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Business Analysis Case Study: Unlocking Growth Potential for a Company 

Have you ever wondered what are the necessary steps for conducting a Business Analyst Case Study? This blog will take you through the steps for conducting it.

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Table of Contents  

1) An overview of the Business Analysis Case Study 

2) Step 1: Understanding the company and its objectives 

3) Step 2: Gathering relevant data 

4) Step 3: Conducting SWOT analysis 

5) Step 4: Identifying key issues and prioritising 

6) Step 5: Analysing the root causes 

7) Step 6: Proposing solutions and developing an action plan 

8) Step 7: Monitoring and evaluation 

9) Conclusion 

An overview of the Business Analysis Case Study  

To kickstart our analysis, we will gain a deep understanding of the company's background, industry, and specific objectives. By examining the hypothetical company's objectives and aligning our analysis with its goals, we can lay the groundwork for a focused and targeted approach. This Business Analysis Case Study will demonstrate how the analysis process is pivotal in driving growth and overcoming obstacles that hinder success. 

Moving forward, we will navigate through various steps involved in the case study, including gathering relevant data, conducting a SWOT analysis, identifying key issues, analysing root causes, proposing solutions, and developing an action plan. By following this step-by-step approach, we can address the core challenges and devise actionable strategies that align with the company's objectives. 

The primary focus of this Business Analysis Case Study is to highlight the significance of Business Analysis in identifying key issues, evaluating potential growth opportunities, and developing effective solutions. Through a comprehensive examination of the hypothetical company's strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats, we will gain valuable insights that drive informed decision-making. 

By the end of this Business Analysis Case Study, we aim to provide a holistic view of the analysis process, its benefits, and the transformative impact it can have on unlocking growth potential. Through real-world examples and practical solutions, we will showcase the power of Business Analysis in driving success and propelling companies towards achieving their goals. So, let's dive into the fascinating journey of this Business Analysis Case Study and explore the path to unlocking growth potential for our hypothetical company. 

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Step 1: Understanding the company and its objectives  

In this initial step, we need to gain a thorough understanding of the hypothetical company's background, industry, and specific objectives. Our hypothetical company, TechSolutions Ltd., is a software development firm aiming to expand its customer base and increase revenue by 20% within the next year. 

TechSolutions Ltd. operates in the dynamic software solutions market, catering to various industries such as finance, healthcare, and manufacturing. The company's primary objective is to leverage its technical expertise and establish itself as a leading provider of innovative software solutions. This objective sets the foundation for our analysis, enabling us to align our efforts with the company's goals. 

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Step 2: Gathering relevant data  

To conduct a comprehensive analysis, we need to gather relevant data pertaining to the company's operations, market trends, competitors, customer preferences, and financial performance. This data serves as a valuable resource to gain insights into the company's current position and identify growth opportunities. 

For our case study, TechSolutions Ltd. collects data on various aspects, including customer satisfaction levels, market penetration rates, and financial metrics such as revenue, costs, and profitability. Additionally, industry reports, market research, and competitor analysis provide insights into market trends, emerging technologies, and the competitive landscape. This data-driven approach ensures that our analysis is well-informed and grounded in reality. 

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Step 3: Conducting SWOT analysis  

A SWOT analysis is a powerful tool to assess the company's internal strengths and weaknesses, as well as external opportunities and threats. By conducting a thorough SWOT analysis, we can gain valuable insights into the company's strategic position and identify factors that impact its growth potential. 

Conducting SWOT analysis

Step 4: Identifying key issues and prioritising  

Outdated Technology Infrastructure

In the case of TechSolutions Ltd., the analysis reveals two primary issues: an outdated technology infrastructure and limited marketing efforts. These issues are prioritised as they directly impact the company's ability to meet its growth objectives. By addressing these key issues, TechSolutions Ltd. can position itself for sustainable growth. 

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Step 5: Analysing the root causes  

To develop effective solutions, we must analyse the root causes behind the identified issues. This involves a detailed examination of internal processes, conducting interviews with key stakeholders, and exploring market dynamics. By identifying the underlying factors contributing to the issues, we can tailor our solutions to address them at their core. 

In the case of TechSolutions Ltd., the analysis reveals that the outdated technology infrastructure is primarily due to budget constraints and a lack of awareness about the latest software solutions. Limited marketing efforts arise from a shortage of skilled personnel and inadequate allocation of resources. 

Understanding these root causes provides valuable insights for developing targeted and impactful solutions. 

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Step 6: Proposing solutions and developing an action plan  

Action Plan

For TechSolutions Ltd., the following solutions are proposed: 

a) Allocate a portion of the budget for technology upgrades and training: TechSolutions Ltd. should allocate a dedicated portion of its budget to upgrade its technology infrastructure and invest in training its employees on the latest software tools and technologies. This will ensure that the company remains competitive and can deliver cutting-edge solutions to its customers. 

b) Hire a dedicated marketing team and allocate resources for targeted campaigns: To overcome the limited marketing efforts, TechSolutions Ltd. should invest in building a skilled and dedicated marketing team. This team will focus on developing comprehensive marketing strategies, leveraging digital platforms, and conducting targeted campaigns to reach potential customers effectively. 

c) Strengthen partnerships with industry influencers: Collaborating with industry influencers can significantly enhance TechSolutions Ltd.'s brand visibility and credibility. By identifying key industry influencers and forming strategic partnerships, the company can tap into their existing networks and gain access to a wider customer base. 

d) Implement a customer feedback system: To enhance product quality and meet customer expectations, TechSolutions Ltd. should establish a robust customer feedback system. This system will enable the company to gather valuable insights, identify areas for improvement, and promptly address any customer concerns or suggestions. Regular feedback loops will foster customer loyalty and drive business growth. 

The proposed solutions are outlined in a detailed action plan, specifying the timeline, responsible individuals, and measurable milestones for each solution. Regular progress updates and performance evaluations ensure that the solutions are effectively implemented and deliver the desired outcomes. 

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Step 7: Monitoring and evaluation  

Monitoring and evaluation

Conclusion  

In this detailed Business Analysis Case Study, we explored the challenges faced by a hypothetical company, TechSolutions Ltd., and proposed comprehensive solutions to unlock its growth potential. By following a systematic analysis process, which includes understanding the company's objectives, conducting a SWOT analysis, identifying key issues, analysing root causes, proposing solutions, and monitoring progress, businesses can effectively address their challenges and drive success. 

Business Analysis plays a vital role in identifying areas for improvement and implementing strategic initiatives. By leveraging data-driven insights and taking proactive measures, companies can navigate competitive landscapes, overcome obstacles, and achieve their growth objectives. With careful analysis and targeted solutions, TechSolutions Ltd. is poised to unlock its growth potential and establish itself as a leading software development firm in the industry. By implementing the proposed solutions and continuously monitoring their progress, the company will be well-positioned for long-term success and sustainable growth. 

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Hertz CEO Kathryn Marinello with CFO Jamere Jackson and other members of the executive team in 2017

Top 40 Most Popular Case Studies of 2021

Two cases about Hertz claimed top spots in 2021's Top 40 Most Popular Case Studies

Two cases on the uses of debt and equity at Hertz claimed top spots in the CRDT’s (Case Research and Development Team) 2021 top 40 review of cases.

Hertz (A) took the top spot. The case details the financial structure of the rental car company through the end of 2019. Hertz (B), which ranked third in CRDT’s list, describes the company’s struggles during the early part of the COVID pandemic and its eventual need to enter Chapter 11 bankruptcy. 

The success of the Hertz cases was unprecedented for the top 40 list. Usually, cases take a number of years to gain popularity, but the Hertz cases claimed top spots in their first year of release. Hertz (A) also became the first ‘cooked’ case to top the annual review, as all of the other winners had been web-based ‘raw’ cases.

Besides introducing students to the complicated financing required to maintain an enormous fleet of cars, the Hertz cases also expanded the diversity of case protagonists. Kathyrn Marinello was the CEO of Hertz during this period and the CFO, Jamere Jackson is black.

Sandwiched between the two Hertz cases, Coffee 2016, a perennial best seller, finished second. “Glory, Glory, Man United!” a case about an English football team’s IPO made a surprise move to number four.  Cases on search fund boards, the future of malls,  Norway’s Sovereign Wealth fund, Prodigy Finance, the Mayo Clinic, and Cadbury rounded out the top ten.

Other year-end data for 2021 showed:

  • Online “raw” case usage remained steady as compared to 2020 with over 35K users from 170 countries and all 50 U.S. states interacting with 196 cases.
  • Fifty four percent of raw case users came from outside the U.S..
  • The Yale School of Management (SOM) case study directory pages received over 160K page views from 177 countries with approximately a third originating in India followed by the U.S. and the Philippines.
  • Twenty-six of the cases in the list are raw cases.
  • A third of the cases feature a woman protagonist.
  • Orders for Yale SOM case studies increased by almost 50% compared to 2020.
  • The top 40 cases were supervised by 19 different Yale SOM faculty members, several supervising multiple cases.

CRDT compiled the Top 40 list by combining data from its case store, Google Analytics, and other measures of interest and adoption.

All of this year’s Top 40 cases are available for purchase from the Yale Management Media store .

