it project case studies

Top 20 Project Management Case Studies [With Examples]

Project management case study analyses showcase and compare real-life project management processes and systems scenarios. These studies shed light on the common challenges that project managers encounter on a daily basis. This helps project managers develop effective strategies, overcome obstacles, and achieve successful results. 

By leveraging project management case studies , organisations can optimise their operations by providing insights into the most effective approaches. With effective implementation of these case studies, strategies, and methodologies, ensuring successful project completion is achievable.

Criteria for Selection of Top 20 Case Studies

The top 20 case studies are selected based on significance, impact, challenges, project management strategies, and overall success. They provide diverse insights and lessons for project managers and organisations.

1. The Sydney Opera House Project

The Sydney Opera House Project is an iconic example of project management case studies as it faced multiple challenges during its construction phase. Despite facing leadership changes, budget overruns, and design failures, the project persevered and was completed in 1973, a decade later than planned. 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. The project experienced massive delays and impacted costs of more than $6 billion, with several issues arising from the manufacturing and delivery process, outsourcing, and project coordination. 

However, the Airbus A380 was successfully launched through carefully planned project management strategies, delivering a world-class aircraft that met customer expectations.

3. The Panama Canal Expansion Project 

The Panama Canal Expansion Project serves as a compelling case study, illustrating the management’s encounters in expanding the capacity of the Panama Canal. The project included multiple stakeholders, technological innovations, environmental concerns, and safety challenges. 

4. The Boston Central Artery/Tunnel Project

The Boston Central Artery/Tunnel Project serves as a project management case study of a large-scale underground tunnel construction project. It successfully addressed traffic congestion and was completed in 2007. The project was completed in 2007, with numerous hurdles delaying progress like complexity, technology failure, ballooning budgets, media scrutiny, etc.

5. The London 2012 Olympics Project

The London 2012 Olympics Project stands as a successful project management case study, showcasing the management of a large-scale international sporting event. This project involved the construction of a new sports infrastructure, event logistics and security concerns. The project was successfully accomplished, delivering a world-class event that captivated the audience.

6. The Hoover Dam Bypass Project

The Hoover Dam Bypass Project was a construction project in the United States of America that intended to alleviate traffic from the Hoover Dam by building a new bridge. Completed in 2010, the bridge spans across the Colorado River, connecting Arizona and Nevada and offers a safer and more efficient route for motorists.

7. The Golden Gate Bridge Seismic Retrofit Project

The Golden Gate Bridge Seismic Retrofit Project is a case study example constructed in San Francisco, California. Its objective was to enhance the bridge’s resilience against earthquakes and aftershocks. Completed in 2012, the project included the installation of shock absorbers and other seismic upgrades to ensure the bridge’s safety and functionality in the event of a major earthquake.

8. The Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macau Bridge Project

The Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macau Bridge Project is a massive case study that intends to connect Hong Kong, Zhuhai and Macau with a bridge-tunnel system of 55 kilometres. Completed in 2018, the project required massive funds, investments and innovative engineering solutions, providing a new transport link and boosting regional connectivity.

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9. The Panama Papers Investigation Project

The Panama Papers Investigation Project is a global case study of journalistic investigations into offshore tax havens. It involved leaked documents from Mossack Fonseca, a Panamanian law firm. Coordinated by the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists, the project resulted in major political and financial repercussions worldwide, garnering widespread media attention.

10. The Apple iPhone Development Project

The Apple iPhone Development Project started in 2004, aiming to create a groundbreaking mobile device. In 2007, the iPhone transformed the industry with its innovative touchscreen interface, sleek design, and advanced features. This project involved significant research, development, marketing, and supply chain management investments.

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11. The Ford Pinto Design and Launch Project

The Ford Pinto Design and Launch Project was a developmental project intended to create an affordable, fuel-efficient subcompact car. Launched in 1971, because of its fuel tank design, it became infamous for safety issues. The project was rigged for ethical and safety concerns, lawsuits, and recalls.

12. The Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill Response Project

The Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill Response Project was a response to the largest oil spill in US history, caused by an offshore drilling rig explosion in 2010. This crisis response project utilised a waterfall project management approach, where the project team followed a pattern of planning, executing, monitoring, and closing phases. 

13. The NASA Challenger Space Shuttle Disaster Project

  The NASA Challenger Disaster Project was a tragic space exploration mission in 1986, resulting in the loss of all seven crew members. Extensive investigations revealed design and safety flaws as the cause. This disaster prompted NASA to address decision-making processes and improve safety cultures.

14. The Three Gorges Dam Project

  The Three Gorges Dam Project was a large-scale infrastructure project developed in China that aimed to build the world’s largest hydroelectric dam on the Yangtze River. Completed in 2012, it encountered environmental, social, and engineering challenges. The dam currently offers power generation, flood control, and improved navigation, but it has also resulted in ecological and cultural consequences.

15. The Big Dig Project in Boston

The Big Dig Project was a transportation infrastructure project in Boston, Massachusetts, intended to replace an old elevated highway with a newer tunnel system. Completed in 2007, it serves as one of the most complex and costly construction endeavours in US history. Despite facing many delays, cost overruns and engineering challenges, the project successfully improved traffic flow and urban aesthetics but also resulted in accidents, lawsuits, and financial burdens.

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16. The Uber Disruptive Business Model Project

  The Uber Disruptive Business Model Project was a startup that introduced a new ride business model that disrupted the taxi-cab industry by connecting riders with drivers via a mobile app. Launched in 2010, this project required innovative technology, marketing and regulatory strategies and faced legal actions and ethical challenges related to labour, safety, and competition. Uber has since then dominated the market with its ride-sharing business plan.

17. The Netflix Original Content Development Project

The Netflix Original Content Development Project was an initiative created to launch its original content for its platform. This launch by the online streaming giant in 2012 was a huge success for the company. The project required huge investments in content creation, distribution and marketing and resulted in award-winning shows and films that redefined the entire entertainment industry’s business model.

18. The Tesla Electric Car Project

The Tesla Electric Car Project was a revolutionary project that aimed to compete for its electric vehicles with gasoline-powered vehicles. The project required a strong project management plan that incorporated innovation, sustainability, and stakeholder engagement, resulting in the successful launch of the Tesla Roadster in 2008 and subsequent models. Tesla has one-handedly revolutionised the entire automobile industry on its own. 

19. The Johnson & Johnson Tylenol Crisis Management Project:

The Johnson & Johnson Tylenol Crisis Management Project was a case study in crisis management in 1982. The project required quick and effective decision-making skills, stakeholder communication, and ethical leadership in response to the tampering of Tylenol capsules that led to deaths. 

20. The Airbnb Online Marketplace Platform Project  

The Airbnb Online Marketplace Platform Project was a startup that created an online platform which connected travellers with hosts offering short-term rental accommodations in flights. The project required innovative technology, user experience design and stakeholder management. Airbnb’s success has led to the disruption of the hospitality industry and inspired many other project case study examples of sharing economy platforms.

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Future Developments in Project Management

Future developments in project management include all the insights on the increased use of artificial intelligence, agile methodologies, hybrid project management approaches, and emphasis on sustainability and social responsibility, along with many more developing ideas that will address the evolving market innovations. 

Key Takeaways from the Case Studies

The project management case study examples illustrate real-life examples and the importance of project management in achieving project success. The cases show the use of innovative technologies, tools, techniques, stakeholder engagement, crisis management, and agile methodologies. 

Project Management also highlights the role of ethical leadership and social responsibility in project management. To learn more and more about case studies, upGrad, India’s leading education platform, has offered an Advanced General Management Program from IMT Ghaziabad that will equip you with in-demand management skills to keep up with the changing trends!

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Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

Project Management is extensive planning, executing, monitoring and closing of a project before its deadline. Project management ensures accuracy and efficiency across all organs of a project, right from its inception to its completion.

