General Cognitive Ability:

We ask open-ended questions to learn how you approach and solve

problems. And there’s no one right answer—your ability to explain
your thought process and how you use data to inform decisions is
what’s most important.

Framework for a successful GCA response:

 Identify the problem - most questions are very open ended
and open to interpretation. Asks clarifying questions up front
to ensure you are properly scoped.
 Prepare - Google is a data driven company and they will be
looking for a data driven answer. This is a great time to ask
additional questions as needed to guide your preparation,
make any assumptions off of the addressable market based
on your knowledge or info shared, and in a perfect world,
what data would you want to have on hand to help identify
solutions to tackle the problem.
 Identify and come up with creative solutions to tackle the
problem - You may have 2-3 great ideas to solve the
problem. Walk the interviewer through at a very granular level
the pros, the cons of each, potential roadblocks, how you
would overcome them, and based on the analysis and frame
work you've put together.
 Recommendation/Proposal