McKinsey SolveGame 1Data analysis
Redrock is the data game in McKinsey Solve. Know its four phases before the clock starts, and your 35 minutes go on the numbers instead of on learning the screen.
Candidates report it runs one way. A figure you skip in the first phase is gone when the questions ask for it.
The full Ecotopia study, 35-minute clock. No sign-in, no card.
How the minutes go
Road to Offer
StrategyCase
The four phases
01
Read the study's text, charts and tables, and drag the figures you will need into the Research Journal.
Slows people downCollecting data the analysis never uses. Prep sites report that how you collect is watched too.
02
Answer calculation questions from what you saved. Candidates report an on-screen calculator in this phase.
Slows people downPercent versus percentage-point errors, and rounding too early.
03
Complete a partly written report: fill in numbers, choose higher or lower, and pick the chart that shows a finding best.
Slows people downChoosing the chart type. A rule of thumb is below.
04
Standalone mini-cases on related themes, six in current versions according to Road to Offer and psgsecrets. Each is self-contained.
Slows people downStarting them with five minutes left. Both published splits protect at least ten.
Worked examples
Trap 1 · percent vs percentage points
A species' diet was 20% fish last year and 26% this year. By how much did it rise?
6%that's points, not percent
26 − 20 = 6 percentage points
6 ÷ 20 = a 30% relative rise
The options usually include both. Read which one the question asks for.
Trap 2 · simple vs weighted average
Three zones hold 400, 250 and 350 animals, averaging 12 kg, 18 kg and 10 kg. What is the average weight?
(12 + 18 + 10) ÷ 3 = 13.3 kgignores the zone sizes
(400×12 + 250×18 + 350×10) ÷ 1,000
= (4,800 + 4,500 + 3,500) ÷ 1,000 = 12.8 kg
If the groups differ in size, weight by size.
Practice on DrillCase
The walkthrough is a one-minute recording of DrillCase's Redrock practice: investigate, analyze, report. It is our footage, not McKinsey's. The first study is free to play in full, so you can judge the rest before you pay anything.
Solve VIP has a 7-day money-back guarantee. Basic does not, so try the free study first.
Questions
