Lack of regular check-ins, team decision-making, and keeping stakeholders out of the loop lead to decreased productivity, breakdowns in processes, and strained relationships.
Connect everyone on one collaborative platform that operates in real time. Invest in tools that support team communication, such as messaging or videoconferencing apps.
When changes occur, if there are no control procedures such as change requests, budgets, and timing suffer, key stakeholders change requirements or internal miscommunication and disagreements.
Capture all the requirements in a document requirements management plan that clarifies tracking procedures and change processes. Share that document with all team members and stakeholders.
When resources aren't controlled and managed, project managers don't know which of their assets are available or if they have the skills to meet requirements. Resources are spread too thin, and inefficiencies lead to project failure.
No-guesswork software supports planning and prioritization based on data updated in real time. Capacity and demand planning reconcile the work volume to actual resource capacity.
Time equals money in project management. Without constant oversight, an emergency can happen at any point due to budget overruns and potentially cause a project to shut down.
Prevent bottlenecks, budget overruns, and process gaps before they happen. Workflow automation uses pre-defined business rules to design, streamline, execute, and automate task routing between people, technology, and data.
Without accountability and every team member taking responsibility for their role, underperformance is common, team members lose motivation, and trust is lost.
Software tools provide visibility into task status so everyone can see a project's progress. If projects fall behind, teams can work together to identify problems or bottlenecks and make changes.
From simple task management and project planning to complex resource and portfolio management, Smartsheet helps you improve collaboration and increase work velocity -- empowering you to get more done.
The Smartsheet platform makes it easy to plan, capture, manage, and report on work from anywhere, helping your team be more effective and get more done. Report on key metrics and get real-time visibility into work as it happens with roll-up reports, dashboards, and automated workflows built to keep your team connected and informed.
When teams have clarity into the work getting done, there’s no telling how much more they can accomplish in the same amount of time. Try Smartsheet for free, today.
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Who wouldn’t want to bask in the glory of success and sit at the top of one’s chosen trade? We can put too much emphasis on the results that we tend to neglect the arduous process that comes with the glitz and glitters. Overnight success will not stand the rigors of long term subsistence. Stories of toils and triumph against adversity are what make our achievement motivating and noteworthy to the rest of the industry. That is why a project case study showing how you overcame ordeals from day zero tells more than the product will of your competency in your chosen field.
Case studies provide in-depth treatment of a subject matter because of the extensive reporting and comprehensive writing style they entail. They put the spotlight on how a team made a project a success despite the challenges and how it is making strides in the industry. Project case studies are a useful project management apparatus for documenting initiatives, programs, and strategy for future reference of the company and concerned entities. Instead of using hard-sell strategies on marketing your craft, let project case studies make the case for you.
We don’t just tune in to the recognition of the Olympic gold medalists, Nobel Prize winners, and Pulitzer Prize awardees for their crowning moments. We listen to their backstories, their journey of getting to where they are now. It could be that we find comfort in knowing that the prominent personalities in different world arenas are also humans, that they, too, face adversities. We may be seeking motivation in our own lives in knowing that others made it to greatness so we can, also. Success stories sell for many reasons, but not all generate the same effect in us.
“Powerball” Success
The problem with instant success is that it skips the phenomenon of delayed gratification. When it bypasses the hard work that is equivalent to working for an equivalent prize, people tend to put less value on the amount. In other words, money is worth less when earned with a lottery ticket. This isn’t meant to poke fun on lottery winners nor devaluate what they have done to win. The point is that, in general, it is easier to spend money when you didn’t shed blood and tears to earn every penny.
On Reporting the Process
Although the end product is the biggest tell-tale of the success of a project, it doesn’t paint a complete picture. There is a chasm between the start to finish of a project. When you keep the two detached from each other, you lose valuable information that you can use for future ventures. You also keep up this erroneous image that success comes easy. One, that misleads an audience that you might not even know you have. Forget about inspiring a new batch of leaders, world changers, and entrepreneurs. Two, it is difficult to sustain a pristine and perfect image. It will always crumble sooner than convenient.
Where Pragmatism Fails
On the other hand, veiling the work that came with your success is counterintuitive in making your mark in the field. Achievement is not handed out on a silver platter. Case studies show the rest of the industry how you accomplished a project. It shows your capability in marketing project strategy and management. It tells of your expertise and your work ethic in handling the tasks and meeting strict deadlines. It boasts of your prowess in getting the job done. For a company, project case studies tell the clients how professional you are in meeting their expectations and demands. It tells of your command of the trade and skill in the craft.
It’s time to take off the end game goggles and gain a new perspective on how you should measure success.
The success of an endeavor takes a stroke of brilliance, perseverance, and hard work. Illustrate for your and the rest of the world’s benefit how you made a project successful against the odds through publishing case studies. Because each study is a detailed accomplishment and performance report on how you went above and beyond what’s good enough for clients, your portfolio and business library will certainly benefit from these documents. With the world becoming aware of the usefulness of case studies, be at the top of your game and tell your success story differently. Look into the following case study templates and samples from different fields and improve your storytelling.
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Success stories are not made equal. Revamp your or your business’s portfolio with project management case study that shows why you are trustworthy and reliable in a competitive industry. Keeping case studies in your library will also guide your next decisions. This is how you design your success story that converts audience into clients.
