How I write case studies

The structure

Every case study here runs the same 5 beats in the same order. The words carry specific meanings rather than general ones, so this is what each of them is doing.

Context

What the project is, who it was for, and where it sits. The one part meant to be scanned rather than read, so it points at the rest instead of arguing with it.

Problem

The core problem the work set out to solve, and why it mattered. Naming it well takes fewer words than explaining it, so this one stays under 50.

Solution

What the inputs were, what the alternatives were, and why this direction won. The decisions are the solution, so each shows the road not taken beside the one that shipped, and what it cost.

Output

The direct product, service or artifact shipped or delivered. What was made.

Outcome

The measurable change in human behaviour, sentiment or business health. What changed because of it.

Output and outcome are the pair that get collapsed. Output is what you made. Outcome is what changed because of it. A version number, a browser count and a screen count are all output, however they are phrased.

Most work has an output long before it has an outcome. Where a project here has no measured change, it says so rather than dressing a shipping fact as a result.