And the Top 40 cases studies of 2021 are:

1.   Hertz Global Holdings (A): Uses of Debt and Equity

2.   Coffee 2016

3.   Hertz Global Holdings (B): Uses of Debt and Equity 2020

4.   Glory, Glory Man United!

5.   Search Fund Company Boards: How CEOs Can Build Boards to Help Them Thrive

6.   The Future of Malls: Was Decline Inevitable?

7.   Strategy for Norway's Pension Fund Global

8.   Prodigy Finance

9.   Design at Mayo

10. Cadbury

11. City Hospital Emergency Room

13. Volkswagen

14. Marina Bay Sands

15. Shake Shack IPO

16. Mastercard

17. Netflix

18. Ant Financial

19. AXA: Creating the New CR Metrics

20. IBM Corporate Service Corps

21. Business Leadership in South Africa's 1994 Reforms

22. Alternative Meat Industry

23. Children's Premier

24. Khalil Tawil and Umi (A)

25. Palm Oil 2016

26. Teach For All: Designing a Global Network

27. What's Next? Search Fund Entrepreneurs Reflect on Life After Exit

28. Searching for a Search Fund Structure: A Student Takes a Tour of Various Options

30. Project Sammaan

31. Commonfund ESG

32. Polaroid

33. Connecticut Green Bank 2018: After the Raid

34. FieldFresh Foods

35. The Alibaba Group

36. 360 State Street: Real Options

37. Herman Miller

38. AgBiome

39. Nathan Cummings Foundation

40. Toyota 2010

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Business Analyst Case Study | Free Case Study Template

LN Mishra, CBAP, CBDA, AAC & CCA

Business analyst case studies blog describes an actual business analyst case study. This provides real-world exposure to new business analysts.

In this blog, we will be discussing what is business analysis case study, why develop them, when to develop them and how to develop them. We will provide a real business case analysis case study for better understanding.

Let’s start with understanding what is business analysis before we go to analyst case studies.

Topics Below

What is a business analysis case study 

Why prepare business analysis case study 

When to prepare business analysis case study

How to prepare business analysis case study

Example Business Analysis Case Studies

What is Business Analysis Case Study?

Before we try to understand, Business Analysis Case Study, let's understand the term case study and business analysis.

As per Wikipedia, a case study is:

"A case study is an in-depth, detailed examination of a particular case (or cases) within a real-world context."

For example, case studies in medicine may focus on an individual patient or ailment; case studies in business might cover a particular firm's strategy or a broader market; similarly, case studies in politics can range from a narrow happening over time like the operations of a specific political campaign, to an enormous undertaking like, world war, or more often the policy analysis of real-world problems affecting multiple stakeholders.

So, we can define Business Analysis Case Study as

"A Business Analysis case study is an in-depth, detailed examination of a particular business analysis initiative."

What is Business Analysis?

The BABOK guide defines Business Analysis as the “Practice of enabling change in an enterprise by defining needs and recommending solutions that deliver value to stakeholders”. Business Analysis helps in finding and implementing changes needed to address key business needs, which are essentially problems and opportunities in front of the organization.

Business analysis can be performed at multiple levels, such as at:

  • The enterprise level, analyzing the complete business, and understanding which aspects of the business require changes.
  • The organization level, analyzing a part of the business, and understanding which aspects of the organization require changes.
  • The process level, analyzing a specific process, understanding which aspects of the process require changes.
  • The product level, analyzing a specific product, and understanding which aspects of the product require changes.  

Why Develop Business Analyst Case Study

Business analysis case studies can be useful for multiple purposes. One of the purpose can be to document business analysis project experiences which can be used in future by other business analysts.

This also can be used to showcase an organizations capabilities in the area of business analysis. For example, as Adaptive is a business analysis consulting organization, it develops multiple business analysis case studies which show cases the work done by Adaptive business analysts for the client. You can read one such case study for a manufacturing client .

When To Develop Business Analyst Case Study

Business analysis case studies are typically prepared after a project or initiative is completed. It is good to give a little time gap before we develop the case study because the impact of a change may take a little while after the change is implemented.

Most professionals prepare business analysis case studies for projects which are successful. But it is also important to remember that not all changes are going to be successful. There are definitely failures in an organizations project history.

It is also important to document the failure case studies because the failures can teach us about what not to do in future so that risks of failures are minimized.

How To Develop A Business Analyst Case Study

Document business problem / opportunity.

In this section of the business analyst case studies, we discuss the actual problem of the business case analysis example.

ABC Technologies has grown rapidly from being a tiny organization with less than 5 projects to one running 200 projects at the same time. The number of customer escalations has gone up significantly. Profitability is getting eroded over a period of time. Significant management time is spent in fire-fighting than improving the business.

Top management estimated a loss of 10% profitability due to poor management of projects which is estimated at about 10 Million USD per annum.

Document Problem / Opportunity Analysis

For our above business problem, we captured the following analysis details.

Discussions with key stakeholders revealed the following challenges in front of ABCT management:

  • There is very little visibility of project performances to top management
  • Non-standard project reporting by various projects makes it harder for top management to assess the correct health of the project
  • Practically there is no practice of identifying risks and mitigating them
  • Project practices are largely non-standardized. Few project managers do run their projects quite well because of their personal abilities, but most struggle to do so.
  • Due to rapid growth, management has no option but to assign project management responsibilities to staff with little or no project management experience.

Document Identified Solutions 

Based on root cause analysis, management decided to initiate a project to standardize management reporting. This required the organization to implement a project management system. The organization initially short-listed 10 project management tools. After comparing the business needs, tools, their costs, management decided to go with a specific tool.

Document Implementation Plan

The purchased tool lacked integration into the organizations existing systems. The vendor and organization’s IT team developed a project plan to integrate the new system with the existing systems.

Document Performance Improvements 

After a year, the effectiveness of the project was assessed. Projects showed remarkable improvement wrt reduced customer escalations, better on-time billing, and better risk management. The system also allowed the organization to bid for larger contracts as the prospective customers demanded such a system from their suppliers. The application was further enhanced to cater to the needs of other businesses in the enterprise as they were different legal entities, and their policies were different.

Document lessons learnt

Some of the key lessons learnt during this business analysis initiative were:

1. Stakeholder buy-in in extremely important to the success of the project

2. It is always better to go with iterative approach achieve smaller milestones and then go for larger milestones

BA Case Study template

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How to Write a Case Study Analysis

Step-By-Step Instructions

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When writing a business case study analysis , you must first have a good understanding of the case study . Before you begin the steps below, read the business case carefully, taking notes all the while. It may be necessary to read the case several times to get all of the details and fully grasp the issues facing the group, company, or industry.

As you are reading, do your best to identify key issues, key players, and the most pertinent facts. After you are comfortable with the information, use the following step-by-step instructions (geared toward a single-company analysis) to write your report. To write about an industry, just adapt the steps listed here to discuss the segment as a whole.

Step 1: Investigate the Company’s History and Growth

A company’s past can greatly affect the present and future state of the organization. To begin, investigate the company’s founding, critical incidents, structure, and growth. Create a timeline of events, issues, and achievements. This timeline will come in handy for the next step. 

Step 2: Identify Strengths and Weaknesses

Using the information you gathered in step one, continue by examining and making a list of the value creation functions of the company. For example, the company may be weak in product development but strong in marketing. Make a list of problems that have occurred and note the effects they have had on the company. You should also list areas where the company has excelled. Note the effects of these incidents as well.

You're essentially conducting a partial SWOT analysis to get a better understanding of the company's strengths and weaknesses. A SWOT analysis involves documenting things like internal strengths (S) and weaknesses (W) and external opportunities (O) and threats (T). 

Step 3: Examine the External Environment

The third step involves identifying opportunities and threats within the company’s external environment. This is where the second part of the SWOT analysis (the O and the T) comes into play. Special items to note include competition within the industry, bargaining powers, and the threat of substitute products. Some examples of opportunities include expansion into new markets or new technology. Some examples of threats include increasing competition and higher interest rates.

Step 4: Analyze Your Findings

Using the information in steps 2 and 3, create an evaluation for this portion of your case study analysis. Compare the strengths and weaknesses within the company to the external threats and opportunities. Determine if the company is in a strong competitive position, and decide if it can continue at its current pace successfully.

Step 5: Identify Corporate-Level Strategy

To identify a company’s corporate-level strategy, identify and evaluate the company’s mission , goals, and actions toward those goals. Analyze the company’s line of business and its subsidiaries and acquisitions. You also want to debate the pros and cons of the company strategy to determine whether or not a change might benefit the company in the short or long term.​

Step 6: Identify Business-Level Strategy

Thus far, your case study analysis has identified the company’s corporate-level strategy. To perform a complete analysis, you will need to identify the company’s business-level strategy. (Note: If it is a single business, without multiple companies under one umbrella, and not an industry-wide review, the corporate strategy and the business-level strategy are the same.) For this part, you should identify and analyze each company’s competitive strategy, marketing strategy, costs, and general focus.

Step 7: Analyze Implementations

This portion requires that you identify and analyze the structure and control systems that the company is using to implement its business strategies. Evaluate organizational change, levels of hierarchy, employee rewards, conflicts, and other issues that are important to the company you are analyzing.

Step 8: Make Recommendations

The final part of your case study analysis should include your recommendations for the company. Every recommendation you make should be based on and supported by the context of your analysis. Never share hunches or make a baseless recommendation.