Of the projects that you have worked on, which ones would you consider your best? List your top contenders and indicate a summary why you think it so. Perhaps you can ask a colleague to help you identify which of these are your best. Make each study caption concise, detailed, and interesting.
Make the format easier to understand on the first reading. Include the description of the client and their problem, the project’s objectives, how you came about the case, and the results. Indicate the challenges and your solutions, and how the project was received by the clients. You should explain how you made the project a success. Remember, even if it was successful, there is a lot going in the background that will put off any interested client, may that be internal team tension or terrible work ethic.
Most likely, you worked with a team for the project. Therefore, you have to give them credit for what they have accomplished. You should also explain your role in the project and how you contributed to its success. When your client knows how you are involved instead of just your work title in the project, it will help you gain their trust.
Although case studies are about the process of success, don’t forget to make it clear how the project wasn’t just a money-making scheme. It helps your image if you communicate that you also care for your clients. Write about how the project made or will make a significant difference in the community. Describe how it affected the people involved and its benefactors. Show your heart by including societal and environmental responsibility in your business ventures.
How the work is done is part of the success and should be given a huge chunk of the performance indicator pie. The glorious end of any successful endeavor is only half the picture. Build a respectable career on stable and dependable work that gives importance to the laborious grind as it does the trophy at the end.
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10 Examples of Public speaking
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Written by: Brian Nuckols
When it comes to high impact marketing content, case studies are at the top of the list for helping show off your brand’s stuff.
In this post, I’ve put together a few high-level case study design tips as well as 14 professionally designed case study templates that you can use to start designing beautiful case studies today.
Let’s begin!
Here’s a short selection of 12 easy-to-edit case study templates you can edit, share and download with Visme. View more templates below:
A case study is a way for you to demonstrate the success you’ve already had with existing clients. When you create a case study, you explore how previous clients have used your product or service to reach their goals.
In particular, a case study highlights a specific challenge or goal one of your clients was struggling with before they discovered your product.
It then demonstrates how your work has assisted them on the journey towards overcoming the challenge or accomplishing the goal.
A case study’s outcome is typically to share the story of a company’s growth or highlight the increase of metrics the company tracks to understand success.
The case study includes an analysis of a campaign or project that goes through a few steps from identifying the problem to how you implemented the solution.
When it comes to adding irresistible design to your content from the start, using a helpful tool is a great start. Sign up for a free Visme account and start highlighting your own client success stories using one of our case study templates today.
Also, while you’re beginning to transition your case study workflow to include a professional design tool, it’s helpful to review some high level principles you can incorporate into your case study.
We’ll start by reviewing some of the critical style tips and structural elements to include in your case study before progressing to a more detailed design section.
When designing an impactful case study, it’s essential to stay clear on the metrics that you’re highlighting. The process of overcoming business challenges is a dynamic process with many moving parts.
If you do not stay focused on what matters in your case study, you risk obscuring the big win your client experienced by using your product or service.
This is why you need to focus on a single message or metric. This is often called the north star metric .
The north star metric is the single most crucial rate, count or ratio that helped your client move closer towards their goals or overcame an obstacle.
While north star metrics are context dependent, a useful heuristic you can utilize is to figure out the most predictive metric of your client’s long term success.
In the template I’ll highlight below, cost per lead was the north star metric that The College for Adult Learning needed to optimize.
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Recently researchers at Presado did an interesting study to understand the types of language that help readers take action. They broke the content included in marketing assets into several categories, including functional, emotional and descriptive.
In the most successful pieces of content, the researchers found that emotionally coded words were present in 61% of the content’s total volume.
This research shows the benefit of using emotionally engaging content in your case study. While it’s essential to focus on the concrete evidence of how you helped your client get from where they started to a successful outcome, do not forget to highlight the emotional journey.
Once you’ve decided on the north star metric to highlight and you choose the emotional response you want to reinforce in your case study, it’s important to use actual data from the project to share the concrete results your product helped to achieve.
To make sure your audience can follow your line of thinking, make sure the data in your case study is precise. If you track data across time, your readers must know whether you chose to track by month or years.
If there are any apparent trends, you can use color to highlight specific areas in a chart.
If you want to dig deeper into using data to tell compelling stories, check out our video data storytelling tips to improve your charts and graphs.
In the template below, The College for Adult Learning case study is an excellent example of how these elements can work together.
Cost per lead was a critical north star metric, so we chose to emphasize the increase in revenue and a decrease in cost per lead.
Additionally, the background section uses emotionally rich language by highlighting how the school helps students get ahead with their career goals. Also, the factual data is the centerpiece of this page in the case study.
If you’re ready to share how you impacted a client, use the College for Adult Learning case study template right now!
After you’ve interviewed your client and you’re getting ready to start writing, it’s important to remember each piece you need to cover.
All good case studies consist of five parts: Introduction, Challenge, Solution, Benefit and Result.
While you don’t necessarily need to label each section like that, be sure that the flow makes sense and covers each section fully to give your audience the full scope of your case study.
RELATED: 15 Real-Life Case Study Examples & Best Practices
Now that we have explored some of the high level strategies you can use to create a business case study, we will transition to 14 case study design templates you can use with Visme.
Use the Fuji Xerox case study template to showcase the concrete results you achieved for your clients. It has sections where you can explain the goals you started with and the results you achieved.
As we’ve explored already, the College for Adult Learning template has sections where you can embrace a data driven storytelling approach while also connecting with your audience using emotionally rich language.
