Slide 1
Title and recommendation preview
Name the team, state the decision, and summarize the recommendation in one direct sentence. The panel should know the direction before the detailed analysis begins.
Official participant guide
Prepare a clear seven-slide case recommendation.
Use this guide to organize team analysis, build the required deck, rehearse the presentation, and check the submission against the judging rubric.
Start with the decision
Do not solve the wrong problem.
Read the case once for context and again for decisions, stakeholders, evidence, constraints, and unanswered questions. Write the central decision in one sentence: “The organization must decide how to ______ while ______.” If team members define different decisions, resolve that difference before designing slides.
List the people affected and what each group needs. Separate facts supplied in the case, reasonable assumptions, and outside evidence. A visible assumption is easier to question and improve than an unsupported statement presented as fact.
Slide 2
Problem and affected people
Explain the cause, not only the visible symptom. Identify the groups affected, the important constraint, and the consequence of doing nothing.
Slide 3
Evidence and decision criteria
Select the case facts and current public evidence that matter. State the criteria used to compare options, such as access, cost, feasibility, safety, timing, or measurable benefit.
Slide 4
Options and tradeoffs
Compare at least two reasonable responses using the same criteria. Show why an option was not selected without describing it unfairly.
Slide 5
Recommended response
Describe what the organization should do, who it serves, what makes it different from the alternatives, and which tradeoff the team accepts.
Slide 6
Implementation, risks, and measures
Assign actions, owners, timing, required resources, the most important risk, a mitigation, and two or three indicators that show whether the plan is working.
Slide 7
Sources and technology disclosure
List the sources used and disclose any generative artificial-intelligence contribution. Keep source links readable. This slide is included in the seven-slide limit.
Team work plan
Assign decisions, not just slides.
- Agree on the central decision and evaluation criteria.
- Assign one person to maintain the evidence and source list.
- Ask each member to challenge one assumption or risk.
- Choose the recommendation as a team before dividing slide production.
- Have one editor check consistency, timing, and the seven-slide limit.
Presentation plan
Make the reasoning easy to follow.
- Open with the decision and recommendation.
- Use evidence to explain why the problem matters.
- Spend more time on the recommendation and implementation than background.
- Transition clearly between speakers.
- Finish within seven minutes without rushing the final action.
Practise the five questions judges are likely to test
- Which fact or assumption most influenced your recommendation?
- Why is the selected option stronger than the closest alternative?
- What is the first implementation step and who owns it?
- What could make the plan fail, and how would you respond?
- Which measure would show whether the recommendation is helping?
Every team member should be able to explain the main recommendation, even when speaking roles differ. A useful rehearsal includes one uninterrupted timed run and one question round where the advisor asks for evidence, tradeoffs, and practical detail without supplying answers.
Final submission check
- Seven slides total, including sources and disclosure
- Recommendation appears on slide 1
- Case facts, outside evidence, and assumptions are distinguishable
- Implementation includes actions, owners, timing, risks, and measures
- Every external source has a name and working link
- Team can present in seven minutes and answer for five
- Deck is submitted by 12:00 p.m. ET on November 15
Last reviewed August 14, 2026.