You also want to make sure that your suggested solutions are actually realistic. If the solutions cannot be implemented due to some sort of restraint, they are not realistic enough to make the final cut.

Finally, consider some of the alternative solutions that you considered and rejected. Write down the reasons why these solutions were rejected. 

Step 9: Review

Look over your analysis when you have finished writing. Critique your work to make sure every step has been covered. Look for grammatical errors , poor sentence structure, or other things that can be improved. It should be clear, accurate, and professional.

Business Case Study Analysis Tips

Keep these strategic tips in mind:

  • Know the case study ​backward and forward before you begin your case study analysis.
  • Give yourself enough time to write the case study analysis. You don't want to rush through it.
  • Be honest in your evaluations. Don't let personal issues and opinions cloud your judgment.
  • Be analytical, not descriptive.
  • Proofread your work, and even let a test reader give it a once-over for dropped words or typos that you no longer can see.
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Once you have identified a case study that you wish to analyze, the sources listed below can help you analyze the case materials.

  • Cengage Learning - Case Studies Explains how to effectively analyze cases and write a case study analysis. Provides a checklist and explanation of areas to consider, suggested research tools, and tips on financial analysis.
  • Guide to case analysis From the publisher McGraw Hill. Includes sections on objectives of case analysis, preparing a case for class discussion, preparing a written case analysis and the Ten Commandments of Case Analysis.
  • How to Analyze a Case Study From the Simmons University Writing Center.
  • Writing a Case Analysis From the University of New South Wales Business School.
  • Writing a Case Study Analysis From The University of Arizona, Global Campus, Writing Center.

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5 Benefits of Learning Through the Case Study Method

Harvard Business School MBA students learning through the case study method

  • 28 Nov 2023

While several factors make HBS Online unique —including a global Community and real-world outcomes —active learning through the case study method rises to the top.

In a 2023 City Square Associates survey, 74 percent of HBS Online learners who also took a course from another provider said HBS Online’s case method and real-world examples were better by comparison.

Here’s a primer on the case method, five benefits you could gain, and how to experience it for yourself.

Access your free e-book today.

What Is the Harvard Business School Case Study Method?

The case study method , or case method , is a learning technique in which you’re presented with a real-world business challenge and asked how you’d solve it. After working through it yourself and with peers, you’re told how the scenario played out.

HBS pioneered the case method in 1922. Shortly before, in 1921, the first case was written.

“How do you go into an ambiguous situation and get to the bottom of it?” says HBS Professor Jan Rivkin, former senior associate dean and chair of HBS's master of business administration (MBA) program, in a video about the case method . “That skill—the skill of figuring out a course of inquiry to choose a course of action—that skill is as relevant today as it was in 1921.”

Originally developed for the in-person MBA classroom, HBS Online adapted the case method into an engaging, interactive online learning experience in 2014.

In HBS Online courses , you learn about each case from the business professional who experienced it. After reviewing their videos, you’re prompted to take their perspective and explain how you’d handle their situation.

You then get to read peers’ responses, “star” them, and comment to further the discussion. Afterward, you learn how the professional handled it and their key takeaways.

HBS Online’s adaptation of the case method incorporates the famed HBS “cold call,” in which you’re called on at random to make a decision without time to prepare.

“Learning came to life!” said Sheneka Balogun , chief administration officer and chief of staff at LeMoyne-Owen College, of her experience taking the Credential of Readiness (CORe) program . “The videos from the professors, the interactive cold calls where you were randomly selected to participate, and the case studies that enhanced and often captured the essence of objectives and learning goals were all embedded in each module. This made learning fun, engaging, and student-friendly.”

If you’re considering taking a course that leverages the case study method, here are five benefits you could experience.

5 Benefits of Learning Through Case Studies

1. take new perspectives.

The case method prompts you to consider a scenario from another person’s perspective. To work through the situation and come up with a solution, you must consider their circumstances, limitations, risk tolerance, stakeholders, resources, and potential consequences to assess how to respond.

Taking on new perspectives not only can help you navigate your own challenges but also others’. Putting yourself in someone else’s situation to understand their motivations and needs can go a long way when collaborating with stakeholders.

2. Hone Your Decision-Making Skills

Another skill you can build is the ability to make decisions effectively . The case study method forces you to use limited information to decide how to handle a problem—just like in the real world.

Throughout your career, you’ll need to make difficult decisions with incomplete or imperfect information—and sometimes, you won’t feel qualified to do so. Learning through the case method allows you to practice this skill in a low-stakes environment. When facing a real challenge, you’ll be better prepared to think quickly, collaborate with others, and present and defend your solution.

3. Become More Open-Minded

As you collaborate with peers on responses, it becomes clear that not everyone solves problems the same way. Exposing yourself to various approaches and perspectives can help you become a more open-minded professional.

When you’re part of a diverse group of learners from around the world, your experiences, cultures, and backgrounds contribute to a range of opinions on each case.

On the HBS Online course platform, you’re prompted to view and comment on others’ responses, and discussion is encouraged. This practice of considering others’ perspectives can make you more receptive in your career.

“You’d be surprised at how much you can learn from your peers,” said Ratnaditya Jonnalagadda , a software engineer who took CORe.

In addition to interacting with peers in the course platform, Jonnalagadda was part of the HBS Online Community , where he networked with other professionals and continued discussions sparked by course content.

“You get to understand your peers better, and students share examples of businesses implementing a concept from a module you just learned,” Jonnalagadda said. “It’s a very good way to cement the concepts in one's mind.”

4. Enhance Your Curiosity

One byproduct of taking on different perspectives is that it enables you to picture yourself in various roles, industries, and business functions.

“Each case offers an opportunity for students to see what resonates with them, what excites them, what bores them, which role they could imagine inhabiting in their careers,” says former HBS Dean Nitin Nohria in the Harvard Business Review . “Cases stimulate curiosity about the range of opportunities in the world and the many ways that students can make a difference as leaders.”

Through the case method, you can “try on” roles you may not have considered and feel more prepared to change or advance your career .

5. Build Your Self-Confidence

Finally, learning through the case study method can build your confidence. Each time you assume a business leader’s perspective, aim to solve a new challenge, and express and defend your opinions and decisions to peers, you prepare to do the same in your career.

According to a 2022 City Square Associates survey , 84 percent of HBS Online learners report feeling more confident making business decisions after taking a course.

“Self-confidence is difficult to teach or coach, but the case study method seems to instill it in people,” Nohria says in the Harvard Business Review . “There may well be other ways of learning these meta-skills, such as the repeated experience gained through practice or guidance from a gifted coach. However, under the direction of a masterful teacher, the case method can engage students and help them develop powerful meta-skills like no other form of teaching.”

Your Guide to Online Learning Success | Download Your Free E-Book

How to Experience the Case Study Method

If the case method seems like a good fit for your learning style, experience it for yourself by taking an HBS Online course. Offerings span seven subject areas, including:

  • Business essentials
  • Leadership and management
  • Entrepreneurship and innovation
  • Finance and accounting
  • Business in society

No matter which course or credential program you choose, you’ll examine case studies from real business professionals, work through their challenges alongside peers, and gain valuable insights to apply to your career.

Are you interested in discovering how HBS Online can help advance your career? Explore our course catalog and download our free guide —complete with interactive workbook sections—to determine if online learning is right for you and which course to take.

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7 Favorite Business Case Studies to Teach—and Why

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FEATURED CASE STUDIES

The Army Crew Team . Emily Michelle David of CEIBS

ATH Technologies . Devin Shanthikumar of Paul Merage School of Business

Fabritek 1992 . Rob Austin of Ivey Business School

Lincoln Electric Co . Karin Schnarr of Wilfrid Laurier University

Pal’s Sudden Service—Scaling an Organizational Model to Drive Growth . Gary Pisano of Harvard Business School

The United States Air Force: ‘Chaos’ in the 99th Reconnaissance Squadron . Francesca Gino of Harvard Business School

Warren E. Buffett, 2015 . Robert F. Bruner of Darden School of Business

To dig into what makes a compelling case study, we asked seven experienced educators who teach with—and many who write—business case studies: “What is your favorite case to teach and why?”

The resulting list of case study favorites ranges in topics from operations management and organizational structure to rebel leaders and whodunnit dramas.

1. The Army Crew Team

Emily Michelle David, Assistant Professor of Management, China Europe International Business School (CEIBS)

case studies business analysis

“I love teaching  The Army Crew Team  case because it beautifully demonstrates how a team can be so much less than the sum of its parts.

I deliver the case to executives in a nearby state-of-the-art rowing facility that features rowing machines, professional coaches, and shiny red eight-person shells.

After going through the case, they hear testimonies from former members of Chinese national crew teams before carrying their own boat to the river for a test race.

The rich learning environment helps to vividly underscore one of the case’s core messages: competition can be a double-edged sword if not properly managed.

case studies business analysis

Executives in Emily Michelle David’s organizational behavior class participate in rowing activities at a nearby facility as part of her case delivery.

Despite working for an elite headhunting firm, the executives in my most recent class were surprised to realize how much they’ve allowed their own team-building responsibilities to lapse. In the MBA pre-course, this case often leads to a rich discussion about common traps that newcomers fall into (for example, trying to do too much, too soon), which helps to poise them to both stand out in the MBA as well as prepare them for the lateral team building they will soon engage in.