Utilize the professionally designed business case study to connect with your audience.
The Intel case study has beautiful visual elements and gives you space to share the project’s context and the goals you set out to achieve. It also allows you to get concrete with the results you achieved.
You can always use the Visme Brand Kit to incorporate your unique brand colors into this stunning design.
Bit.ly is a marketing product that helps brands track how they are doing with campaign results. The bit.ly business case study template showcases how they drove impressive results for an eCommerce business.
You can modify the professionally designed case study template to illustrate the key results you drive for your clients.
The NVISIONCenters case study template is an excellent example of how powerful it is to pair beautiful designs with the results you generate for your clients. In this case study, we see how you can transform your past accomplishments into a powerful marketing asset.
The Adobe case study is an exciting example of a business case study because it does a great job illustrating how you can use a specific result to create a powerful marketing asset.
Adobe had a particular goal of branding to position itself as a leader for the future of digital marketing. LinkedIn sponsored messages was an effective tactic to drive the outcome Adobe needed.
You can use the Adobe case study template to demonstrate the success of your most effective tactics.
The Inkjet wholesale case study template is an excellent choice if you want to experiment with your case study’s visual element. The roadmap to objectives diagram is a powerful graphic that illustrates the journey of a successful campaign.
If you have a strong visual brand to tell your case study’s story with visuals, the Neutrogena template is a great choice. It is already designed with plenty of space to highlight your visuals.
When it is all said and done, you have the results section to complete a successful client partnership story.
The Weebly case study template is your choice if you want to add visual flair to your case study. The beautiful layout is a testament to the power of pairing minimal design with an exciting statistic.
The Patagonia case study is a perfect example of how crucial it is to make design choices based on your brand’s unique personality.
It is a fantastic choice if you have a project to showcase featuring a brand with a distinct brand aesthetic.
The Think With Google case study template tells the story of a mobile game that needed to create more engagement on their app.
It is a visually impactful case study design template that you can use to tell a compelling story about your results.
This case study template is the perfect way to show off search marketing results for a client or other highly specific KPIs that you managed to accomplish.
Insert the initial challenge followed by your company’s solution and adjust the included data visualization tools to showcase your specific results.
The presentation case study template is an excellent choice for blending beautiful visual elements with the ability to give detailed information about the results you generated, as well as showcasing that data in a unique format.
If you are ready to show how the unique features of your product or service drove real world business results then it is a good choice for your case study.
One small business saw incredible results when using Visme to optimize their webinar workflow. They saved 100 hours of their precious time by incorporating our collaborative design tools.
We designed the small business template using those results as an example. When you have an eye catching effect to showcase to your audience, you can use this template as a starting point.
Now that we’ve explored the 14 templates you can use with Visme to create your case study, let’s take a look at some practical design tips that will take your content to the next level.
In discussions about writing with style, brevity is a common topic. However, it’s also an important design principle.
Brevity in design is when you find the best way to perform your intended objective in as few steps as possible.
When designing your case study, make sure you do not add extraneous visual elements where they are not needed. Instead, think of the effect you want to have on your reader and try to do it simply.
Earlier in this article, I wrote about the north star metric, your case study’s emotional effect and using data to make the case study concrete. Your design choices should serve to reinforce these primary goals.
Clarity in design is when all of the visual elements add up to a whole.
A great example of this is in the small business case study template where the shapes, typography and color scheme all emphasize the main idea that Visme helps the reader save time.
Visual consistency is a fundamental design principle that you can not afford to ignore in your case study. It will help you increase readability and make sure your audience does not get frustrated with jarring visual elements.
In short, a consistent style is when you use a uniform color scheme, typography and the same kinds of visual elements throughout the case study.
Readability is a crucial element of design, especially for case studies that are experienced on mobile devices. Contrast is an impactful readability principle.
Make sure any contrasting colors you chose are easy on the eye and your reader does not have to strain to read your case study.
Alignment is one of the principles of design that sets professionally designed business case study templates apart. Great designers have an intuitive eye for the mathematically based ratios of proximity invisible in sound design and an eyesore in lousy design.
The good news is that you do not have to be a mathematician nor a professional designer to have a perfect alignment for your case study. Visme utilizes an easy to use drag and drop design tool that helps you achieve proper alignment in your case study.
When we make intentional design decisions, we want to create a positive emotional experience for our audience. One of the best ways to do that is to make decisions that showcase your brand’s unique personality .
Is the case study you are creating like a well dressed business person who is serious, trustworthy and capable of doing a great job? Is it more like an extravert at a party bouncing from person to person lighting up the room?
There is no right answer, but you need to infuse your viewpoint into the case study you create if you want to create a unique design.
A professionally designed case study template will help you create a stunning case study. While reviewing some high level design strategies is an important step, a tool like Visme will help you make a real impact on your audience.
If you’re ready to create your next case study, get started with Visme today .
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Brian Nuckols is a writer working in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. He enjoys communicating visionary ideas in clear, action oriented language. When he’s not working on content for a transformative company you can find him analyzing dreams, creating music, and writing poetry.
Published: July 18, 2024
Earning the trust of prospective customers can be a major challenge. Before you can expect to earn their business, you’ll need to demonstrate your ability to deliver on the promises of your product or service. The best way to win new business is with cold, hard proof.
A great way to prove your worth is through a compelling case study. HubSpot’s 2024 State of Marketing report found that case studies are so captivating that they were the fifth most commonly used type of content that marketers relied on.
