Consulting Case Interview Practice Questions

Answer: d - “Work expands to the time allotted” is Parkinson’s Law.

a) “If anything can go wrong, it will go wrong” is the famous Murphy’s Law.

b) This is actually Hofstadter’s Law, which is self-referencing and states “It always takes longer than you expect, even when you take Hofstadter’s law into account.”
Hofstadter's Law comes from Douglas Hofstadter's Godel, Escher and Bach: An Eternal Golden Braid, from 1979. It is sometimes cited by a coder when discussing productivity improvement techniques.

d) “80 percent of the effects come from 20 percent of the causes” is Pareto’s Law.

Key Takeaways: Parkinson’s Law reminds you to set aggressive deadlines to resources. You can always be a bit flexible, but keep in mind that if these aren’t perceived as hard deadlines, your implementation resources will probably procrastinate. When asked a question about what type of manager you are, you want to communicate all your positives personality qualities and emphasize that you can handle deadlines.