Finally, I love that the post-script always gets a good laugh and serves as an early lesson that organizational behavior courses will seldom give you foolproof solutions for specific problems but will, instead, arm you with the ability to think through issues more critically.”

2. ATH Technologies

Devin Shanthikumar, Associate Professor of Accounting, Paul Merage School of Business

case studies business analysis

“As a professor at UC Irvine’s Paul Merage School of Business, and before that at Harvard Business School, I have probably taught over 100 cases. I would like to say that my favorite case is my own,   Compass Box Whisky Company . But as fun as that case is, one case beats it:  ATH Technologies  by Robert Simons and Jennifer Packard.

ATH presents a young entrepreneurial company that is bought by a much larger company. As part of the merger, ATH gets an ‘earn-out’ deal—common among high-tech industries. The company, and the class, must decide what to do to achieve the stretch earn-out goals.

ATH captures a scenario we all want to be in at some point in our careers—being part of a young, exciting, growing organization. And a scenario we all will likely face—having stretch goals that seem almost unreachable.

It forces us, as a class, to really struggle with what to do at each stage.

After we read and discuss the A case, we find out what happens next, and discuss the B case, then the C, then D, and even E. At every stage, we can:

see how our decisions play out,

figure out how to build on our successes, and

address our failures.

The case is exciting, the class discussion is dynamic and energetic, and in the end, we all go home with a memorable ‘ah-ha!’ moment.

I have taught many great cases over my career, but none are quite as fun, memorable, and effective as ATH .”

3. Fabritek 1992

Rob Austin, Professor of Information Systems, Ivey Business School

case studies business analysis

“This might seem like an odd choice, but my favorite case to teach is an old operations case called  Fabritek 1992 .

The latest version of Fabritek 1992 is dated 2009, but it is my understanding that this is a rewrite of a case that is older (probably much older). There is a Fabritek 1969 in the HBP catalog—same basic case, older dates, and numbers. That 1969 version lists no authors, so I suspect the case goes even further back; the 1969 version is, I’m guessing, a rewrite of an even older version.

There are many things I appreciate about the case. Here are a few:

It operates as a learning opportunity at many levels. At first it looks like a not-very-glamorous production job scheduling case. By the end of the case discussion, though, we’re into (operations) strategy and more. It starts out technical, then explodes into much broader relevance. As I tell participants when I’m teaching HBP's Teaching with Cases seminars —where I often use Fabritek as an example—when people first encounter this case, they almost always underestimate it.

It has great characters—especially Arthur Moreno, who looks like a troublemaker, but who, discussion reveals, might just be the smartest guy in the factory. Alums of the Harvard MBA program have told me that they remember Arthur Moreno many years later.

Almost every word in the case is important. It’s only four and a half pages of text and three pages of exhibits. This economy of words and sparsity of style have always seemed like poetry to me. I should note that this super concise, every-word-matters approach is not the ideal we usually aspire to when we write cases. Often, we include extra or superfluous information because part of our teaching objective is to provide practice in separating what matters from what doesn’t in a case. Fabritek takes a different approach, though, which fits it well.

It has a dramatic structure. It unfolds like a detective story, a sort of whodunnit. Something is wrong. There is a quality problem, and we’re not sure who or what is responsible. One person, Arthur Moreno, looks very guilty (probably too obviously guilty), but as we dig into the situation, there are many more possibilities. We spend in-class time analyzing the data (there’s a bit of math, so it covers that base, too) to determine which hypotheses are best supported by the data. And, realistically, the data doesn’t support any of the hypotheses perfectly, just some of them more than others. Also, there’s a plot twist at the end (I won’t reveal it, but here’s a hint: Arthur Moreno isn’t nearly the biggest problem in the final analysis). I have had students tell me the surprising realization at the end of the discussion gives them ‘goosebumps.’

Finally, through the unexpected plot twist, it imparts what I call a ‘wisdom lesson’ to young managers: not to be too sure of themselves and to regard the experiences of others, especially experts out on the factory floor, with great seriousness.”

4. Lincoln Electric Co.

Karin Schnarr, Assistant Professor of Policy, Wilfrid Laurier University

case studies business analysis

“As a strategy professor, my favorite case to teach is the classic 1975 Harvard case  Lincoln Electric Co.  by Norman Berg.

I use it to demonstrate to students the theory linkage between strategy and organizational structure, management processes, and leadership behavior.

This case may be an odd choice for a favorite. It occurs decades before my students were born. It is pages longer than we are told students are now willing to read. It is about manufacturing arc welding equipment in Cleveland, Ohio—a hard sell for a Canadian business classroom.

Yet, I have never come across a case that so perfectly illustrates what I want students to learn about how a company can be designed from an organizational perspective to successfully implement its strategy.

And in a time where so much focus continues to be on how to maximize shareholder value, it is refreshing to be able to discuss a publicly-traded company that is successfully pursuing a strategy that provides a fair value to shareholders while distributing value to employees through a large bonus pool, as well as value to customers by continually lowering prices.

However, to make the case resonate with today’s students, I work to make it relevant to the contemporary business environment. I link the case to multimedia clips about Lincoln Electric’s current manufacturing practices, processes, and leadership practices. My students can then see that a model that has been in place for generations is still viable and highly successful, even in our very different competitive situation.”

5. Pal’s Sudden Service—Scaling an Organizational Model to Drive Growth

Gary Pisano, Professor of Business Administration, Harvard Business School

case studies business analysis

“My favorite case to teach these days is  Pal’s Sudden Service—Scaling an Organizational Model to Drive Growth .

I love teaching this case for three reasons:

1. It demonstrates how a company in a super-tough, highly competitive business can do very well by focusing on creating unique operating capabilities. In theory, Pal’s should have no chance against behemoths like McDonalds or Wendy’s—but it thrives because it has built a unique operating system. It’s a great example of a strategic approach to operations in action.

2. The case shows how a strategic approach to human resource and talent development at all levels really matters. This company competes in an industry not known for engaging its front-line workers. The case shows how engaging these workers can really pay off.

3. Finally, Pal’s is really unusual in its approach to growth. Most companies set growth goals (usually arbitrary ones) and then try to figure out how to ‘backfill’ the human resource and talent management gaps. They trust you can always find someone to do the job. Pal’s tackles the growth problem completely the other way around. They rigorously select and train their future managers. Only when they have a manager ready to take on their own store do they open a new one. They pace their growth off their capacity to develop talent. I find this really fascinating and so do the students I teach this case to.”

6. The United States Air Force: ‘Chaos’ in the 99th Reconnaissance Squadron

Francesca Gino, Professor of Business Administration, Harvard Business School

case studies business analysis

“My favorite case to teach is  The United States Air Force: ‘Chaos’ in the 99th Reconnaissance Squadron .

The case surprises students because it is about a leader, known in the unit by the nickname Chaos , who inspired his squadron to be innovative and to change in a culture that is all about not rocking the boat, and where there is a deep sense that rules should simply be followed.

For years, I studied ‘rebels,’ people who do not accept the status quo; rather, they approach work with curiosity and produce positive change in their organizations. Chaos is a rebel leader who got the level of cultural change right. Many of the leaders I’ve met over the years complain about the ‘corporate culture,’ or at least point to clear weaknesses of it; but then they throw their hands up in the air and forget about changing what they can.

Chaos is different—he didn’t go after the ‘Air Force’ culture. That would be like boiling the ocean.

Instead, he focused on his unit of control and command: The 99th squadron. He focused on enabling that group to do what it needed to do within the confines of the bigger Air Force culture. In the process, he inspired everyone on his team to be the best they can be at work.

The case leaves the classroom buzzing and inspired to take action.”

7. Warren E. Buffett, 2015

Robert F. Bruner, Professor of Business Administration, Darden School of Business

case studies business analysis

“I love teaching   Warren E. Buffett, 2015  because it energizes, exercises, and surprises students.

Buffett looms large in the business firmament and therefore attracts anyone who is eager to learn his secrets for successful investing. This generates the kind of energy that helps to break the ice among students and instructors early in a course and to lay the groundwork for good case discussion practices.

Studying Buffett’s approach to investing helps to introduce and exercise important themes that will resonate throughout a course. The case challenges students to define for themselves what it means to create value. The case discussion can easily be tailored for novices or for more advanced students.

Either way, this is not hero worship: The case affords a critical examination of the financial performance of Buffett’s firm, Berkshire Hathaway, and reveals both triumphs and stumbles. Most importantly, students can critique the purported benefits of Buffett’s conglomeration strategy and the sustainability of his investment record as the size of the firm grows very large.

By the end of the class session, students seem surprised with what they have discovered. They buzz over the paradoxes in Buffett’s philosophy and performance record. And they come away with sober respect for Buffett’s acumen and for the challenges of creating value for investors.

Surely, such sobriety is a meta-message for any mastery of finance.”