Project Management case studies are real-life examples of projects to put an insight into all the tools, techniques and methodologies it provides.

The role of a project manager is to ensure that all day-to-day responsibilities are being met by the resources deployed in a certain project. They have the authority to manage as well as lead the functioning members as well.

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Home / Resources / ISACA Journal / Issues / 2021 / Volume 5 / Technology Modernization Digital Transformation Readiness and IT Cost Savings

Case study: technology modernization, digital transformation readiness and it cost savings.

“Digital Distinction” is a major trend for growing, medium-sized organizations, with growth requiring a well-executed digital platform enabled by foresight, leadership and accountability that helps ensure that societal needs are addressed with limited input resources. 1

This digital distinction story was performed with limited resources in a multiservice urban Aboriginal agency (the Agency) providing holistic, culture-based programs and services for Aboriginal children and families. The Agency strives to provide a life of quality, well-being, healing, and self-determination for children and families in the Toronto, Ontario, Canada, urban Aboriginal community by implementing a service model that is culture based and respects the values of Aboriginal people, the extended family and the right to self-determination.

The Agency faced considerable technology challenges at the start of the pandemic-induced lockdowns. The mandatory move to a remote service model stressed the existing IT infrastructure to such an extent that it exposed issues such as network bottlenecks, Wi-Fi interruptions and landline unreliability, all of which compromised the ability of social workers to perform their duties. It had become evident to management that the Agency needed significant digital transformation as part of the journey toward the increasing virtualization of social services and a much-needed modernization of its base IT infrastructure.

To be effective, however, digital transformation must build on an IT foundation that ensures reliable and sustainable outcomes. While IT modernization is a necessary condition for digital transformation readiness, 2 it is not a sufficient condition. Readiness must identify and address all IT operating model gaps 3 before innovation; unfortunately, many organizations undertaking transformation are not ready for innovation. 4

An unprepared organization is likely to see its digital transformations flounder;

…barely one in eight are successful. Even worse, only 3 percent of … 1,733 business executives … report any success at sustaining the change required for successful digital transformation…. 5

Thus, the Agency needed improved digital capabilities to support its growth and to increase its agility in response to the pandemic, so it engaged an experienced digital transformation consultancy with one executive from the group serving in the role of interim chief information officer (CIO).

The CIO title of the 1980s 6 has evolved to become one of vision as part of enterprise strategy, of managing risk as part of enterprise risk and of managing a governed high-performance team to sustain today’s ever more complex IT ecosystems. The modern CIO creates new operating models and helps the organization become data-driven. 7 The CIO takes the organization forward “… in ways that extract the maximum value from the information on hand…to make better decisions, faster” 8 as articulated in the new data strategy.

This case study articulates all the listed requirements of the modern CIO from vision to risk management to creating high performance teams as part of IT operating model modernization. Furthermore, down the road, there will be sufficient material for a future case study to document the path of the organization to achieving fit-for-purpose data for data-driven decision-making and improved reporting efficiency.

THE AGENCY’S INTERIM CIO’S FIRST STEP WAS…TO ESTABLISH THE ORGANIZATION’S CURRENT STATE TO DETERMINE ITS STATE OF READINESS FOR THE REQUIRED DIGITAL TRANSFORMATION.

The challenge: assessing the current state.

One cannot create a strategy without knowing the current state. The Agency’s interim CIO’s first step was, therefore, to establish the organization’s current state to determine its state of readiness for the required digital transformation. While tools facilitating readiness include staff surveys, 9 benchmarking and determining the business case for IT change, a survey was selected as the right tool to learn about the organization’s IT challenges (what the users experience), its IT priorities (what the users want fixed first) and its IT value chain performance (how IT creates value for the organization) through the lens of four different levels of stakeholders. The survey was distributed to staff at all levels; the output presented an end-user view of the organization’s current state.

The four key findings from the survey across these categories were:

• The organization’s executives had different perceptions of the frequency of the top IT challenges compared to the rest of the staff complement ( figure 1 ). This could be given that they were more aware of the negative impact of various IT failures on their mandate.
• The frontline staff were the most supportive of prioritizing all of the top items compared to management, who saw the priorities differently ( figure 2 ). This highlights the importance of engaging with people most actively using technology and not to depend only on management feedback for insights in this respect.
• The supervisor level experienced the severity of most of the shortcomings along the IT value chain ( figure 3 ).
• One of the major challenges experienced by end users was that it took too long for IT to fix IT issues, with users perceiving that it was getting worse. The same held for the network; network reliability was decreasing ( figure 4 ).

The fact that the survey highlighted IT challenges such as poor service request and incident management (the service desk item in figure 1 ) is more important than it may seem at first glance. As part of the journey to making IT more approachable and customer-centric, it is important that the service desk works flawlessly, as it is a major driver of staff (customer) satisfaction, which, incidentally, should be a key IT metric for any CIO.

A comparison of the actual ratio with the benchmark ratios above confirmed a historical underinvestment in IT. Reducing underinvestment in IT and addressing the associated risk areas while building future IT capabilities should be high, not only on the CIO’s agenda via IT governance, but on the board’s agenda, given the implications for enterprise governance.

The Solution: Addressing the Priority Current State Shortcomings

As a result of the current state findings, the CIO reconsidered improvements and developments that may impact the entire IT operating model. A restitution strategy was developed to address as many of the identified priority shortcomings as possible in the shortest possible time.

ADDRESSING THE NETWORK SHORTCOMINGS REQUIRED SIGNIFICANT PLANNING AND ACTIVITY, GIVEN THAT THE NETWORK WOULD NEED TO BE MODERNIZED WHILE THE AGENCY WAS STILL PERFORMING ITS MANDATE.

Restitution is about partnerships, though, another modern CIO imperative. Non-IT senior leaders are just as accountable for decisions and the delivery of ongoing IT services. 12 In other words, restitution is an organizational challenge rather than only an IT challenge, a fact that impacted the nature of the stakeholders identified to oversee the initiative. The more a CIO engages in stakeholder relationships with the goal of forging partnerships, the more effective the broad diversity of IT initiatives within the CIO’s portfolio must almost automatically become.

In this case, restitution was performed in 1) a technology stream and 2) an IT governance stream. (A data governance stream was also recently introduced but will not be explored further here.) The relationship between the CIO and IT governance took a major leap forward a decade ago when it was explicitly considered in South Africa’s King III code for corporate governance. 13 However, more than five years later, the focus still tended to be on the use of IT in regulation and compliance, 14 rather than being about the organizational performance and value creation mechanism it is meant to be.

Aligned with digital transformation principles, specifically around the operating model readiness, 15 restitution was not only about technology, but also about other important components of the organization’s operating model, such as people, process and governance.

Technology Stream

From the current state analysis, the Agency’s legacy technology landscape suffered extended maintenance, support, integration, security, and agility risk and constraints. Technology modernization projects ( figure 5 ) were identified for the Agency to address these issues while also addressing most of the user-defined IT priorities identified in the survey.

One of the CIO’s primary objectives was to measure the benefits of each IT intervention, whether they be through enhanced activity, cost savings, risk mitigation or potentially even revenue generation. Cost and activity benefits, where the interventions are complete, are highlighted for the various interventions the Agency undertook.

Network Remediation The annual operating cost of the Agency’s new network is 48 percent of the cost of the old network—savings driven largely by deploying a modern network technology with standardizing network devices using a modern network protocol.

The old network had nonstandard devices that were unmaintained, outdated with no active support, not configured according to industry best practices and had no redundancy. Furthermore, it suffered bottlenecks, single points of failure and cybersecurity vulnerabilities, with costly management implications.

