Business Case Questions
Part of the Data Analyst Roadmap
In short
"Should we launch in a new city?" or "Should we add a cheaper plan?" Business case questions test if you can structure a decision, use rough numbers and land on a clear recommendation.
'Revenue dropped 10% last quarter, what would you look into?' — testing business acumen (Phase 11) combined with structured diagnostic thinking.
Think of it like this
The kirana owner's big decision
Your neighbourhood kirana uncle wonders if he should start home delivery. He thinks: how many customers want it, what a delivery boy and scooter cost, how many extra orders he'd get, and what could go wrong. Then he decides. That's a business case.
Watch it happen
Answering "Should the store add delivery?"
1/5Clarify the goal: more profit, or keeping customers from switching to quick-commerce apps?
The big ideas
What you need to know
Clarify the objective
Profit, growth or defence against a competitor lead to different answers. Ask first.
Use a simple structure
Profit = revenue minus costs is enough for most cases. Break each side into a few drivers.
Do rough maths aloud
Use round numbers and state your assumptions. Interviewers care about logic, not precision.
Land the plane
End with a clear recommendation, the key risk and how you'd test it small first.
Save yourself the pain
Common mistakes
Oops
Listing every possible factor without ever deciding.
Do this instead
Prioritise the two or three factors that matter most, then recommend.
Oops
Giving a confident answer with no numbers at all.
Do this instead
Back it with rough, stated assumptions, even if they're simple.
Your mission
Solve a case on paper
Quick check
Halfway through a business case, you realise you never asked about the goal. What should you do?
Go deeper
- 1Practice the structure: clarify the metric and timeframe, list hypothesis categories, prioritize by likelihood.
- 2Prepare familiarity with common business metrics (Phase 11) so you're not defining terms mid-answer.
- 3Practice narrowing from a broad question to 2-3 concrete next steps you'd take.
More business & product sense at this stop
Metrics Design Questions
Root Cause Analysis Questions
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