More Educator Favorites

CASE TEACHING

Emily Michelle David is an assistant professor of management at China Europe International Business School (CEIBS). Her current research focuses on discovering how to make workplaces more welcoming for people of all backgrounds and personality profiles to maximize performance and avoid employee burnout. David’s work has been published in a number of scholarly journals, and she has worked as an in-house researcher at both NASA and the M.D. Anderson Cancer Center.

case studies business analysis

Devin Shanthikumar  is an associate professor and the accounting area coordinator at UCI Paul Merage School of Business. She teaches undergraduate, MBA, and executive-level courses in managerial accounting. Shanthikumar previously served on the faculty at Harvard Business School, where she taught both financial accounting and managerial accounting for MBAs, and wrote cases that are used in accounting courses across the country.

case studies business analysis

Robert D. Austin is a professor of information systems at Ivey Business School and an affiliated faculty member at Harvard Medical School. He has published widely, authoring nine books, more than 50 cases and notes, three Harvard online products, and two popular massive open online courses (MOOCs) running on the Coursera platform.

case studies business analysis

Karin Schnarr is an assistant professor of policy and the director of the Bachelor of Business Administration (BBA) program at the Lazaridis School of Business & Economics at Wilfrid Laurier University in Waterloo, Ontario, Canada where she teaches strategic management at the undergraduate, graduate, and executive levels. Schnarr has published several award-winning and best-selling cases and regularly presents at international conferences on case writing and scholarship.

case studies business analysis

Gary P. Pisano is the Harry E. Figgie, Jr. Professor of Business Administration and senior associate dean of faculty development at Harvard Business School, where he has been on the faculty since 1988. Pisano is an expert in the fields of technology and operations strategy, the management of innovation, and competitive strategy. His research and consulting experience span a range of industries including aerospace, biotechnology, pharmaceuticals, specialty chemicals, health care, nutrition, computers, software, telecommunications, and semiconductors.

case studies business analysis

Francesca Gino studies how people can have more productive, creative, and fulfilling lives. She is a professor at Harvard Business School and the author, most recently, of  Rebel Talent: Why It Pays to Break the Rules at Work and in Life . Gino regularly gives keynote speeches, delivers corporate training programs, and serves in advisory roles for firms and not-for-profit organizations across the globe.

case studies business analysis

Robert F. Bruner is a university professor at the University of Virginia, distinguished professor of business administration, and dean emeritus of the Darden School of Business. He has also held visiting appointments at Harvard and Columbia universities in the United States, at INSEAD in France, and at IESE in Spain. He is the author, co-author, or editor of more than 20 books on finance, management, and teaching. Currently, he teaches and writes in finance and management.

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This listing contains abstracts and ordering information for case studies written and published by faculty at Stanford GSB.

Publicly available cases in this collection are distributed by Harvard Business Publishing and The Case Centre .

Stanford case studies with diverse protagonists, along with case studies that build “equity fluency” by focusing on DEI-related issues and opportunities are listed in the Case Compendium developed by the Center for Equity, Gender and Leadership at the Berkeley Haas School of Business.

ClearMetal, a supply chain software-as-a-service startup, exemplifies the challenges of innovating in the global container shipping industry. Under CEO Adam Compain, the company developed a solution to reduce the costly repositioning of empty shipping…

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Defy, Inc. developed individual safety software solutions for highly automated aircraft operation through its FlySafe modular platform. Defy’s cofounders saw great potential in flying drones to solve the last-mile problem in deliveries. In addition to…

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Apa technologies.

APA Technologies, a startup in the trucking industry, faced a significant challenge with its innovative product, the Tyro - an automatic tire inflation device. Founders Brad Miller and Jeffrey Howell, Stanford mechanical engineering students, developed…

APA Technologies (A): Just When We Were Hitting Our Stride

Apa technologies (b): no good deed goes unpunished, apa technologies (c): a potential partnership, apa technologies (d): reveal, senaca east africa (a): a family security business grapples with expansion.

Senaca East Africa, aka Sentry & Patrols, is a Kenya-based security guard firm founded in 2002 by John Kipkorir, a longtime member of the Kenyan police. At the time, there were only a few well-known Kenyan-owned security companies, and crime was rising…

Jason Scott: Creating a Dream Job to Find and Fund Entrepreneurs Across the Globe

Jason Scott’s superpower had always been his ability to connect people and ideas across industries, sectors, and geographies. After graduating from Stanford GSB, he pursued his professional North Star of finding the best entrepreneurs in the world and…

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Senaca east africa (b): a family security business grapples with expansion, senaca east africa (c): a family security business grapples with expansion, the ai academy: leveraging education in ai to unlock tajikistan’s economic potential, included health: a vision for integrated care in america.

This case tells the story of Included Health, a U.S. health care venture born from the unification of a major virtual care provider and two health care navigation platforms. The company’s overarching mission is to raise the standard of health care for…

Sustainable Human Behavior: A Guide to Building More Sustainable Selves, Teams, and Planet

The threats that are prevalent in today’s environment often seem unconquerable. Increasing disruption, increasing rates of stress and burnout in high-pressure jobs, and decreasing trust of institutions can lead to an environment that does not feel safe or…

New Leaders: A New Paradigm in Educational Leadership

Bonnier news group in 2023:sustaining profitable digital growth, celonis: expanding sales into the u.s., indonesia and the global coal conundrum, global deep technology startup stories.

Across the globe, inspiring startup founders are creating a meaningful impact on people’s lives and generating economic growth through new applications of deep technology.

This category, often called “deep tech” for short, includes ventures whose key…

Automation Anywhere in 2023: 100 Million Digital Workers and Counting

Automation, robots, and artificial intelligence (AI) were driving massive change by the 2020s—and it was perhaps only a matter of time before the planet had billions of digital workers executing standardized, repetitive tasks. In the 20 years since its…

Deutsche Telekom in 2023: Building the World’s Leading Digital Telco

CEO Tim Höttges had successfully led Deutsche Telekom (DT) on an ambitious mission to become Europe’s leading telecommunications service provider. All the more impressive, the company had achieved this goal while also navigating the expansion of T-Mobile…

Tesla In 2023: Building A Radically Innovative Operating System

For CEO Elon Musk, Tesla’s mission required not only new technologies to create electric vehicles, but innovation on the software that connected every aspect of the organization. Tesla was founded in 2003 with the goal of revolutionizing the automotive…

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case studies business analysis

  • 11 May 2021
  • Working Paper Summaries

Time Dependency, Data Flow, and Competitive Advantage

The perishability of data has strategic implications for businesses that provide data-driven products and services. This paper illustrates how different business areas might differ with respect to the rate of decay in data value and the importance of data flow in their operations.

  • 06 Apr 2020

A General Theory of Identification

Statistical inference teaches us how to learn from data, whereas identification analysis explains what we can learn from it. This paper proposes a simple unifying theory of identification, encouraging practitioners to spend more time thinking about what they can estimate from the data and assumptions before trying to estimate it.

case studies business analysis

  • 09 Dec 2019
  • Research & Ideas

Identify Great Customers from Their First Purchase

Using data from their very first transaction, companies can identify shoppers who will create the best long-term value, says Eva Ascarza. Open for comment; 0 Comments.

  • 29 Oct 2019

Crowdsourcing Memories: Mixed Methods Research by Cultural Insiders-Epistemological Outsiders

Research on the traumatic 1947 partition of British India has most often been carried out by scholars in the humanities and qualitative social sciences. This article presents mixed methods research and analysis to explore tensions within current scholarship and to inspire new understandings of the Partition, and more generally, mass migrations and displacement.

  • 30 Jun 2019

The Comprehensive Effects of Sales Force Management: A Dynamic Structural Analysis of Selection, Compensation, and Training

When sales forces are well managed, firms can induce greater performance from them. For this study, the authors collaborated with a major multinational firm to develop and estimate a dynamic structural model of sales employee responses to various management instruments like compensation, training, and recruiting/termination policies.

case studies business analysis

  • 07 Jan 2019

The Better Way to Forecast the Future

We can forecast hurricane paths with great certainty, yet many businesses can't predict a supply chain snafu just around the corner. Yael Grushka-Cockayne says crowdsourcing can help. Open for comment; 0 Comments.

case studies business analysis

  • 28 Nov 2018

On Target: Rethinking the Retail Website

Target is one big-brand retailer that seems to have survived and even thrived in the apocalyptic retail landscape. What's its secret? Srikant Datar discusses the company's relentless focus on online data. Open for comment; 0 Comments.

  • 01 Nov 2018

Forecasting Airport Transfer Passenger Flow Using Real-Time Data and Machine Learning

Passengers arriving at international hubs often endure delays, especially at immigration and security. This study of London’s Heathrow Airport develops a system to provide real-time information about transfer passengers’ journeys through the airport to better serve passengers, airlines, and their employees. It shows how advanced machine learning could be accessible to managers.

  • 29 Apr 2018

Analyzing the Aftermath of a Compensation Reduction

This study of the effects of compensation cuts in a large sales organization provides a unique lens for analyzing the link between compensation schemes, worker performance, and turnover.

  • 11 Dec 2017

The Use and Misuse of Patent Data: Issues for Corporate Finance and Beyond

Corporate finance researchers who analyze patent data are at risk of making highly predictable errors. The problem arises from dramatic changes in the direction and location of technological innovation (and patenting practice) over recent decades. This paper explains the pitfalls and suggests practical steps for avoiding them.

case studies business analysis

  • 21 Aug 2017
  • Lessons from the Classroom

Companies Love Big Data But Lack the Strategy To Use It Effectively

Big data is a critical competitive advantage for companies that know how to use it. Harvard Business School faculty share insights that they teach to executives. Open for comment; 0 Comments.