Addressing the network shortcomings required significant planning and activity, given that the network would need to be modernized while the Agency was still performing its mandate. It involved an initial network discovery process that, for example, identified Internet Protocol (IP) addresses, the devices linked to the IP addresses, the functions and roles of various servers, the portfolio of critical applications, and network-based processes that needed to be mapped out and well understood. Backout plans and vendor escalation processes were created. Replacing more than 50 switches and several firewalls within a 36-hour window was challenging, especially for a new network topology in an overall process that took up to a year when including the planning and vendor identification/selection processes.

Network remediation addressed technical cybersecurity vulnerabilities, fault tolerance and failover readiness with redundancy. It also provided greater bandwidth, scalability and manageability, with Software-Defined Wide Area Network (SD-WAN) technology proving to be more secure and providing higher performance compared to the Multiprotocol Label Switching (MPLS) technology it replaced. While bandwidth demand tripled during the pandemic, it was all reliably and seamlessly accommodated within the new network architecture.

Strategically, the organization seeks to share its IT environment with smaller social services agencies that might be insufficiently funded to develop appropriately functional IT platforms. The Platform as a Service (PaaS) aspiration required a network architecture designed to handle traffic at scale and the recognition that an additional network engineer would be needed to bring this aspiration to life.

Human Productivity Tools The annual operating cost of the Agency’s new human productivity tools (HPTs) is 39 percent of the cost of the old HPTs.

The old portfolio of HPTs was a disparate set of vendor solutions that were difficult to support, offered relatively little functionality, challenged the implementation of integrated security, and were costly to manage.

A key consideration was to ensure that all data stayed within Canada. A hybrid approach was followed leveraging Active Directory Federation Services (AD FS) with Azure that allowed for failover from on-premises to the cloud, while moving all users’ mailboxes and enabling the additional functionality into production. This parallel process took six months from planning and vendor identification to deployment.

The Agency’s new Software as a Service (SaaS) HPT offered vast improvements in functionality across multiple end-user devices, such as facilitating engagement and teamwork; application interoperability; and facilitating a single approach to cybersecurity by means of integrated identity and access management. This deployment is a critical lever for successful digital transformation given benefits such as performance, scalability, security, and reliable and integrated support from the vendor. 16

Case Management A single case management system to integrate the agency’s two case management systems was identified ( figure 5 ). Two systems were deployed as a means to address the data collection shortcomings in each. To address this, a thorough business requirements document (BRD) will be created to facilitate a request for proposal (RFP) process to identify whether an integrated case management tool is available. (This will not be discussed further as it is a separate, significantly larger project that has only recently been instantiated.)

Document Management A document and content management system— coupled with appropriate workflows and governance—was needed to manage the intranet; perform as a repository for digitized, historical paper-based case files; perform document management; and provide a basis for operational metadata management and the organization’s data dictionary. A feasible tool and functionality was included in the software package provided for the HPT stream, coming in as a cost saving relative to the next best alternative. A decision was taken to use this tool given this cost benefit. A configuration and deployment plan was not yet in place at the time of writing.

Incident Management An incident management tool had been deployed at the Agency but without supporting processes or governance. There was no ticket escalation process, no ticket auto-allocation process and no feedback loop to the requester that a ticket had been received. The following were established as part of the Agency’s IT department’s emerging ITIL- alignment aspirations to improve incident management performance:

• Defined incident management processes
• Defined incident management responsibilities
• Feedback loops with workflows
• Service-level agreement (SLA)-driven ticket auto-escalation

The operational impact of these changes is evident in figure 6 . Within seven months after implementation and as the subject of continuous improvement during that time and beyond, the average ticket closing time had decreased from 34 days to three days according to the system logs, and the average ticket assignment time had decreased from 140 minutes to nine minutes according to the same logs. There are further initiatives to use more of the functionality of the selected tool in the future.

Additional service desk functionality deployed at the Agency includes IT asset management and a configuration management database.

THE ANNUAL OPERATING COST OF THE AGENCY’S NEW MONITORING AND PATCHING SYSTEM IS 30 PERCENT OF THE COST OF THE OLD VENDOR SOLUTION.

Monitoring and Patching System The annual operating cost of the Agency’s new monitoring and patching system is 30 percent of the cost of the old vendor solution.

Driven by continuity risk factors such as poor outage monitoring and alerting, poor device monitoring, and poor vendor responsiveness, as well as cybersecurity risk factors such as poor patching, the Agency sought and deployed a tool to fulfill these requirements with remote management capability.

The technology was selected based on a review of this specific technology landscape according to various IT research organizations. Then, deploying the monitoring tool required making changes to the firewall to allow agents to communicate. Furthermore, a cache server was set up to reduce the bandwidth implications of all the computers in the Agency requiring similar updates, thereby reducing the possibility of network congestion. Planning, vendor identification and deployment took less than three months.

Cloud The annual operating cost of the Agency’s new cloud data center is 45 percent of the cost of the on-premises data center, driven by the higher support and equipment costs of maintaining an on-premises environment.

THE ANNUAL OPERATING COST OF THE AGENCY’S NEW CLOUD DATA CENTER IS 45 PERCENT OF THE COST OF THE ON-PREMISES DATA CENTER.

The Agency had historically entered into a five-year contract for its data center, with further expenditure required for power to eight servers, hosting facilities and equipment, an uninterruptible power supply, and management time for maintenance and management. The risk of the data center being an operational bottleneck was considerable. The real push for a work-in-progress cloud migration was driven by the pandemic.

The selection of the cloud vendor was based on a review of the findings by various IT research organizations and the need to ensure interoperability between the various tools that were about to be deployed in the cloud. For the software tools, a primary driver was the effectiveness of the solution to serve well in a Software as a Service (SaaS) paradigm, which will be the foundation for the type of incremental transformational functionality envisaged as a strategic driver of future IT at the Agency.

Configuring a cloud infrastructure requires configuration activities such as subscribing to the services, creating virtual machine(s), the virtual private network (VPN) and the VPN gateway. Additional services that were migrated to the cloud or deployed to the cloud include the HPTs, the monitoring and patching services, and the mail system. The planning, vendor identification and deployment was performed within four months.

The operational, scale and cost advantages of the cloud at a stated availability of 99.999 percent were implemented as a desirable alternative to on-premises services, given that the modern CIO’s role is to create an environment that facilitates on-demand technology and related services. 17 The potential of this migration for future Platform as a Service (PaaS) services, virtual computing, storage and on-demand functionality positions the organization well for an enhanced digital future.

Telephony Telephony depends on a stable network, and the organization is now ready to address its telephony shortcomings. An architecture and plan to migrate between the current state and the proposed state for telephony is being developed, with the major goals being scalability as part of the PaaS vision for the organization and redundancy, given, the always- on requirement of child welfare services.

Financial Summary IT underinvestment introduces significant risk and inefficiencies into an organization. The technology modernization stream not only addressed technology risk at the Agency, it also eliminated architectural inefficiencies and high-cost structures, as demonstrated by the annual cost savings achieved ( figure 7 ).

While cost savings of up to 13 percent are expected in technology modernization, 18 savings of 18 percent were realized.

IT Governance Stream

IT governance ensures that IT produces the value expected of it. While IT governance was introduced as a mechanism for CIO oversight of the technology deployments, less tangible activities were also established by means of the IT governance stream to help establish a vision for IT, to reduce IT risk and to extend the people capabilities of the IT department.

The following sections detail the measures taken to help ensure reduced-risk value delivery from IT.

Policies and Processes Procedural and cybersecurity-related updates were made to the Agency’s IT policy. Processes were also co-created with human resources (HR) (e.g., onboarding, offboarding) and with operations (e.g., IT-facilitated process design for the handling of all possibilities of incoming telephone calls) to ensure that handovers to IT and back to HR and operations were clear, and that people had been identified in the process to accept handovers.