That statistic still holds true in Forbes Advisor’s 2024 study, which adds that 78% of B2B businesses report using case studies and customer stories because they are “ crucial for demonstrating real-world value. ”
Having written these ever more frequently over the past ten years, I hope to serve as your guide through a process that can feel daunting, but I promise is worth the effort. Below, I'll walk you through what a case study is, how to prepare for writing one, what to include in it, and how it can be an effective tactic.
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How to write a case study, case study format, business case study examples.
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A case study is coverage of a specific challenge a business has faced, and the solution they've chosen to solve it. Case studies can vary greatly in length and focus on several details related to the initial challenge and applied solution, and can be presented in various forms like a video, white paper, blog post, etc.
In professional settings, it‘s common for a case study to tell the story of a successful business partnership between a vendor and a client.
Perhaps the success you’re highlighting is in the number of leads your client generated, customers closed, or revenue gained. Any one of these key performance indicators (KPIs) are examples of your company's services in action.
When done correctly, these examples of your work can chronicle the positive impact your business has on existing or previous customers, helping you attract new clients.
I know, it sounds like a huge endeavor — is it really worth it?
The truth is that while case studies are a huge undertaking, they are powerful marketing tools that allow you to demonstrate the value of your product to potential customers using real-world examples.
Here are a few reasons why you should write case studies.
Case studies give you the space to break down complex concepts, ideas, and strategies, showing how they can be applied in a practical way.
You can use real-world examples, like an existing client, and use their story to create a compelling narrative that demonstrates how your product solved their issue. Most importantly, it explains how those strategies can be repeated to help other customers get similar, successful results.
Case studies are a great way to demonstrate your knowledge and expertise on a given topic or industry. This is where you get the opportunity to show off your problem-solving skills and how you’ve generated successful outcomes for clients you’ve worked with.
In addition to showing off the attributes above, case studies are an excellent way to build credibility. They’re often filled with data and thoroughly researched, which shows readers you’ve done your homework.
A robust case study instills confidence in the solutions you present because the reader has now vicariously experienced the problem — and they followed, step-by-step, what it took to solve it. These elements work together, enabling you to build trust with potential customers.
Using existing clients that have seen success working with your brand builds social proof .
People are more likely to choose your brand if they know that others have found success working with you. Case studies do just that — put your success on display for potential customers to see.
All of these attributes play together like an orchestra to help you gain more clients. Afterward, the case study acts as a reference. You can pull quotes from customers that were featured in these studies to repurpose them in other marketing content.
Now that you’re more acquainted with the benefits of producing a case study, let’s explore how long these documents should be.
The length of a case study will vary depending on the complexity of the project or topic discussed. However, as a general guideline, case studies typically range from 500 to 1,500 words.
Whatever length you choose, it should provide a clear understanding of the challenge, the solution you implemented, and the results achieved.
This may be easier said than done, but it‘s important to strike a balance between providing enough detail to make the case study informative and concise enough to keep the reader’s interest.
The primary goal here is to effectively communicate the key points and takeaways of the case study. It’s worth noting that this shouldn’t be a wall of text. Make it attractive to dive into by using headings, subheadings, bullet points, charts, and other graphics to break up the content and make it more scannable for readers.
I’ve also seen more and more brands incorporate video elements into case studies listed on their site for a more engaging experience, which is highly recommended given that video is currently the best performing marketing content format.
In terms of the interview structure, I recommend categorizing the questions in a way that the answers flow into six specific sections that will mirror a successful case study format. Combined, they'll allow you to gather enough information to put together a rich, comprehensive study.
The goal of this section is to generate a better understanding of the company's current challenges and goals, plus how they fit into the landscape of their industry. Sample questions might include:
To tell a compelling story, you need context that helps match the customer's needs with your solution. Sample questions might include:
Exploring how the customer decided to work with you helps to guide potential customers through their own decision-making processes.
Sample questions might include:
The focus here should be placed on the customer's experience during the onboarding process. Sample questions might include:
The goal of this section is to better understand how the customer is using your product or service. Sample questions might include:
In this section, you want to uncover impressive measurable outcomes — the more numbers, the better. Sample questions might include:
It’s a smart idea to send a copy of your interview questions to your subject ahead of time so they can prepare strong answers and collect the numerical data you need from them.
When it comes time to take all of the information you‘ve collected and actually turn it into something useful, it’s easy to feel overwhelmed. I always do, but I also know that it works out in the end, so I just jump on in and work it through.
So where should you start? What should you include? What's the best way to structure it?
It‘s important to first understand that there is no one-size-fits-all when it comes to the ways you can present a case study.
They can be very visual, which you’ll see in some of the examples we've included below, and can sometimes be communicated through video or photos with a bit of accompanying text.
Here are the sections I’d suggest, and I'll cover these in more detail after #11 below:
When laying out your case study, focus on conveying the information you've gathered in the most clear and concise way possible.
Make it easy to scan and comprehend, and be sure to provide an attractive call-to-action at the bottom — that should provide readers an opportunity to learn more about your product or service.
Once you‘ve completed your case study, it’s time to publish and promote it.
Some case study formats have pretty obvious promotional outlets — a video case study can go on YouTube, just as an infographic case study can go on Pinterest.
But there are still other ways to publish and promote your case study. Here are a couple of ideas.
As stated earlier, written case studies make terrific lead-generators if you convert them into a downloadable format, like a PDF.