  • 06 Jul 2017

Do All Your Detailing Efforts Pay Off? Dynamic Panel Data Methods Revisited

Personal selling in the form of detailing to physicians is the main go-to-market practice in the pharmaceutical industry. This paper provides a practical framework to analyze the effectiveness of detailing efforts. The method and empirical insights can help firms allocate sales-force resources more efficiently and devise optimal routes and call-pattern designs.

  • 09 Dec 2015

Big Data and Big Cities: The Promises and Limitations of Improved Measures of Urban Life

Michael Luca, Scott Duke Kominers and colleagues describe a number of new urban data sources and illustrate how they can be used to improve the study and function of cities.

  • 09 Apr 2014

Visualizing and Measuring Software Portfolio Architectures: A Flexibility Analysis

Contemporary business environments are constantly evolving, requiring continual changes to the software applications that support a business. Moreover, during recent decades, the sheer number of applications has grown significantly, and they have become increasingly interdependent. Many companies find that managing applications and implementing changes to their application portfolio architecture is increasingly difficult and expensive. Firms need a way to visualize and analyze the modularity of their software portfolio architectures and the degree of coupling between components. In this paper, the authors test a method for visualizing and measuring software portfolio architectures using data of a biopharmaceutical firm's enterprise architecture. The authors also use the measures to predict the costs of architectural change. Findings show, first, that the biopharmaceutical firm's enterprise architecture can be classified as core-periphery. This means that 1) there is one cyclic group (the "Core") of components that is substantially larger than the second largest cyclic group, and 2) this group comprises a substantial portion of the entire architecture. In addition, the classification of applications in the architecture (as being in the Core or the Periphery) is significantly correlated with architectural flexibility. In this case the architecture has a propagation cost of 23 percent, meaning almost one-quarter of the system may be affected when a change is made to a randomly selected component. Overall, results suggest that the hidden structure method can reveal new facts about an enterprise architecture. This method can aid the analysis of change costs at the software application portfolio level. Key concepts include: This method for architectural visualization could provide valuable input when planning architectural change projects (in terms of, for example, risk analysis and resource planning). The method reveals a "hidden" core-periphery structure, uncovering new facts about the architecture that could not be gained from other visualization procedures or standard metrics. Compared to other measures of complexity, coupling, and modularity, this method considers not only the direct dependencies between components but also the indirect dependencies. These indirect dependencies provide important input for management decisions. Closed for comment; 0 Comments.

  • 10 Jun 2013

How Numbers Talk to People

In their new book Keeping Up with the Quants, Thomas H. Davenport and Jinho Kim offer tools to sharpen quantitative analysis and make better decisions. Read our excerpt. Open for comment; 0 Comments.

  • 25 Apr 2012
  • What Do You Think?

How Will the “Age of Big Data” Affect Management?

Summing up: How do we avoid losing useful knowledge in a seemingly endless flood of data? Jim Heskett's readers offer some wise suggestions. What do you think? Closed for comment; 0 Comments.

  • 05 May 2010

Is Denial Endemic to Management?

Poring over reader responses to his May column, HBS professor Jim Heskett is struck by the fact that they include behavioral, structural, and even mechanical remedies. (Forum now closed. Next forum opens June 3.) Closed for comment; 0 Comments.

  • 15 Apr 2010

The Consequences of Entrepreneurial Finance: A Regression Discontinuity Analysis

What difference do angel investors make for the success and growth of new ventures? William R. Kerr and Josh Lerner of HBS and Antoinette Schoar of MIT provide fresh evidence to address this crucial question in entrepreneurial finance, quantifying the positive impact that angel investors make to the companies they fund. Angel investors as research subjects have received much less attention than venture capitalists, even though some estimates suggest that these investors are as significant a force for high-potential start-up investments as venture capitalists, and are even more significant as investors elsewhere. This study demonstrates the importance of angel investments to the success and survival of entrepreneurial firms. It also offers an empirical foothold for analyzing many other important questions in entrepreneurial finance. Key concepts include: Angel-funded firms are significantly more likely to survive at least four years (or until 2010) and to raise additional financing outside the angel group. Angel-funded firms are also more likely to show improved venture performance and growth as measured through growth in Web site traffic and Web site rankings. The improvement gains typically range between 30 and 50 percent. Investment success is highly predicated by the interest level of angels during the entrepreneur's initial presentation and by the angels' subsequent due diligence. Access to capital per se may not be the most important value-added that angel groups bring. Some of the "softer" features, such as angels' mentoring or business contacts, may help new ventures the most. Closed for comment; 0 Comments.

  • 22 Aug 2005

The Hard Work of Failure Analysis

We all should learn from failure—but it's difficult to do so objectively. In this excerpt from "Failing to Learn and Learning to Fail (Intelligently)" in Long Range Planning Journal, HBS professor Amy Edmondson and coauthor Mark Cannon offer a process for analyzing what went wrong. Closed for comment; 0 Comments.

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case studies business analysis

Program Management

A Business Case Analysis (BCA) is a document that provides a best-value analysis that considers not only cost but other quantifiable and non-quantifiable factors supporting an investment decision. A BCA should aid the decision maker in making an informed product support strategy decision. It should be tailored to inform the Program Manager of the costs, benefits, and risk implications of the strategic alternatives being considered. It should reflect the appropriate level of analysis needed to provide a fair assessment of the proposed alternatives. This analysis can include but is not limited to performance, producibility, reliability, maintainability, and supportability enhancements.

Definition: A Business Case Analysis (BCA) is a s a structured methodology and document that aids decision-making by identifying and comparing alternatives by examining the mission and business impacts (both financial and non-financial), risks, and sensitivities. It is a Program Management tool used to evaluate potential business decisions for best-value determinations.

Purpose of a Business Case Analysis (BCA)

The purpose of a BCA is to provide decision-makers with the appropriate information to assess whether or not to make a decision. A BCA is a valuable tool that assists in refining the myriad of decisions to determine the best value strategy.  It follows an iterative process, conducted and updated as needed throughout the life cycle as program plans evolve and react to changes in the business and mission environment.

Why Use a Business Case Analysis (BCA)

A BCA is a powerful tool for two crucial reasons. The first is that the person making the report has to think about all the costs, risks, and benefits of making a choice. When making a choice, it’s easy to only think about what you want to happen instead of looking at every possible event. When people are pushed to think about the worst possible outcomes, they are likelier to make the right choice. The second reason to use business case analysis is that it makes it easy for a subject-matter expert to give useful information to stakeholders and put it in context. Without a full report from the expert, stakeholders might not realize how vital some costs, risks, or rewards are.

Business Case Analysis (BCA) Use

A Business Case Analysis is used for the following:

  • Is used in the initial decision to invest in a project.
  • Guides the decision to select among alternative approaches.
  • Is used to validate any proposed scope, schedule, or budget changes during the course of the project.
  • Should also be used to identify the various budget accounts and amounts affected by the various product support strategies.
  • Should be a living document ‘ as project or organization changes occur they should be reflected in updates to the business case.
  • Should be used to validate that planned benefits are realized at the completion of the project.
  • Makes the team consider all of the costs, risks, and benefits of making a decision

Business Case Analysis (BCA) Report Content

As a minimum, a BCA should include:

  • Executive Summary: An overview of the BCA
  • Introduction: An introduction that defines what the case is about (the subject) and why (its purpose) it is necessary. The introduction presents the objectives addressed by the subject of the case.
  • Methods and Assumptions: state the analysis methods and rationale that fixes the boundaries of the case (whose costs and benefits are examined over what time period). This section outlines the rules for deciding what belongs in the case and what does not, along with the important assumptions.
  • Impacts: The business impacts are the financial and non-financial business impacts expected in one or more scenarios.
  • Risk assessment: show how results depend on important assumptions (‘what if’) and the likelihood for other results to surface.
  • Conclusions and Recommendations: specific actions based on business objectives and the analysis results.

Business Case Analysis (BCA) References

Guide: dod product support business case analysis (bca) guidebook – 28 feb 2014.

  • Template: DoD Business Case Analysis

Performance-Based Logistics (PBL) BCA

DoD has promulgated the Guiding Principles for conducting a Performance-Based Logistics (PBL) BCA in USD(AT&L) Memorandum, Performance-Based Logistics (PBL) Business Case Analysis (BCA), 23 January 2004. OSD has issued guidance emphasizing the use of the Business Case Analysis as a fundamental tool to support PBL support strategic decisions.

Difference Between a Business Case and Business Case Analysis

They are the same regarding results, but a business case normally refers to the report, and business case analysis refers to the analysis.