If an operational process needs engagement with IT, operations must co-design the process with IT to manage expectations and to reduce operational risk. Failing to do this will result in failed processes, given no awareness or clarity of IT’s role in the process.

AS A RISK CONTROL, A PASSWORD VAULT WAS CREATED FOR ALL APPLICATION AND SYSTEM PASSWORDS, SUPPORTED BY A PROCESS THAT COULD BE ACCESSED BY THE EXECUTIVE TEAM IN AN EMERGENCY.

Risk Management Risk management is a key pillar of effective IT governance. Together with policies and procedures as a critical part of effective risk management, 19 IT implemented a risk management process—Identify, Assess, Respond, Control, Monitor—with a living risk register as a monitoring and communication tool as a means to help minimize potentially negative differences between expected IT outcomes and the actual IT outcomes. The process emphasized assigning responsibility for a risk control at the point where risk is realized. Periodic IT governance meetings were established as a means to monitor changes in IT environment risk and to monitor the effectiveness of the risk controls.

Key administrator passwords held in people’s heads was a major operational and sustainability risk. As a risk control, a password vault was created for all application and system passwords, supported by a process that could be accessed by the executive team in an emergency.

Structure and People People are the most critical part of IT because they determine whether something is done well. To effect and to sustain digital transformation, IT staff must have digital mindsets; 20 be inclined to testing and learning, innovation, and agility; 21 have diverse technology knowledge, deep data skills, rich process skills, and end-to-end mindsets that includes teamwork, courage, and change management. 22

Sustainable digital transformation, thus, requires “t- shaped” people—staff with deep knowledge of their areas of expertise and broad knowledge that they can apply to solve the types of new problems that emerge under transformation. 23 T-shaped people are especially important in small IT teams, where broad knowledge overlap mitigates the continuity risk of a small staff complement.

Digital transformation demands agility—people fluidly structuring around problems or challenges in cross-functional teams 24, 25 rather than constrained within traditional organizational structures. Compromising on IT competence has been described as a subtle and even a dangerous issue in digital transformation. 26

“Build the organization,” “run the organization” and “transform the organization” 27 was adopted as the IT structure paradigm. Bespoke definitions for “run the organization” and “build the organization” were developed to define their purpose and scope for the organization ( figure 8 ).

While the Agency’s IT organization managed day-to-day operations (run) and performed technology modernization projects (build) like those in figure 8 , it had unsustainable transformation. Given the organization’s growth and expansion aspirations, “transform the organization” was established as a full-time role, and an experienced leader was recruited to focus on strategy and architecture to help define the organization’s broader digital capabilities.

Strategy and Architecture The current state of the Agency was such that it had no clear IT strategy and no clear IT architecture. Many different applications had been acquired from a wide variety of vendors over time to serve specific point purposes but with no consideration for aspects such as architectural fit, integrated cybersecurity management and interoperability. The historical approach to IT tended to be tactical, with no consideration of how the tactical deployments would impact the Agency’s overall IT risk profile.

While this worked reasonably well in a low-stress IT environment, the diverse flaws in the approach quickly became apparent at the start of the pandemic—especially to end users who suffered service interruptions—when network volumes escalated significantly under work-from-home orders.

All interventions documented in the Technology Stream section were part of a significantly more architected approach—specifically around cybersecurity and interoperability—that included business cases as part of the supporting documentation and a comparison with next-best technology alternatives.

THE HISTORICAL APPROACH TO IT TENDED TO BE TACTICAL, WITH NO CONSIDERATION OF HOW THE TACTICAL DEPLOYMENTS WOULD IMPACT THE AGENCY’S OVERALL IT RISK PROFILE.

It is useful to note that unarchitected IT is a primary driver of technology debt; 28 an unwelcome gift to current IT management from former IT management as experienced in the Agency’s current IT state. While appropriate IT vendor diversity should be supported in the interest of good IT risk management, this should occur within a strategically architected framework. IT strategy and IT architecture can sustainably reduce IT risk and improve business continuity.

Data Governance Stream Digital transformation consumes data and produces more data that not only serves general reporting and decision-making, but also potentially serves government policy direction. While data were not initially identified as a problem at the Agency, a data strategy has been developed in response to some data issues identified ( figure 9 ), and in line with a vision for data for the organization. (The data strategy will not be covered further in this case study beyond the limited discussion that follows.)

CIOs strive for data consistency, data availability, information resource control and information flow visibility. 29 Not addressing data challenges results in delayed and/or incorrect data-driven decision- making and productivity compromises, and incurs unnecessary IT effort to resolve issues arising from bad data.

As a first step toward addressing data challenges, the Agency articulated its unique perspective of the drivers of a data culture as an output of a facilitated workshop series. Some of the behavioral considerations include:

• Mistrust about what data could communicate; could they show performance levels that are lower than perceived?
• That data have not been seen as something that can add value
• That data are removed from the people whose lives they represent
• That data capture is only seen as a necessary part of getting the job done, rather than as a vital part of the data value chain
• That data are not seen as distinct from IT, with operational and strategic best practices distinct from those applicable to data

It is important that ways to address these behavioral considerations are included in the organization’s data strategy. The implementation of the cultural aspect is an overarching workstream for the data work that needs to be performed over the upcoming years to create an environment rich in fit- for-purpose data. Overall, IT culture is the single greatest risk—and, therefore, critical success factor (CSF)—not only for IT governance, 30 but possibly for data governance, too.

Key Results and Benefits

As outlined, successful digital transformation requires the barriers to an effective digital strategy—processes, technology, people and governance, in that order 31 —to be addressed. Without a sound IT operating model foundation, digital transformation will exacerbate IT operating model shortcomings with predictable consequences. Figure 10 summarizes the major IT outcomes achieved. Note that the column “Technology and/or Governance Intervention” in the figure refers to the relevant item in the Technology Stream section or the Governance Stream section.

Figure 10 item 10 refers to technical cybersecurity vulnerabilities. However, the Desjardins breach in Canada 32, 33 is a shocking reminder of the scale of breach possible in the presence of even the best technological responses. People vulnerabilities are, thus, addressed through the newly established SOC at the Agency, mandated to address people matters such as cybersecurity training and to perform vendor due diligence. This closes the loop on the cybersecurity vulnerabilities identified as part of the network remediation workstream.

Other noteworthy outcomes include digital forms with workflows for efficient forms processing compared to paper forms, and improved secure video conferencing.

What Is Next?

With many of the primary activities in figure 10 having been achieved in six months across nearly 20 regional sites, there is still more work to do, with some of the major considerations being:

• Telephony, as discussed
• Case management, as discussed
• Laptop standardization, all staff
• Addressing stable and reliable power
• Modernizing the data infrastructure as the foundation required for the implementation of an organizationwide data strategy

DIGITAL DISTINCTION’ AND COST SAVINGS WERE ACHIEVED WITH LIMITED RESOURCES IN A LIMITED TIMEFRAME, AN UNUSUAL ACHIEVEMENT IRRESPECTIVE OF ORGANIZATION SIZE OR RESOURCES.

Of these, the data infrastructure will likely be the highest cost future intervention. This will require not only technology, but a full data operating model to support the growing day-to-day requirements for data and reporting in the organization. From a CIO perspective, formally aligned organizational strategy and IT strategy interventions ultimately help minimize digital strategy execution gaps, 34 the difference between what an organization aspires to achieve strategically, and what it actually achieves.

Organizations trust the CIO to ensure that the technology ecosystem is a functional and reliable enabler of the organization’s operations. 35 This means that the role has significant fiduciary responsibilities requiring high performing, t-shaped people. Digital transformation needs executive support and visibility, and credit is due to the head of the organization, the head of finance and administration, and the head of human resources (HR) for their encouragement during some of the darkest hours of this process. Thanks are due also to the extraordinary performance of a small, but mighty and highly motivated IT team willing to go so significantly beyond the extra mile for months on end.