To generate leads from your case study, consider writing a blog post that tells an abbreviated story of your client‘s success and asking readers to fill out a form with their name and email address if they’d like to read the rest in your PDF.
Then, promote this blog post on social media, through a Facebook post or a tweet.
As a growing business, you might need to display your case study out in the open to gain the trust of your target audience.
Rather than gating it behind a landing page, publish your case study to its own page on your website, and direct people to it from your homepage with a “Case Studies” or “Testimonials” button along your homepage's top navigation bar.
The traditional case study format includes the following parts: a title and subtitle, a client profile, a summary of the customer’s challenges and objectives, an account of how your solution helped, and a description of the results. You might also want to include supporting visuals and quotes, future plans, and calls-to-action.
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Aside from showing your experience and skill, case studies give your potential client or employer an idea of how you work and think. Case studies are basically the whole point of building a portfolio — which is why Semplice and Carbonmade, our portfolio tools, were built around just that. Especially with more complex work such as UX design, a case study is a must to explain your work. Of course, your case study approach depends on your personal style and goals, but I generally recommend these rules when creating your project pages.
I know this is not as fun as designing your website but like most things in life, it helps to get the hardest task out of the way first. Near the end of the project you will just want to press that launch button, so anything you write at that time will be rushed and lazy. Or even worse, you will hit a wall and procrastinate launching the whole thing.
Write about your projects as early as you can, even if you have to adjust the copy slightly later to fit your final page layout. I usually just put all my thoughts in Evernote or a Google Doc. Think of your project in phases and start with Phase 1, which is usually the ideation or exploration phase. Write down your thoughts, and then continue to Phase 2. Don't bother with images just yet, this is just for you to help you get it all down.
If inspiration strikes otherwise, so be it. But in most cases you will thank yourself later by doing this first.
People are usually scanning your projects to get a general idea of your skills and the way you work. Don't write a novel, just share a short paragraph or two that makes your project interesting and relatable to your reader.
I've read research that says one of the first things people read in a newspaper are the little captions underneath the images. Think of your case study the same way. If someone scrolls through your case study and only reads the little 1-2 sentence captions, they should still understand your project. Focus on the captions first, and then fill in any lengthier content.
It all depends on your personal style and you don’t need to literally copy/paste this format, but your case study should loosely follow this outline or provide this information:
Name of client, what they do & their location: Give your reader context and write a quick sentence about what this project or product is all about. This will show your experience and interest in specific types of clients or design work. Naming the location will also help if you want to make it clear you work with clients all over, as opposed to just your hometown.
Goal for the project: What did the client ask you to do? What was the briefing? What was the main challenge and measure of success? Did you have a certain idea or expectation for the project when you began?
Your experience: Anything interesting to share about your process for this project? Did you take a unique angle or notice some surprising insight? Do you have some early sketches we can see? Why did you choose that approach? Ask yourself WHY WHY WHY a thousand times, and then answer those questions.
The outcome: Did you feel proud of the result? Did it exceed your expectations? Did it increase the client’s sales by 2000%? Don’t get too technical or share some crazy analytics report (and definitely do not make anything up), just include a brief sentence or two that shares how the project was successful. A case study should ideally be a success story. If it's not, tell us why the project is still valuable or meaningful (maybe the client didn't choose your favorite concept for example, but you still love the work you did) and what you learned from it.
Again, it doesn’t need to be some stiff, clinical report. Just set everything up for the reader so they can fully appreciate what went into the project and how you approach your work.
This is especially important if it was a team project. If I just see a list of names without their roles, I might be a little suspicious about what you actually did on this project. But whether or not this was a team project, it’s helpful for us to understand what role you played. This could be as simple as listing “art direction & design” beside the project summary. Forgetting this detail is crucial and can mean the difference between getting hired or not.
"We should finish reading with a sense of your personality and design process."
You and your client might know what they mean, but acronyms and buzzwords only distance your reader. Don’t try to impress with lofty language, just share your work in your own voice and be as clear as possible. We should finish reading with a sense of your personality and design process.
Whatever you do, don’t just copy/paste words about your client’s product from their website. The shift in voice will be obvious and will only make you seem lazy.
I’ve seen countless portfolios that either don’t include a case study at all or just have one sentence with a bunch of photos below for the reader to sort out on their own. That doesn’t sell your work the way it deserves. (Plus no copy = bad SEO, if you care about that.)
Consider a layout that lets you include a sentence or two beside each image, so you can explain your process and give us insight into what we’re seeing. A bunch of photos on a page might look pretty, but as almost every company in our "How to Get a Job at X" series has voiced, it's not enough. Your potential employer or client needs context. We need to understand who you are, how you work and how you might contribute to our team/culture.
This goes for your content and layout. Using a similar page template for your case studies is fine, but you should at least adjust it to fit the project and look of the work.
Think of the way magazine articles are laid out. They’re designed to fully immerse you in the piece and create an experience. They include photos at specific places to illustrate a point or bring a scene to life. They use pull quotes to pique your interest or point out an especially memorable part of the story. They break up paragraphs with photos, but take care to not disrupt your reading experience.
This is why Semplice allows designers to create fully branded case studies — meaning you can design every piece of your page to fit the project’s look and feel, from the navigation down to the footer. Every project is different and your case studies should be too.
