XI
Incomplete-Data Decisions
Structure when the file is messy.
What they expect
Can you frame a problem, name assumptions, choose, and defend? Outcome is secondary to process. Ivey’s case method makes this a live requirement. Desautels puts it on the written application as official Essay 3.
A strong signal
You walk through options, what you did not know, the bet you placed, and how you would update. You can explain it to a non-expert.
A weak tell
A heroics story. “I trusted my gut.” Analysis with no decision. A decision with no residual uncertainty.
Why this angle exists
Managers decide with partial information. Case classrooms punish people who wait for the perfect exhibit.
Canadian flavour
Ivey live interviews may ask for a recent case you would want to discuss, or a decision made with incomplete data. Desautels: “Describe a difficult decision you made and the process that you went through to make it.” Sauder BCom’s third video question is a creative hypothetical — same muscle, smaller stage.
Questionnaire
Expand a prompt. Read what they are listening for. Sit the timer if it is a recorded question. Notes stay on this device.