This case study details the types of CIO leadership needed for digital transformation readiness and technology modernization, aligned with an approach published in ISACA ® Journal . 36 “Digital distinction” and cost savings were achieved with limited resources in a limited timeframe, an unusual achievement irrespective of organization size or resources. The organization is now positioned to increasingly redirect IT spend from operations to digital innovation 37 as reward for its courageous efforts.

1 El Tarabishy, A.; “The Top 10 Micro, Small, and Medium Enterprises Trends for 2021,” International Council for Small Business, 6 July 2020, https://icsb.org/toptrends2021 2 Avanade, “IT Modernization: Critical to Digital Transformation,” March 2017, https://www.avanade.com/-/media/asset/white-paper/avanade-it-modernization-whitepaper.pdf 3 Pearce, G.; “Digital Transformation Governance: What Boards Must Know,” Governance Institute of Australia, vol. 72, no. 5, 2020, https://www.governanceinstitute.com.au/resources/governance-directions/volume-72-number-5/digital-transformation-governance-what-boards-must-know/ 4 Bendor-Samuel, P.; “Four Guidelines for Success in Innovation in Digital Transformation,” Forbes , 23 July 2019, https://www.forbes.com/sites/peterbendorsamuel/2019/07/23/four-guidelines-for-success-in-innovation-in-digital-transformation/#61401a511aa9 5 Pearce, G.; “Attaining Digital Transformation Readiness,” ISACA ® Journal , vol. 1, 2020, https://www.isaca.org/archives 6 Rivier University Nashua, New Hampshire, USA, “The Growing Importance of a CIO in Today’s Evolving Business World,” Boston Business Journal , 16 March 2020, https://www.bizjournals.com/boston/news/2020/03/16/the-growing-importance-of-a-cio-in-today-s.html 7 Op cit McLaughlin 8 Op cit Rivier University 9 Ibid. 10 Morley, L.; “How Much Should a Company Spend on IT?,” Techvera, https://blog.techvera.com/company-it-spend 11 Avasant Research; “IT Spending as a Percentage of Revenue by Industry, Company Size, and Region,” Computer Economics , https://www.computereconomics.com/article.cfm?id=2626 12 CIO Journal , “The Role of Senior Leaders in IT Governance,” The Wall Street Journal , 22 June 2015, https://deloitte.wsj.com/articles/the-role-of-senior-leaders-in-it-governance-1434945783?tesla=y 13 IT Governance Network; “The CIO and IT Governance,” https://www.itgovernance.co.za/3/index.php/general-articles/176-the-cio-and-it-governance 14 De Haes, S.; A. Joshi; T. Huygh; S. Jansen; Board Level IT Governance Research Project , Antwerp Management School, Belgium, September 2016, https://assets.kpmg/content/dam/kpmg/be/pdf/2018/05/Corporate_Governance_Codes_and_Digital_leadership.pdf 15 Op cit Pearce, “Attaining Digital Transformation Readiness” 16 Sharma, A.; “Application Modernization: One of the Critical Levers of Digital Transformation,” CIO , 30 July 2020, https://cio.economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/strategy-and-management/application-modernization-one-of-the-critical-levers-of-digital-transformation/77253867 17 Dogan, C.; From the Basement to the Cloud: The Role of the CIO Over Four Decades , Deloitte Consulting, USA, 2018, https://www2.deloitte.com/content/dam/Deloitte/ar/Documents/technology/THE-ROLE-OF-THE-CIO-OVERF-OUR-DECADES.pdf 18 Op cit Avanade 19 Amadei, L.; “Why Policies and Procedures Matter,” Risk Management , 1 November 2016, http://www.rmmagazine.com/2016/11/01/why-policies-and-procedures-matter/ 20 Op cit Dogan 21 Annacone, A.; “The Four Types of Digital Transformation,” TechNexus on Linkedin, 19 June 2019, https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/4-types-digital-transformation-andrew-annacone/ 22 Davenport, T. H.; T. C. Redman; “Digital Transformation Comes Down to Talent in Four Key Areas,” Harvard Business Review , 21 May 2020, https://hbr.org/2020/05/digital-transformation-comes-down-to-talent-in-4-key-areas 23 Rowles, D.; T. Brown; Building Digital Culture , Kogan Page, United Kingdom, 2017 24 Ghosh, A.; “Digital Transformation of the Workplace,” India Inc., 19 November 2020, https://indiaincgroup.com/digital-transformation-of-the-workplace/ 25 Penfold, P.; “HR Strategies That Help Digital Transformation Succeed,” People Matters, 22 November 2019, https://www.peoplemattersglobal.com/article/hr-technology/hr-strategies-that-help-digital-transformation-succeed-23829 26 Op cit Rowles and Brown 27 Apptio, IT Financial Metrics Primer , USA, https://dsimg.ubm-us.net/envelope/151893/296392/1390318118_WP_-_Apptio_IT_Financial_Metrics_Primer.pdf 28 Dalal, V.; R. Patenge; K. Krishnakanthan; “Tech Debt: Reclaiming Tech Equity,” McKinsey Digital, 6 October 2020, https://www.mckinsey.com/business-functions/mckinsey-digital/our-insights/tech-debt-reclaiming-tech-equity# 29 Op cit Dogan 30 Pearce, G.; “The Sheer Gravity of Underestimating Culture as an IT Governance Risk,” ISACA Journal , vol. 3, 2019, https://www.isaca.org/archives 31 Op cit Pearce, “Attaining Digital Transformation Readiness” 32 The Canadian Press, “Desjardins Says Employee Who Stole Personal Data Also Accessed Credit Card Info,” BNN Bloomberg, 10 December 2019, https://www.bnnbloomberg.ca/desjardins-says-employee-who-stole-personal-data-also-accessed-credit-card-info-1.1360652 33 The Canadian Press, “Series of Gaps Allowed Massive Desjardins Data Breach, Privacy Watchdog Says,” CTV News, 14 December 2020, https://www.ctvnews.ca/business/series-of-gaps-allowed-massive-desjardins-data-breach-privacy-watchdog-says-1.5230179 34 Pearce, G.; “Digital Governance: Closing the Digital Strategy Execution Gap,” ISACA Journal , vol. 2, 2020, https://www.isaca.org/archives 35 Edelman, D. J.; “CIO in Focus: A Global Study,” USA, 2020, https://www.edelman.com/expertise/technology/cio-in-focus 36 Op cit Pearce, “Attaining Digital Transformation Readiness” 37 Halfteck, D.; “Six Steps to Ensure IT Readiness to Drive Digital Transformation,” Access IT Automation, 16 May 2019

Guy Pearce, CGEIT, CDPSE

Has served on governance boards in banking, financial services and a not-for-profit, and as chief executive officer (CEO) of a financial services organization. He has taken an active role in digital transformation since 1999, experiences that led him to create a digital transformation course for the University of Toronto School of Continuing Studies (Ontario, Canada) in 2019. Consulting in digital transformation and governance, Pearce shares more than a decade of experience in data governance and IT governance as an author and as a speaker. He was awarded the ISACA® 2019 Michael Cangemi Best Author award for contributions to IT governance, and he is chief digital officer and chief data officer at Convergence.Tech.

Richard Fullerton, AWS CSA, ITIL, MCAAA, VCP-DCV

Is the IT manager at Native Child and Family Services of Toronto, Ontario, Canada. He is a solutions-oriented IT professional with more than 20 years of experience in the organization and delivery of end-to-end IT projects involving data migrations, server upgrades and configurations, and enterprise-scale software and hardware installations. His areas of expertise include cloud (AWS, Azure, Office 365), virtualization (VMware, Hyper-V, Citrix), and identity and access management. Fullerton is an experienced technical team leader in matrix organizations. He is the recipient of multiple Distinguished Service and Project Leadership awards, and the recipient of a Service Excellence award.