I could go on and on, but when it comes down to it, no one-size-fits-all solution works for case studies. It all depends on you, your project, style and the kind of work you do. As we say in this article about writing as a designer (good tips in there as well), just remember to write for that one person on the other side of the screen. It's one person hiring you for the job after all – and often that person is a recruiter or someone who's not necessarily a designer like you. Design your portfolio and write your case studies with your reader in mind, and you'll be one step closer to doing the work you want to do.
Read more portfolio tips here and be sure to check out the Semplice Showcase for design portfolio inspiration.
Featured article image by Liz Wells
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by Todd Brehe
on Jan 3, 2024
If you want to learn how to write a case study that engages prospective clients, demonstrates that you can solve real business problems, and showcases the results you deliver, this guide will help.
We’ll give you a proven template to follow, show you how to conduct an engaging interview, and give you several examples and tips for best practices.
Let’s start with the basics.
A business case study is simply a story about how you successfully delivered a solution to your client.
Case studies start with background information about the customer, describe problems they were facing, present the solutions you developed, and explain how those solutions positively impacted the customer’s business.
Absolutely. A well-written case study puts prospective clients into the shoes of your paying clients, encouraging them to engage with you. Plus, they:
Case studies serve your clients too. For example, they can generate positive publicity and highlight the accomplishments of line staff to the management team. Your company might even throw in a new product/service discount, or a gift as an added bonus.
But don’t just take my word for it. Let’s look at a few statistics and success stories:
Before we get into the nuts and bolts of how to write a case study, let’s go over a few examples of what an excellent one looks like.
The five case studies listed below are well-written, well-designed, and incorporate a time-tested structure.
This case study example from Lane Terralever incorporates images to support the content and effectively uses subheadings to make the piece scannable.
This case study from WalkMe Mobile leads with an engaging headline and the three most important results the client was able to generate.
In the first paragraph, the writer expands the list of accomplishments encouraging readers to learn more.
This is an example of a well-designed printable case study . The client, specific problem, and solution are called out in the left column and summarized succinctly.
This long format case study (6 pages) from Brain Traffic summarizes the challenges, solutions, and results prominently in the left column. It uses testimonials and headshots of the case study participants very effectively.
This case study from Adobe and Home Depot is a great example of combining video, attention-getting graphics, and long form writing. It also uses testimonials and headshots well.
Now that we’ve gone over the basics and showed a few great case study examples you can use as inspiration, let’s roll up our sleeves and get to work.
Let’s break down the structure of a compelling case study:
In this guide, we focus on written case studies. They’re affordable to create, and they have a proven track record. However, written case studies are just one of four case study formats to consider:
If you have the resources, video (like the Adobe and Home Depot example above) and podcast case studies can be very compelling. Hearing a client discuss in his or her own words how your company helped is an effective content marketing strategy
Infographic case studies are usually one-page images that summarize the challenge, proposed solution, and results. They tend to work well on social media.
The success story structure we’re using incorporates a “narrative” or “story arc” designed to suck readers in and captivate their interest.
Note: I recommend creating a blog post or landing page on your website that includes the text from your case study, along with a downloadable PDF. Doing so helps people find your content when they perform Google and other web searches.
There are a few simple SEO strategies that you can apply to your blog post that will optimize your chances of being found. I’ll include those tips below.
The headline should capture your audience’s attention quickly. Include the most important result you achieved, the client’s name, and your company’s name. Create several examples, mull them over a bit, then pick the best one. And, yes, this means writing the headline is done at the very end.
SEO Tip: Let’s say your firm provided “video editing services” and you want to target this primary keyword. Include it, your company name, and your client’s name in the case study title.
This is a mini-narrative using an abbreviated version of the Challenge + Solution + Results model (3-4 short paragraphs). Write this after you complete the case study.
SEO Tip: Include your primary keyword in the first paragraph of the Executive Summary.
Introduce your client to the reader and create context for the story.
Vividly describe the situation and problems the customer was dealing with, before working with you.
SEO Tip: To rank on page one of Google for our target keyword, review the questions listed in the “People also ask” section at the top of Google’s search results. If you can include some of these questions and their answers into your case study, do so. Just make sure they fit with the flow of your narrative.
Explain the product or service your company provided, and spell out how it alleviated the client’s problems. Recap how the solution was delivered and implemented. Describe any training needed and the customer’s work effort.
Detail what you accomplished for the customer and the impact your product/service made. Objective, measurable results that resonate with your target audience are best.
Share how your client might work with your company in the future.
Clearly detail what you want the reader to do at the end of your case study.
Include a “press release-like” description of your client’s organization, with a link to their website. For your printable document, add an “About” section with your contact information.
And that’s it. That’s the basic structure of any good case study.
Now, let’s go over how to get the information you’ll use in your case study.
One of the best parts of creating a case study is talking with your client about the experience. This is a fun and productive way to learn what your company did well, and what it can improve on, directly from your customer’s perspective.
Here are some suggestions for conducting great case study interviews:
Your sales and marketing team should know which clients are vocal advocates willing to talk about their experiences. Your customer service and technical support teams should be able to contribute suggestions.
Clients who are experts with your product/service make solid case study candidates. If you sponsor an online community, look for product champions who post consistently and help others.
When selecting a candidate, think about customer stories that would appeal to your target audience. For example, let’s say your sales team is consistently bumping into prospects who are excited about your solution, but are slow to pull the trigger and do business with you.