AcqNotes Tutorial

Lessons Learned in Developing a Business Case Analysis (BCA)

As a program manager who needs to make a business case study for top management, there are a few essential things to remember. Here are some of the most important lessons:

  • Know the Goals: Before you start the business case analysis, make sure you understand the company’s strategic goals and the proposed project’s specific goals. This will help you ensure your analysis aligns with the results you want and show senior leadership the possible value.
  • Get people involved early: Include key partners from the start of the process to get their feedback and ensure their points of view are considered. Engaging partners early on build support and helps find key success factors, possible risks, and other important factors that should be analyzed.
  • Get enough information: Do a lot of studies and gather accurate information to back up your analysis. This includes financial data, market studies, customer feedback, and other useful information. Ensuring your data is correct and reliable will give your business case more weight.
  • Clearly define assumptions: If you made any assumptions during the research, say so and explain them. Assumptions are a key part of making predictions and figuring out costs and rewards. Being open about your assumptions helps the people in charge understand your analysis and decide if it is true.
  • List and measure the benefits: List and measure both the visible and invisible benefits of the planned project. Tangible benefits can be measured in terms of money, like how much they save, make, or improve efficiency. Some examples of intangible benefits are happier customers, a better image for the brand, and happier employees. Your business case will be stronger if you show all of the perks.
  • Evaluate risks and ways to deal with them: Find and evaluate any possible risks with the project. Explain how likely risks will happen and how they might affect the company. Also, develop suitable mitigation strategies to show that you are taking a proactive approach to risk management and reduce the likelihood of bad things happening.
  • Think about other options: Look into other solutions or ways of doing things and rate their viability and possible benefits. By comparing different options, senior leaders can make well-informed decisions and ensure that the planned initiative is the most effective and efficient way to meet organizational goals.
  • Communicate clearly and briefly: Give your analysis in a clear, brief, and convincing way. Use visual guides, executive summaries, and other tools to help people understand your findings. Adjust the level of detail to your audience and focus on the key information senior leadership needs to make an informed choice.
  • Be ready for questions: Think about what questions and worries senior leadership might have and be ready to answer them. Understand the business case analysis and the concepts it is based on so you can answer with confidence and knowledge. This shows your knowledge and builds your trustworthiness.
  • Ask for feedback and keep making changes:  After presenting the business case analysis, ask top leadership and other stakeholders for feedback. Learn what they think and what worries them. Use this feedback as a chance to keep getting better, to improve your analysis, and to add useful information to future business cases.

AcqLinks and References:

  • DoD Product Support Business Case Analysis (BCA) Guidebook – 28 Feb 2014

Updated: 7/8/2023

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28 Case Study Examples Every Marketer Should See

Caroline Forsey

Published: March 08, 2023

Putting together a compelling case study is one of the most powerful strategies for showcasing your product and attracting future customers. But it's not easy to create case studies that your audience can’t wait to read.

marketer reviewing case study examples

In this post, we’ll go over the definition of a case study and the best examples to inspire you.

Download Now: 3 Free Case Study Templates

What is a case study?

A case study is a detailed story of something your company did. It includes a beginning — often discussing a conflict, an explanation of what happened next, and a resolution that explains how the company solved or improved on something.

A case study proves how your product has helped other companies by demonstrating real-life results. Not only that, but marketing case studies with solutions typically contain quotes from the customer. This means that they’re not just ads where you praise your own product. Rather, other companies are praising your company — and there’s no stronger marketing material than a verbal recommendation or testimonial. A great case study is also filled with research and stats to back up points made about a project's results.

There are myriad ways to use case studies in your marketing strategy . From featuring them on your website to including them in a sales presentation, a case study is a strong, persuasive tool that shows customers why they should work with you — straight from another customer. Writing one from scratch is hard, though, which is why we’ve created a collection of case study templates for you to get started.

Fill out the form below to access the free case study templates.

case studies business analysis

Free Case Study Templates

Showcase your company's success using these three free case study templates.

  • Data-Driven Case Study Template
  • Product-Specific Case Study Template
  • General Case Study Template

You're all set!

Click this link to access this resource at any time.

There’s no better way to generate more leads than by writing case studies . But without case study examples to draw inspiration from, it can be difficult to write impactful studies that convince visitors to submit a form.

Marketing Case Study Examples

To help you create an attractive and high-converting case study, we've put together a list of some of our favorites. This list includes famous case studies in marketing, technology, and business.

These studies can show you how to frame your company offers in a way that is both meaningful and useful to your audience. So, take a look, and let these examples inspire your next brilliant case study design.

These marketing case studies with solutions show the value proposition of each product. They also show how each company benefited in both the short and long term using quantitative data. In other words, you don’t get just nice statements, like "This company helped us a lot." You see actual change within the firm through numbers and figures.

You can put your learnings into action with HubSpot's Free Case Study Templates . Available as custom designs and text-based documents, you can upload these templates to your CMS or send them to prospects as you see fit.

case study template

1. " How Handled Scaled from Zero to 121 Locations with the Help of HubSpot ," by HubSpot

Case study examples: Handled and HubSpot

What's interesting about this case study is the way it leads with the customer. That reflects a major HubSpot cornerstone, which is to always solve for the customer first. The copy leads with a brief description of why the CEO of Handled founded the company and why he thought Handled could benefit from adopting a CRM. The case study also opens up with one key data point about Handled’s success using HubSpot, namely that it grew to 121 locations.

Notice that this case study uses mixed media. Yes, there is a short video, but it's elaborated upon in the other text on the page. So while your case studies can use one or the other, don't be afraid to combine written copy with visuals to emphasize the project's success.

Key Learnings from the HubSpot Case Study Example

  • Give the case study a personal touch by focusing on the CEO rather than the company itself.
  • Use multimedia to engage website visitors as they read the case study.

2. " The Whole Package ," by IDEO

Case study examples: IDEO and H&M

Here's a design company that knows how to lead with simplicity in its case studies. As soon as the visitor arrives at the page, they’re greeted with a big, bold photo and the title of the case study — which just so happens to summarize how IDEO helped its client. It summarizes the case study in three snippets: The challenge, the impact, and the outcome.

Immediately, IDEO communicates its impact — the company partnered with H&M to remove plastic from its packaging — but it doesn't stop there. As the user scrolls down, the challenge, impact, and progress are elaborated upon with comprehensive (but not overwhelming) copy that outlines what that process looked like, replete with quotes and intriguing visuals.

Key Learnings from the IDEO Case Study Example

  • Split up the takeaways of your case studies into bite-sized sections.
  • Always use visuals and images to enrich the case study experience, especially if it’s a comprehensive case study.

3. " Rozum Robotics intensifies its PR game with Awario ," by Awario

Case study example from Awario

In this case study, Awario greets the user with a summary straight away — so if you’re feeling up to reading the entire case study, you can scan the snapshot and understand how the company serves its customers. The case study then includes jump links to several sections, such as "Company Profile," "Rozum Robotics' Pains," "Challenge," "Solution," and "Results and Improvements."

The sparse copy and prominent headings show that you don’t need a lot of elaborate information to show the value of your products and services. Like the other case study examples on this list, it includes visuals and quotes to demonstrate the effectiveness of the company’s efforts. The case study ends with a bulleted list that shows the results.

Key Learnings from the Awario Robotics Case Study Example

  • Create a table of contents to make your case study easier to navigate.
  • Include a bulleted list of the results you achieved for your client.

4. " Chevrolet DTU ," by Carol H. Williams

Case study examples: Carol H. Williams and Chevrolet DTU

If you’ve worked with a company that’s well-known, use only the name in the title — like Carol H. Williams, one of the nation’s top advertising agencies, does here. The "DTU," stands for "Discover the Unexpected." It generates interest because you want to find out what the initials mean.

They keep your interest in this case study by using a mixture of headings, images, and videos to describe the challenges, objectives, and solutions of the project. The case study closes with a summary of the key achievements that Chevrolet’s DTU Journalism Fellows reached during the project.

Key Learnings from the Carol H. Williams Case Study Example

  • If you’ve worked with a big brand before, consider only using the name in the title — just enough to pique interest.
  • Use a mixture of headings and subheadings to guide users through the case study.

5. " How Fractl Earned Links from 931 Unique Domains for Porch.com in a Single Year ," by Fractl

Case study example from Fractl

Fractl uses both text and graphic design in their Porch.com case study to immerse the viewer in a more interesting user experience. For instance, as you scroll, you'll see the results are illustrated in an infographic-design form as well as the text itself.

Further down the page, they use icons like a heart and a circle to illustrate their pitch angles, and graphs to showcase their results. Rather than writing which publications have mentioned Porch.com during Fractl’s campaign, they incorporated the media outlets’ icons for further visual diversity.

Key Learnings from the Fractl Case Study Example

  • Let pictures speak for you by incorporating graphs, logos, and icons all throughout the case study.
  • Start the case study by right away stating the key results, like Fractl does, instead of putting the results all the way at the bottom.

6. " The Met ," by Fantasy

Case study example from Fantasy

What's the best way to showcase the responsiveness and user interface of a website? Probably by diving right into it with a series of simple showcases— which is exactly what Fantasy does on their case study page for the Metropolitan Museum of Art. They keep the page simple and clean, inviting you to review their redesign of the Met’s website feature-by-feature.

Each section is simple, showing a single piece of the new website's interface so that users aren’t overwhelmed with information and can focus on what matters most.

If you're more interested in text, you can read the objective for each feature. Fantasy understands that, as a potential customer, this is all you need to know. Scrolling further, you're greeted with a simple "Contact Us" CTA.

Key Learnings from the Fantasy Case Study Example

  • You don’t have to write a ton of text to create a great case study. Focus on the solution you delivered itself.
  • Include a CTA at the bottom inviting visitors to contact you.

7. " Rovio: How Rovio Grew Into a Gaming Superpower ," by App Annie

Case study example from App Annie

If your client had a lot of positive things to say about you, take a note from App Annie’s Rovio case study and open up with a quote from your client. The case study also closes with a quote, so that the case study doesn’t seem like a promotion written by your marketing team but a story that’s taken straight from your client’s mouth. It includes a photo of a Rovio employee, too.

Another thing this example does well? It immediately includes a link to the product that Rovio used (namely, App Annie Intelligence) at the top of the case study. The case study closes with a call-to-action button prompting users to book a demo.