Business growth

Marketing tips

16 case study examples (+ 3 templates to make your own)

I like to think of case studies as a business's version of a resume. It highlights what the business can do, lends credibility to its offer, and contains only the positive bullet points that paint it in the best light possible.

Imagine if the guy running your favorite taco truck followed you home so that he could "really dig into how that burrito changed your life." I see the value in the practice. People naturally prefer a tried-and-true burrito just as they prefer tried-and-true products or services.

To help you showcase your success and flesh out your burrito questionnaire, I've put together some case study examples and key takeaways.

What is a case study?

A case study is an in-depth analysis of how your business, product, or service has helped past clients. It can be a document, a webpage, or a slide deck that showcases measurable, real-life results.

For example, if you're a SaaS company, you can analyze your customers' results after a few months of using your product to measure its effectiveness. You can then turn this analysis into a case study that further proves to potential customers what your product can do and how it can help them overcome their challenges.

It changes the narrative from "I promise that we can do X and Y for you" to "Here's what we've done for businesses like yours, and we can do it for you, too."

16 case study examples 

While most case studies follow the same structure, quite a few try to break the mold and create something unique. Some businesses lean heavily on design and presentation, while others pursue a detailed, stat-oriented approach. Some businesses try to mix both.

There's no set formula to follow, but I've found that the best case studies utilize impactful design to engage readers and leverage statistics and case details to drive the point home. A case study typically highlights the companies, the challenges, the solution, and the results. The examples below will help inspire you to do it, too.

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People love a good farm-to-table coffee story, and boy am I one of them. But I've shared this case study with you for more reasons than my love of coffee. I enjoyed this study because it was written as though it was a letter.

In this case study, the founder of Volcanica Coffee talks about the journey from founding the company to personally struggling with learning and applying digital marketing to finding and enlisting AdRoll's services.

It felt more authentic, less about AdRoll showcasing their worth and more like a testimonial from a grateful and appreciative client. After the story, the case study wraps up with successes, milestones, and achievements. Note that quite a few percentages are prominently displayed at the top, providing supporting evidence that backs up an inspiring story.

Takeaway: Highlight your goals and measurable results to draw the reader in and provide concise, easily digestible information.

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This Airtable case study on Taylor Guitars comes as close as one can to an optimal structure. It features a video that represents the artistic nature of the client, highlighting key achievements and dissecting each element of Airtable's influence.

It also supplements each section with a testimonial or quote from the client, using their insights as a catalyst for the case study's narrative. 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.

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My favorite part of Figma's case study is highlighting why EndeavourX chose its solution. You'll notice an entire section on what Figma does for teams and then specifically for EndeavourX.

It also places a heavy emphasis on numbers and stats. The study, as brief as it is, still manages to pack in a lot of compelling statistics about what's possible with Figma.

Takeaway: Showcase the "how" and "why" of your product's differentiators and how they benefit your customers.

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Zapier's case study leans heavily on design, using graphics to present statistics and goals in a manner that not only remains consistent with the branding but also actively pushes it forward, drawing users' eyes to the information most important to them. 

The graphics, emphasis on branding elements, and cause/effect style tell the story without requiring long, drawn-out copy that risks boring readers. Instead, the cause and effect are concisely portrayed alongside the client company's information for a brief and easily scannable case study.

Takeaway: Lean on design to call attention to the most important elements of your case study, and make sure it stays consistent with your branding.

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In true OpenAI fashion, this case study is a block of text. There's a distinct lack of imagery, but the study features a narrated video walking readers through the product.

The lack of imagery and color may not be the most inviting, but utilizing video format is commendable. It helps thoroughly communicate how OpenAI supported Ironclad in a way that allows the user to sit back, relax, listen, and be impressed. 

Takeaway: Get creative with the media you implement in your case study. Videos can be a very powerful addition when a case study requires more detailed storytelling.

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GitHub's case study on Shopify is a light read. It addresses client pain points and discusses the different aspects its product considers and improves for clients. It touches on workflow issues, internal systems, automation, and security. It does a great job of representing what one company can do with GitHub.

To drive the point home, the case study features colorful quote callouts from the Shopify team, sharing their insights and perspectives on the partnership, the key issues, and how they were addressed.

Takeaway: Leverage quotes to boost the authoritativeness and trustworthiness of your case study. 

7 . .css-yjptlz-Link{all:unset;box-sizing:border-box;-webkit-text-decoration:underline;text-decoration:underline;cursor:pointer;-webkit-transition:all 300ms ease-in-out;transition:all 300ms ease-in-out;outline-offset:1px;-webkit-text-fill-color:currentColor;outline:1px solid transparent;}.css-yjptlz-Link[data-color='ocean']{color:#3d4592;}.css-yjptlz-Link[data-color='ocean']:hover{color:#2b2358;}.css-yjptlz-Link[data-color='ocean']:focus{color:#3d4592;outline-color:#3d4592;}.css-yjptlz-Link[data-color='white']{color:#fffdf9;}.css-yjptlz-Link[data-color='white']:hover{color:#a8a5a0;}.css-yjptlz-Link[data-color='white']:focus{color:#fffdf9;outline-color:#fffdf9;}.css-yjptlz-Link[data-color='primary']{color:#3d4592;}.css-yjptlz-Link[data-color='primary']:hover{color:#2b2358;}.css-yjptlz-Link[data-color='primary']:focus{color:#3d4592;outline-color:#3d4592;}.css-yjptlz-Link[data-color='secondary']{color:#fffdf9;}.css-yjptlz-Link[data-color='secondary']:hover{color:#a8a5a0;}.css-yjptlz-Link[data-color='secondary']:focus{color:#fffdf9;outline-color:#fffdf9;}.css-yjptlz-Link[data-weight='inherit']{font-weight:inherit;}.css-yjptlz-Link[data-weight='normal']{font-weight:400;}.css-yjptlz-Link[data-weight='bold']{font-weight:700;} Audible and Contentful

Contentful's case study on Audible features almost every element a case study should. It includes not one but two videos and clearly outlines the challenge, solution, and outcome before diving deeper into what Contentful did for Audible. The language is simple, and the writing is heavy with quotes and personal insights.

This case study is a uniquely original experience. The fact that the companies in question are perhaps two of the most creative brands out there may be the reason. I expected nothing short of a detailed analysis, a compelling story, and video content. 

Takeaway: Inject some brand voice into the case study, and create assets that tell the story for you.

8 . .css-yjptlz-Link{all:unset;box-sizing:border-box;-webkit-text-decoration:underline;text-decoration:underline;cursor:pointer;-webkit-transition:all 300ms ease-in-out;transition:all 300ms ease-in-out;outline-offset:1px;-webkit-text-fill-color:currentColor;outline:1px solid transparent;}.css-yjptlz-Link[data-color='ocean']{color:#3d4592;}.css-yjptlz-Link[data-color='ocean']:hover{color:#2b2358;}.css-yjptlz-Link[data-color='ocean']:focus{color:#3d4592;outline-color:#3d4592;}.css-yjptlz-Link[data-color='white']{color:#fffdf9;}.css-yjptlz-Link[data-color='white']:hover{color:#a8a5a0;}.css-yjptlz-Link[data-color='white']:focus{color:#fffdf9;outline-color:#fffdf9;}.css-yjptlz-Link[data-color='primary']{color:#3d4592;}.css-yjptlz-Link[data-color='primary']:hover{color:#2b2358;}.css-yjptlz-Link[data-color='primary']:focus{color:#3d4592;outline-color:#3d4592;}.css-yjptlz-Link[data-color='secondary']{color:#fffdf9;}.css-yjptlz-Link[data-color='secondary']:hover{color:#a8a5a0;}.css-yjptlz-Link[data-color='secondary']:focus{color:#fffdf9;outline-color:#fffdf9;}.css-yjptlz-Link[data-weight='inherit']{font-weight:inherit;}.css-yjptlz-Link[data-weight='normal']{font-weight:400;}.css-yjptlz-Link[data-weight='bold']{font-weight:700;} Zoom and Asana

Asana's case study on Zoom is longer than the average piece and features detailed data on Zoom's growth since 2020. Instead of relying on imagery and graphics, it features several quotes and testimonials. 