In this instance, finding a client who felt the same way, but overcame their reluctance and contracted with you anyway, would be a compelling story to capture and share.
If you’ve ever seen an Oprah interview, you’ve seen a master who can get almost anyone to open up and talk. Part of the reason is that she and her team are disciplined about planning.
Before conducting a case study interview, talk to your own team about the following:
Pro Tip: Tee up your client. Send them the questions in advance.
Providing questions to clients before the interview helps them prepare, gather input from other colleagues if needed, and feel more comfortable because they know what to expect.
In a moment, I’ll give you an exhaustive list of interview questions. But don’t send them all. Instead, pare the list down to one or two questions in each section and personalize them for your customer.
Decide how you’ll conduct the interview. Will you call the client, use Skype or Facetime, or meet in person? Whatever mode you choose, plan the process in advance.
Make sure you record the conversation. It’s tough to lead an interview, listen to your contact’s responses, keep the conversation flowing, write notes, and capture all that the person is saying.
A recording will make it easier to write the client’s story later. It’s also useful for other departments in your company (management, sales, development, etc.) to hear real customer feedback.
Use open-ended questions that spur your contact to talk and share. Here are some real-life examples:
During the interview, use your contact’s responses to guide the conversation.
Once the interview is complete, it’s time to write your case study.
Case study writing is not nearly as difficult as many people make it out to be. And you don’t have to be Stephen King to do professional work. Here are a few tips:
Also, make sure to do the following:
The more you can use your contact’s words to describe the engagement, the better. Weave direct quotes throughout your narrative.
Strive to be conversational when you’re writing case studies, as if you’re talking to a peer.
Include images in your case study that visually represent the content and break up the text. Photos of the company, your contact, and other employees are ideal.
If you need to incorporate stock photos, here are three resources:
And if you need more, check out Smart Blogger’s excellent resource: 17 Sites with High-Quality, Royalty-Free Stock Photos .
Make sure there are no grammar, spelling, or punctuation errors. If you need help, consider using a grammar checker tool like Grammarly .
My high school English teacher’s mantra was “tighten your writing.” She taught that impactful writing is concise and free of weak, unnecessary words . This takes effort and discipline, but will make your writing stronger.
Also, keep in mind that we live in an attention-diverted society. Before your audience will dive in and read each paragraph, they’ll first scan your work. Use subheadings to summarize information, convey meaning quickly, and pull the reader in.
Consider applying the following best practices to your case study:
After you have a final draft, send it to the client for review and approval. Incorporate any edits they suggest.
Use or modify the following “Consent to Publish” form to get the client’s written sign-off:
Consent to Publish
Case Study Title:
I hereby confirm that I have reviewed the case study listed above and on behalf of the [Company Name], I provide full permission for the work to be published, in whole or in part, for the life of the work, in all languages and all formats by [Company publishing the case study].
By signing this form, I affirm that I am authorized to grant full permission.
Company Name:
E-mail Address:
We’ll wrap things up with a quick Q&A. If you have a question I didn’t answer, be sure to leave it in a blog comment below.
Absolutely.
As we saw in the CurationSuite and Brain Traffic examples earlier, case studies get downloaded, printed, and shared. Prospects can and will judge your book by its cover.
So, make sure your printed case study is eye-catching and professionally designed. Hire a designer if necessary.
Case studies work because people trust them.
They’re not ads, they’re not press releases, and they’re not about how stellar your company is.
Plus, everyone likes spellbinding stories with a hero [your client], a conflict [challenges], and a riveting resolution [best solution and results].
After you’ve written your case study and received the client’s approval to use it, you’ll want to get it in front of as many eyes as possible.
Try the following:
If you want to stand out and you want to win business, case studies should be an integral part of your sales and marketing efforts.
Hopefully, this guide answered some of your questions and laid out a path that will make it faster and easier for your team to create professional, sales-generating content.
Now it’s time to take action and get started. Gather your staff, select a client, and ask a contact to participate. Plan your interview and lead an engaging conversation. Write up your client’s story, make them shine, and then share it.
Get better at the case study process by doing it more frequently. Challenge yourself to write at least one case study every two months.
As you do, you’ll be building a valuable repository of meaningful, powerful content. These success stories will serve your business in countless ways, and for years to come.
Content Marketing
Written by todd brehe, latest from the blog.
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by Denis Dennehy
Cynthia is a newly hired software developer at MainFrame, which uses Scrum to manage projects. But she agrees with her coworkers that the company’s methodical and deliberate pace is inferior to the quicker, more loosely structured approach of her previous employer, which used Flow. So when a colleague approaches her and asks her to use her impressive background and credentials to advocate for Flow, Cynthia agrees. But after her pilot project produces mixed results, she wonders whether she should proceed with a presentation to the process-improvement board.
Two experts weigh in: Sonali Raut, a senior data scientist at Munich RE Automation Solutions, and Alex Estevam, a technical program manager at Mastercard.
Cynthia Ramos just wanted to grab her pasta salad from the communal refrigerator and eat at her desk, but instead she got sucked into another exchange with Jim Miller. Since she’d joined MainFrame as a software developer, six months earlier, every conversation with Jim had been about what a hindrance the company’s project-management system was. On her very first day—in a roomful of new colleagues—he’d asked whether her former employer had used Scrum. 1 When she’d said no, he’d chuckled and said, “You might regret leaving to come here!”
