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More health screenings for older adults in Singapore

You run the case. Read the prompt, answer questions from the notes below, and share data only when the candidate asks for it or gets stuck. Score at the end.

Case timer

00:00

Target length:

1. Read the prompt aloud

Read it slowly, then pause. Let the candidate ask questions before they structure.

A Singapore government agency wants more adults aged 50 to 69 to take a free health screening. It has two main tools: text-message reminders and community outreach by volunteers and nurses. How should it spend its budget?

Format note: Candidate-led: you agree the metric, ask for costs and effects, and build the plan; the interviewer answers and challenges. The agency and its figures are illustrative.

2. Answers to clarifying questions

Give these answers only if the candidate asks. If they ask something not listed, give a sensible answer or say it does not matter here.

If asked: What is the goal, and how is success measured?
Answer: More people aged 50 to 69 taking the free health screening. Success is the number of extra screenings this year; the target is 15,000.
If asked: What is the budget?
Answer: SGD 3 million for this year.
If asked: How many people in the group are not screened today?
Answer: About 400,000.

3. The hypothesis a strong candidate states

Listen for an early, testable guess like this one. It does not need to match word for word.

Cheap reminders reach many people but move few of them, while personal outreach moves more people at a higher cost. My hypothesis is that the best plan uses reminders for everyone and spends the rest of the budget on outreach, so I will compare the cost of each extra screening.

4. A model structure

Compare the candidate's structure with this one. A different split can be just as good if it is clean and fits the problem.

Extra screenings per SGD, within the budget and the targetThis comes from extra screenings = money spent on each tool / cost per extra screening, up to the number of people each tool can reach.
- Key: Cost per extra screening for each tool
- Limits: how many people each tool can reach
- Best mix within SGD 3 million, against the 15,000 target
- Who is reached and who is left out

5. The working, step by step

Each step shows how a strong candidate works it out. Share a new fact from it only when the candidate asks or is stuck, and let them do the math: the result in the dark box is what they should reach.

Step 1: Reminders: cost per extra screening
What a strong candidate does: Candidate: "What does a reminder cost, and how many people does it move?" Interviewer: "About SGD 1 per person, and 2 in every 100 people reminded then get screened who otherwise would not."
Cost per extra screening, reminders (SGD): 1 ÷ 0.02 = 50
Step 2: Outreach: cost per extra screening
What a strong candidate does: Interviewer: "Outreach costs about SGD 40 per person visited, and 15 in every 100 visited then get screened who otherwise would not, on top of any reminder."
Cost per extra screening, outreach (SGD): 40 ÷ 0.15 = 267
Step 3: The limit on reminders
What a strong candidate does: Interviewer: "Then why not spend it all on reminders?" Candidate: "Because there are only 400,000 people to remind. Can we remind them several times?" Interviewer: "A second reminder adds very little." Candidate: "Then reminders reach everyone for SGD 400,000 and stop there."
Extra screenings from reminders: 400,000 × 0.02 = 8,000
Step 4: Outreach with the rest of the budget
What a strong candidate does: The remaining SGD 2.6 million pays for this many visits.
People visited: (3,000,000 - 400,000) ÷ 40 = 65,000
Step 5: Extra screenings from outreach
What a strong candidate does: 15 in every 100 of the people visited.
Extra screenings from outreach: (3,000,000 - 400,000) ÷ 40 × 0.15 = 9,750
Step 6: Total against the target
What a strong candidate does: Reminders plus outreach, against the target of 15,000.
Total extra screenings: 400,000 × 0.02 + (3,000,000 - 400,000) ÷ 40 × 0.15 = 17,750

The recommendation to listen for

At the end, say: "The CEO walks in. What is your recommendation?"

I recommend sending reminders to all 400,000 people and spending the other SGD 2.6 million on community outreach, for about 17,750 extra screenings against the 15,000 target. First, reminders are the cheapest tool at about SGD 50 per extra screening, giving about 8,000. Second, outreach costs about SGD 267 per extra screening but is the only way to use the rest of the budget, adding about 9,750. Third, outreach reaches people that text messages miss, so aim it at the neighborhoods with the lowest screening rates. Track screening rates by neighborhood each quarter.

Risks a strong answer names: The 2 percent reminder effect comes from past campaigns and may be lower now; Clinics may not have enough appointments if demand rises quickly; Outreach quality depends on training volunteers well.

Next steps: Confirm clinic capacity for about 18,000 extra screenings; Pick the 20 neighborhoods with the lowest screening rates for outreach; Test two reminder messages to see which works better.

Strong versus weak

A strong answer

Agreed the metric, compared cost per extra screening, noticed the limit on reminders, and built a mix that meets the target and reaches the people most often missed.

A weak answer

Put the whole budget into reminders because they are cheapest per person, without noticing that each person can only be reminded once.

Score the candidate

Score each criterion from 1 to 5. A 2 or a 4 sits between the descriptions.

This case has no exhibit. Score Exhibit reading on how the candidate used the data you gave them: did they pick out the number that matters and say what it means?

Structuring

1: No clear structure, or a memorized framework that does not fit the problem.
3: A sensible structure, but with some overlap, a gap, or no clear priority.
5: A structure built for this problem, with no overlap and no gaps, a stated hypothesis, and a clear first step.

Math

1: Frequent errors, no units, or needed heavy help to finish.
3: Right answers but slow or messy working, or one error caught late.
5: Accurate and clearly narrated, with units, a sense check, and what the number means.

Exhibit reading

1: Read the chart aloud without finding the number that matters.
3: Found the key number but gave only part of the so-what.
5: Pulled the right number quickly and said what it means for the case.

Synthesis

1: Summarized what was done, with no clear answer.
3: Gave an answer, but with weak reasons or no next step.
5: Answer first, then two or three reasons with numbers, the main risk, and next steps.

Communication

1: Hard to follow: long silences, no signposting.
3: Clear most of the time, with some rambling.
5: Calm and concise, signposted each step, and checked in with the interviewer.

Total

0 out of 25

Score all five criteria to see the band and the feedback template.