It's designed to be direct, informative, and promotional. At some point, the case study reads more like a feature list. There were a few sections that felt a tad too promotional for my liking, but to each their own burrito.

Takeaway: Maintain a balance between promotional and informative. You want to showcase the high-level goals your product helped achieve without losing the reader.

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I've always been a fan of Mailchimp's comic-like branding, and this case study does an excellent job of sticking to their tradition of making information easy to understand, casual, and inviting.

It features a short video that briefly covers Hickies as a company and Mailchimp's efforts to serve its needs for customer relationships and education processes. Overall, this case study is a concise overview of the partnership that manages to convey success data and tell a story at the same time. What sets it apart is that it does so in a uniquely colorful and brand-consistent manner.

Takeaway: Be concise to provide as much value in as little text as possible.

10. .css-yjptlz-Link{all:unset;box-sizing:border-box;-webkit-text-decoration:underline;text-decoration:underline;cursor:pointer;-webkit-transition:all 300ms ease-in-out;transition:all 300ms ease-in-out;outline-offset:1px;-webkit-text-fill-color:currentColor;outline:1px solid transparent;}.css-yjptlz-Link[data-color='ocean']{color:#3d4592;}.css-yjptlz-Link[data-color='ocean']:hover{color:#2b2358;}.css-yjptlz-Link[data-color='ocean']:focus{color:#3d4592;outline-color:#3d4592;}.css-yjptlz-Link[data-color='white']{color:#fffdf9;}.css-yjptlz-Link[data-color='white']:hover{color:#a8a5a0;}.css-yjptlz-Link[data-color='white']:focus{color:#fffdf9;outline-color:#fffdf9;}.css-yjptlz-Link[data-color='primary']{color:#3d4592;}.css-yjptlz-Link[data-color='primary']:hover{color:#2b2358;}.css-yjptlz-Link[data-color='primary']:focus{color:#3d4592;outline-color:#3d4592;}.css-yjptlz-Link[data-color='secondary']{color:#fffdf9;}.css-yjptlz-Link[data-color='secondary']:hover{color:#a8a5a0;}.css-yjptlz-Link[data-color='secondary']:focus{color:#fffdf9;outline-color:#fffdf9;}.css-yjptlz-Link[data-weight='inherit']{font-weight:inherit;}.css-yjptlz-Link[data-weight='normal']{font-weight:400;}.css-yjptlz-Link[data-weight='bold']{font-weight:700;} NVIDIA and Workday

The gaming industry is notoriously difficult to recruit for, as it requires a very specific set of skills and experience. This case study focuses on how Workday was able to help fill that recruitment gap for NVIDIA, one of the biggest names in the gaming world.

Though it doesn't feature videos or graphics, this case study stood out to me in how it structures information like "key products used" to give readers insight into which tools helped achieve these results.

Takeaway: If your company offers multiple products or services, outline exactly which ones were involved in your case study, so readers can assess each tool.

11. .css-yjptlz-Link{all:unset;box-sizing:border-box;-webkit-text-decoration:underline;text-decoration:underline;cursor:pointer;-webkit-transition:all 300ms ease-in-out;transition:all 300ms ease-in-out;outline-offset:1px;-webkit-text-fill-color:currentColor;outline:1px solid transparent;}.css-yjptlz-Link[data-color='ocean']{color:#3d4592;}.css-yjptlz-Link[data-color='ocean']:hover{color:#2b2358;}.css-yjptlz-Link[data-color='ocean']:focus{color:#3d4592;outline-color:#3d4592;}.css-yjptlz-Link[data-color='white']{color:#fffdf9;}.css-yjptlz-Link[data-color='white']:hover{color:#a8a5a0;}.css-yjptlz-Link[data-color='white']:focus{color:#fffdf9;outline-color:#fffdf9;}.css-yjptlz-Link[data-color='primary']{color:#3d4592;}.css-yjptlz-Link[data-color='primary']:hover{color:#2b2358;}.css-yjptlz-Link[data-color='primary']:focus{color:#3d4592;outline-color:#3d4592;}.css-yjptlz-Link[data-color='secondary']{color:#fffdf9;}.css-yjptlz-Link[data-color='secondary']:hover{color:#a8a5a0;}.css-yjptlz-Link[data-color='secondary']:focus{color:#fffdf9;outline-color:#fffdf9;}.css-yjptlz-Link[data-weight='inherit']{font-weight:inherit;}.css-yjptlz-Link[data-weight='normal']{font-weight:400;}.css-yjptlz-Link[data-weight='bold']{font-weight:700;} KFC and Contentful

I'm personally not a big KFC fan, but that's only because I refuse to eat out of a bucket. My aversion to the bucket format aside, Contentful follows its consistent case study format in this one, outlining challenges, solutions, and outcomes before diving into the nitty-gritty details of the project.

Say what you will about KFC, but their primary product (chicken) does present a unique opportunity for wordplay like "Continuing to march to the beat of a digital-first drum(stick)" or "Delivering deep-fried goodness to every channel."

Takeaway: Inject humor into your case study if there's room for it and if it fits your brand. 

12. .css-yjptlz-Link{all:unset;box-sizing:border-box;-webkit-text-decoration:underline;text-decoration:underline;cursor:pointer;-webkit-transition:all 300ms ease-in-out;transition:all 300ms ease-in-out;outline-offset:1px;-webkit-text-fill-color:currentColor;outline:1px solid transparent;}.css-yjptlz-Link[data-color='ocean']{color:#3d4592;}.css-yjptlz-Link[data-color='ocean']:hover{color:#2b2358;}.css-yjptlz-Link[data-color='ocean']:focus{color:#3d4592;outline-color:#3d4592;}.css-yjptlz-Link[data-color='white']{color:#fffdf9;}.css-yjptlz-Link[data-color='white']:hover{color:#a8a5a0;}.css-yjptlz-Link[data-color='white']:focus{color:#fffdf9;outline-color:#fffdf9;}.css-yjptlz-Link[data-color='primary']{color:#3d4592;}.css-yjptlz-Link[data-color='primary']:hover{color:#2b2358;}.css-yjptlz-Link[data-color='primary']:focus{color:#3d4592;outline-color:#3d4592;}.css-yjptlz-Link[data-color='secondary']{color:#fffdf9;}.css-yjptlz-Link[data-color='secondary']:hover{color:#a8a5a0;}.css-yjptlz-Link[data-color='secondary']:focus{color:#fffdf9;outline-color:#fffdf9;}.css-yjptlz-Link[data-weight='inherit']{font-weight:inherit;}.css-yjptlz-Link[data-weight='normal']{font-weight:400;}.css-yjptlz-Link[data-weight='bold']{font-weight:700;} Intuit and Twilio

Twilio does an excellent job of delivering achievements at the very beginning of the case study and going into detail in this two-minute read. While there aren't many graphics, the way quotes from the Intuit team are implemented adds a certain flair to the study and breaks up the sections nicely.

It's simple, concise, and manages to fit a lot of information in easily digestible sections.

Takeaway: Make sure each section is long enough to inform but brief enough to avoid boring readers. Break down information for each section, and don't go into so much detail that you lose the reader halfway through.