This page provides an overview of the various case studies available from Scrum.org. These case studies demonstrate successful transforming organizations, uses of Scrum, Nexus, Evidence-Based Management and more. Read them to understand where people and teams have struggled and how they have overcome their struggles.
Scaling scrum, successfully implementing scrum, scrum outside of software.
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The case study library highlights how organizations are implementing project management practices to fulfill business initiatives and overcome challenges. ... Our collection of featured case studies highlights how organizations are implementing project management practices and using PMI products, programs or services to fulfill business ...
The result was an increase in the utilization by 6%, doubling of new clients, tripling of the company size, and seamless support through business growth. 4. Metova Increases Billable Utilization by 10% With Mavenlink. If you are looking for a project planning case study, Metova can be the right example.
The Opera House stands as a symbol of perseverance and successful project management in the face of humankind. 2. The Airbus A380 Project. The Airbus A380 Project is a project management case study showcasing the challenges encountered during developing and producing the world's largest commercial aircraft.
To ensure you're making the most of your case studies, we've put together 15 real-life case study examples to inspire you. These examples span a variety of industries and formats. We've also included best practices, design tips and templates to inspire you. Let's dive in!
For example, the case study quotes the social media manager and project manager's insights regarding team-wide communication and access before explaining in greater detail. Takeaway: Highlight pain points your business solves for its client, and explore that influence in greater detail. 3. EndeavourX and Figma.
The Lenovo case study does a great job of consolidating all of this into a relatable journey that other enterprise organizations can see themselves taking, despite the project size. This case study also features descriptive headers and compelling visual elements that engage the reader and strengthen the content. Tata Consulting
Case study examples. Case studies are proven marketing strategies in a wide variety of B2B industries. Here are just a few examples of a case study: Amazon Web Services, Inc. provides companies with cloud computing platforms and APIs on a metered, pay-as-you-go basis. This case study example illustrates the benefits Thomson Reuters experienced ...
To save you time and effort, I have curated a list of 5 versatile case study presentation templates, each designed for specific needs and audiences. Here are some best case study presentation examples that showcase effective strategies for engaging your audience and conveying complex information clearly. 1. Lab report case study template.
By delving into project management case studies, we can uncover valuable insights and lessons from successful projects. Understanding the basics of project management, recognizing its importance, and following established processes and methodologies sets the stage for achieving project goals efficiently. Whether you choose a traditional ...
Learn what a case study is, when to use it, and how to conduct one. Find out the advantages, disadvantages, and steps of case study research design with examples and tips.
Learn from real-world project management examples of how to plan, execute, and deliver successful projects. See how different industries and organizations use project management software, frameworks, and strategies to achieve their goals.
Why Our Project Management Tools Don't Matter. As project managers, it's easy to fall in love with one tool and let it…. Michael Luchen. 6. Love4. Learn from PMs running real projects— these project management case studies provide a rare glimpse into real projects, with detailed metrics and processes.
The case study method is a proven practice to document real organizational situations and to share lessons learned. It is also a platform to advance the understanding of new methodologies and an approach to knowledge management. By using real experiences, project management practitioners can illustrate the links between the theoretical and ...
2. Tell it Effectively. Make the format easier to understand on the first reading. Include the description of the client and their problem, the project's objectives, how you came about the case, and the results. Indicate the challenges and your solutions, and how the project was received by the clients.
A case study's outcome is typically to share the story of a company's growth or highlight the increase of metrics the company tracks to understand success. The case study includes an analysis of a campaign or project that goes through a few steps from identifying the problem to how you implemented the solution. How to Write a Case Study
The length of a case study will vary depending on the complexity of the project or topic discussed. However, as a general guideline, case studies typically range from 500 to 1,500 words. Whatever length you choose, it should provide a clear understanding of the challenge, the solution you implemented, and the results achieved.
Visme's case study templates: With a free login, you can access and customize some of Visme's case study templates. Storydoc's case study templates and design tips: Use Storydoc's case study templates to create and customize a great story with a 14-day free trial. Use these case study examples & tips to get started with your own
Think of your case study the same way. If someone scrolls through your case study and only reads the little 1-2 sentence captions, they should still understand your project. Focus on the captions first, and then fill in any lengthier content. An image from Liz Well's portfolio. Check out lizvwells.com to see case studies done right. 3.
A case study is a document that focuses on a business problem and provides a clear solution. Marketers use case studies to tell a story about a customer's journey or how a product or service solves a specific issue. Case studies can be used in all levels of business and in many industries. A thorough case study often uses metrics, such as key ...
The five case studies listed below are well-written, well-designed, and incorporate a time-tested structure. 1. Lane Terralever and Pinnacle at Promontory. This case study example from Lane Terralever incorporates images to support the content and effectively uses subheadings to make the piece scannable. 2.
Case Study: Should I Pitch a New Project-Management System? A newly hired software developer considers recommending changes at an established tech company. Summary. Cynthia is a newly hired ...
Case Studies. This page provides an overview of the various case studies available from Scrum.org. These case studies demonstrate successful transforming organizations, uses of Scrum, Nexus, Evidence-Based Management and more. Read them to understand where people and teams have struggled and how they have overcome their struggles.
Background. The following case study illustrates how the Predicted Crash Frequency with CMF Adjustment method has been used to explicitly consider the safety impacts of opportunities during the Value Engineering (VE) process. Specifically, it focuses on the quantification of safety in the evaluation phase when safety is a project factor and crash frequency is the related performance measure.