (1 of 3)
For best results, please use an incognito browser window.

Please ensure that you have a stable internet connection while taking the test, especially
because you will need to record a video of yourself and the end.

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 Do I have to complete the test in one sitting?
Yes, you need to complete the test in one sitting, as the timer will continue to run even if you
are logged out.
If you are interrupted,you can log back in using the same invitation email and password.You
will be brought back to the same place where you left off, but time will have elapsed.

I can't see all of the question content in mytest browser – what should I do?
You may find it useful to zoom out on your browser in order to fit all the text in one screen.
Frequently Asked (For instructions on how to do this in Chrome,click here)

Questions (2 of 3)
How do I troubleshoot if my webcam isn't properly connected to the technical platform for the
video portion of the exam?
Your webcam should automatically connect to the platform. However,in the unlikely event that
this occurs, please ensure that other applications that may access or interfere with your webcam
(such as other videoconferencing apps) are switched off. If your browser continues to experience
issues accessing your webcam, try rebooting, changing to another approved browser (Chrome,
Firefox, Opera),or to another computer.

Do note that if the internet connection is slightly unstable, the video service may take up to
30 seconds to connect and initiate.If you continue to experience issues,please try again with
another Internet connection.

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 What if a testing session is interrupted because of poor internet connection or accidental closure of
the chat bot?
Click “Refresh” on your browser. You will not lose the progress that you have made and will be
able to get back to the same question through the invitation link within 30 mins after the moment
when your test began. All answers will be recorded in the platform. Delays can be minimized by
ensuring that you have a stable internet connection.

My exhibits won't load/ open in one of the questions – what do I do?

Please refresh the page if you face delays in loading either the exhibit or the bot (click on
Frequently Asked the refresh button on the browser, or highlight the weblink and press enter).

Questions (3 of 3)
What do I do if I am unable to record the video portion?
While unlikely this will happen,we will still have your quantitative/general test results.We
suggest you self-record your answer to the video recommendation prompt using your mobile
phone or other device and send this recording to your recruiter.

Will I know my score at the end of the interview?

No. Similar to a live or face-to-face case interview, you will not know how you scored in the
Online Case Assessment. Note that scoring varies by question type, and each question may carry
a different weight.

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Thank you