13. .css-yjptlz-Link{all:unset;box-sizing:border-box;-webkit-text-decoration:underline;text-decoration:underline;cursor:pointer;-webkit-transition:all 300ms ease-in-out;transition:all 300ms ease-in-out;outline-offset:1px;-webkit-text-fill-color:currentColor;outline:1px solid transparent;}.css-yjptlz-Link[data-color='ocean']{color:#3d4592;}.css-yjptlz-Link[data-color='ocean']:hover{color:#2b2358;}.css-yjptlz-Link[data-color='ocean']:focus{color:#3d4592;outline-color:#3d4592;}.css-yjptlz-Link[data-color='white']{color:#fffdf9;}.css-yjptlz-Link[data-color='white']:hover{color:#a8a5a0;}.css-yjptlz-Link[data-color='white']:focus{color:#fffdf9;outline-color:#fffdf9;}.css-yjptlz-Link[data-color='primary']{color:#3d4592;}.css-yjptlz-Link[data-color='primary']:hover{color:#2b2358;}.css-yjptlz-Link[data-color='primary']:focus{color:#3d4592;outline-color:#3d4592;}.css-yjptlz-Link[data-color='secondary']{color:#fffdf9;}.css-yjptlz-Link[data-color='secondary']:hover{color:#a8a5a0;}.css-yjptlz-Link[data-color='secondary']:focus{color:#fffdf9;outline-color:#fffdf9;}.css-yjptlz-Link[data-weight='inherit']{font-weight:inherit;}.css-yjptlz-Link[data-weight='normal']{font-weight:400;}.css-yjptlz-Link[data-weight='bold']{font-weight:700;} Spotify and Salesforce

Salesforce created a video that accurately summarizes the key points of the case study. Beyond that, the page itself is very light on content, and sections are as short as one paragraph.

I especially like how information is broken down into "What you need to know," "Why it matters," and "What the difference looks like." I'm not ashamed of being spoon-fed information. When it's structured so well and so simply, it makes for an entertaining read.

14. .css-yjptlz-Link{all:unset;box-sizing:border-box;-webkit-text-decoration:underline;text-decoration:underline;cursor:pointer;-webkit-transition:all 300ms ease-in-out;transition:all 300ms ease-in-out;outline-offset:1px;-webkit-text-fill-color:currentColor;outline:1px solid transparent;}.css-yjptlz-Link[data-color='ocean']{color:#3d4592;}.css-yjptlz-Link[data-color='ocean']:hover{color:#2b2358;}.css-yjptlz-Link[data-color='ocean']:focus{color:#3d4592;outline-color:#3d4592;}.css-yjptlz-Link[data-color='white']{color:#fffdf9;}.css-yjptlz-Link[data-color='white']:hover{color:#a8a5a0;}.css-yjptlz-Link[data-color='white']:focus{color:#fffdf9;outline-color:#fffdf9;}.css-yjptlz-Link[data-color='primary']{color:#3d4592;}.css-yjptlz-Link[data-color='primary']:hover{color:#2b2358;}.css-yjptlz-Link[data-color='primary']:focus{color:#3d4592;outline-color:#3d4592;}.css-yjptlz-Link[data-color='secondary']{color:#fffdf9;}.css-yjptlz-Link[data-color='secondary']:hover{color:#a8a5a0;}.css-yjptlz-Link[data-color='secondary']:focus{color:#fffdf9;outline-color:#fffdf9;}.css-yjptlz-Link[data-weight='inherit']{font-weight:inherit;}.css-yjptlz-Link[data-weight='normal']{font-weight:400;}.css-yjptlz-Link[data-weight='bold']{font-weight:700;} Benchling and Airtable

Benchling is an impressive entity in its own right. Biotech R&D and health care nuances go right over my head. But the research and digging I've been doing in the name of these burritos (case studies) revealed that these products are immensely complex. 

And that's precisely why this case study deserves a read—it succeeds at explaining a complex project that readers outside the industry wouldn't know much about.

Takeaway: Simplify complex information, and walk readers through the company's operations and how your business helped streamline them.

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The concision of this case study is refreshing. It features two sections—the challenge and the solution—all in 316 words. This goes to show that your case study doesn't necessarily need to be a four-figure investment with video shoots and studio time. 

Sometimes, the message is simple and short enough to convey in a handful of paragraphs.

Takeaway: Consider what you should include instead of what you can include. Assess the time, resources, and effort you're able and willing to invest in a case study, and choose which elements you want to include from there.

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I may be biased, but I'm a big fan of seeing metrics and achievements represented in branded graphics. It can be a jarring experience to navigate a website, then visit a case study page and feel as though you've gone to a completely different website.

The case study is essentially the summary, and the blog article is the detailed analysis that provides context beyond X achievement or Y goal.

Takeaway: Keep your case study concise and informative. Create other resources to provide context under your blog, media or press, and product pages.

3 case study templates

Now that you've had your fill of case studies (if that's possible), I've got just what you need: an infinite number of case studies, which you can create yourself with these case study templates.

Case study template 1

If you've got a quick hit of stats you want to show off, try this template. The opening section gives space for a short summary and three visually appealing stats you can highlight, followed by a headline and body where you can break the case study down more thoroughly. This one's pretty simple, with only sections for solutions and results, but you can easily continue the formatting to add more sections as needed.

Case study template 2

For a case study template with a little more detail, use this one. Opening with a striking cover page for a quick overview, this one goes on to include context, stakeholders, challenges, multiple quote callouts, and quick-hit stats. 

Case study template 3

Whether you want a little structural variation or just like a nice dark green, this template has similar components to the last template but is designed to help tell a story. Move from the client overview through a description of your company before getting to the details of how you fixed said company's problems.

Tips for writing a case study

Examples are all well and good, but you don't learn how to make a burrito just by watching tutorials on YouTube without knowing what any of the ingredients are. You could , but it probably wouldn't be all that good.

Have an objective: Define your objective by identifying the challenge, solution, and results. Assess your work with the client and focus on the most prominent wins. You're speaking to multiple businesses and industries through the case study, so make sure you know what you want to say to them.

Focus on persuasive data: Growth percentages and measurable results are your best friends. Extract your most compelling data and highlight it in your case study.

Use eye-grabbing graphics: Branded design goes a long way in accurately representing your brand and retaining readers as they review the study. Leverage unique and eye-catching graphics to keep readers engaged. 

Simplify data presentation: Some industries are more complex than others, and sometimes, data can be difficult to understand at a glance. Make sure you present your data in the simplest way possible. Make it concise, informative, and easy to understand.

Use automation to drive results for your case study

A case study example is a source of inspiration you can leverage to determine how to best position your brand's work. Find your unique angle, and refine it over time to help your business stand out. Ask anyone: the best burrito in town doesn't just appear at the number one spot. They find their angle (usually the house sauce) and leverage it to stand out.

Case study FAQ

Got your case study template? Great—it's time to gather the team for an awkward semi-vague data collection task. While you do that, here are some case study quick answers for you to skim through while you contemplate what to call your team meeting.

What is an example of a case study?

An example of a case study is when a software company analyzes its results from a client project and creates a webpage, presentation, or document that focuses on high-level results, challenges, and solutions in an attempt to showcase effectiveness and promote the software.

How do you write a case study?

To write a good case study, you should have an objective, identify persuasive and compelling data, leverage graphics, and simplify data. Case studies typically include an analysis of the challenge, solution, and results of the partnership.

What is the format of a case study?

While case studies don't have a set format, they're often portrayed as reports or essays that inform readers about the partnership and its results. 

Related reading:

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Hachem Ramki

Hachem is a writer and digital marketer from Montreal. After graduating with a degree in English, Hachem spent seven years traveling around the world before moving to Canada. When he's not writing, he enjoys Basketball, Dungeons and Dragons, and playing music for friends and family.

• Content marketing

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