Key Learnings from the App Annie Case Study Example

  • Feature quotes from your client at the beginning and end of the case study.
  • Include a mention of the product right at the beginning and prompt users to learn more about the product.

8. " Embracing first-party data: 3 success stories from HubSpot ," by Think with Google

Case study examples: Think with Google and HubSpot

Google takes a different approach to text-focused case studies by choosing three different companies to highlight.

The case study is clean and easily scannable. It has sections for each company, with quotes and headers that clarify the way these three distinct stories connect. The simple format also uses colors and text that align with the Google brand.

Another differentiator is the focus on data. This case study is less than a thousand words, but it's packed with useful data points. Data-driven insights quickly and clearly show how the value of leveraging first-party data while prioritizing consumer privacy.

Case studies example: Data focus, Think with Google

Key Learnings from the Think with Google Case Study Example

  • A case study doesn’t need to be long or complex to be powerful.
  • Clear data points are a quick and effective way to prove value.

9. " In-Depth Performance Marketing Case Study ," by Switch

Case study example from Switch

Switch is an international marketing agency based in Malta that knocks it out of the park with this case study. Its biggest challenge is effectively communicating what it did for its client without ever revealing the client’s name. It also effectively keeps non-marketers in the loop by including a glossary of terms on page 4.

The PDF case study reads like a compelling research article, including titles like "In-Depth Performance Marketing Case Study," "Scenario," and "Approach," so that readers get a high-level overview of what the client needed and why they approached Switch. It also includes a different page for each strategy. For instance, if you’d only be interested in hiring Switch for optimizing your Facebook ads, you can skip to page 10 to see how they did it.

The PDF is fourteen pages long but features big fonts and plenty of white space, so viewers can easily skim it in only a few minutes.

Key Learnings from the Switch Case Study Example

  • If you want to go into specialized information, include a glossary of terms so that non-specialists can easily understand.
  • Close with a CTA page in your case study PDF and include contact information for prospective clients.

10. " Gila River ," by OH Partners

Case study example from OH Partners

Let pictures speak for you, like OH Partners did in this case study. While you’ll quickly come across a heading and some text when you land on this case study page, you’ll get the bulk of the case study through examples of actual work OH Partners did for its client. You will see OH Partners’ work in a billboard, magazine, and video. This communicates to website visitors that if they work with OH Partners, their business will be visible everywhere.

And like the other case studies here, it closes with a summary of what the firm achieved for its client in an eye-catching way.

Key Learnings from the OH Partners Case Study Example

  • Let the visuals speak by including examples of the actual work you did for your client — which is especially useful for branding and marketing agencies.
  • Always close out with your achievements and how they impacted your client.

11. " Facing a Hater ," by Digitas

Case study example from Digitas

Digitas' case study page for Sprite’s #ILOVEYOUHATER campaign keeps it brief while communicating the key facts of Digitas’ work for the popular soda brand. The page opens with an impactful image of a hundred people facing a single man. It turns out, that man is the biggest "bully" in Argentina, and the people facing him are those whom he’s bullied before.

Scrolling down, it's obvious that Digitas kept Sprite at the forefront of their strategy, but more than that, they used real people as their focal point. They leveraged the Twitter API to pull data from Tweets that people had actually tweeted to find the identity of the biggest "hater" in the country. That turned out to be @AguanteElCofler, a Twitter user who has since been suspended.

Key Learnings from the Digitas Case Study Example

  • If a video was part of your work for your client, be sure to include the most impactful screenshot as the heading.
  • Don’t be afraid to provide details on how you helped your client achieve their goals, including the tools you leveraged.

12. " Better Experiences for All ," by HermanMiller

Case study example from HermanMiller

HermanMiller sells sleek, utilitarian furniture with no frills and extreme functionality, and that ethos extends to its case study page for a hospital in Dubai.

What first attracted me to this case study was the beautiful video at the top and the clean user experience. User experience matters a lot in a case study. It determines whether users will keep reading or leave. Another notable aspect of this case study is that the video includes closed-captioning for greater accessibility, and users have the option of expanding the CC and searching through the text.

HermanMiller’s case study also offers an impressive amount of information packed in just a few short paragraphs for those wanting to understand the nuances of their strategy. It closes out with a quote from their client and, most importantly, the list of furniture products that the hospital purchased from the brand.

Key Learnings from the HermanMiller Case Study Example

  • Close out with a list of products that users can buy after reading the case study.
  • Include accessibility features such as closed captioning and night mode to make your case study more user-friendly.

13. " Capital One on AWS ," by Amazon

Case study example from Amazon AWS

Do you work continuously with your clients? Consider structuring your case study page like Amazon did in this stellar case study example. Instead of just featuring one article about Capital One and how it benefited from using AWS, Amazon features a series of articles that you can then access if you’re interested in reading more. It goes all the way back to 2016, all with different stories that feature Capital One’s achievements using AWS.

This may look unattainable for a small firm, but you don’t have to go to extreme measures and do it for every single one of your clients. You could choose the one you most wish to focus on and establish a contact both on your side and your client’s for coming up with the content. Check in every year and write a new piece. These don’t have to be long, either — five hundred to eight hundred words will do.

Key Learnings from the Amazon AWS Case Study Example

  • Write a new article each year featuring one of your clients, then include links to those articles in one big case study page.
  • Consider including external articles as well that emphasize your client’s success in their industry.

14. " HackReactor teaches the world to code #withAsana ," by Asana

Case study examples: Asana and HackReactor

While Asana's case study design looks text-heavy, there's a good reason. It reads like a creative story, told entirely from the customer's perspective.

For instance, Asana knows you won't trust its word alone on why this product is useful. So, they let Tony Phillips, HackReactor CEO, tell you instead: "We take in a lot of information. Our brains are awful at storage but very good at thinking; you really start to want some third party to store your information so you can do something with it."

Asana features frequent quotes from Phillips to break up the wall of text and humanize the case study. It reads like an in-depth interview and captivates the reader through creative storytelling. Even more, Asana includes in-depth detail about how HackReactor uses Asana. This includes how they build templates and workflows:

"There's a huge differentiator between Asana and other tools, and that’s the very easy API access. Even if Asana isn’t the perfect fit for a workflow, someone like me— a relatively mediocre software engineer—can add functionality via the API to build a custom solution that helps a team get more done."

Key Learnings from the Asana Example

  • Include quotes from your client throughout the case study.
  • Provide extensive detail on how your client worked with you or used your product.

15. " Rips Sewed, Brand Love Reaped ," by Amp Agency

Case study example from Amp Agency

Amp Agency's Patagonia marketing strategy aimed to appeal to a new audience through guerrilla marketing efforts and a coast-to-coast road trip. Their case study page effectively conveys a voyager theme, complete with real photos of Patagonia customers from across the U.S., and a map of the expedition. I liked Amp Agency's storytelling approach best. It captures viewers' attention from start to finish simply because it's an intriguing and unique approach to marketing.

Key Learnings from the Amp Agency Example

  • Open up with a summary that communicates who your client is and why they reached out to you.
  • Like in the other case study examples, you’ll want to close out with a quantitative list of your achievements.

16. " NetApp ," by Evisort

Case study examples: Evisort and NetApp

Evisort opens up its NetApp case study with an at-a-glance overview of the client. It’s imperative to always focus on the client in your case study — not on your amazing product and equally amazing team. By opening up with a snapshot of the client’s company, Evisort places the focus on the client.

This case study example checks all the boxes for a great case study that’s informative, thorough, and compelling. It includes quotes from the client and details about the challenges NetApp faced during the COVID pandemic. It closes out with a quote from the client and with a link to download the case study in PDF format, which is incredibly important if you want your case study to be accessible in a wider variety of formats.

Key Learnings from the Evisort Example

  • Place the focus immediately on your client by including a snapshot of their company.
  • Mention challenging eras, such as a pandemic or recession, to show how your company can help your client succeed even during difficult times.

17. " Copernicus Land Monitoring – CLC+ Core ," by Cloudflight

Case study example from Cloudflight

Including highly specialized information in your case study is an effective way to show prospects that you’re not just trying to get their business. You’re deep within their industry, too, and willing to learn everything you need to learn to create a solution that works specifically for them.

Cloudflight does a splendid job at that in its Copernicus Land Monitoring case study. While the information may be difficult to read at first glance, it will capture the interest of prospects who are in the environmental industry. It thus shows Cloudflight’s value as a partner much more effectively than a general case study would.

The page is comprehensive and ends with a compelling call-to-action — "Looking for a solution that automates, and enhances your Big Data system? Are you struggling with large datasets and accessibility? We would be happy to advise and support you!" The clean, whitespace-heavy page is an effective example of using a case study to capture future leads.

Key Learnings from the Cloudflight Case Study Example

  • Don’t be afraid to get technical in your explanation of what you did for your client.
  • Include a snapshot of the sales representative prospects should contact, especially if you have different sales reps for different industries, like Cloudflight does.

18. " Valvoline Increases Coupon Send Rate by 76% with Textel’s MMS Picture Texting ," by Textel

Case study example from Textel

If you’re targeting large enterprises with a long purchasing cycle, you’ll want to include a wealth of information in an easily transferable format. That’s what Textel does here in its PDF case study for Valvoline. It greets the user with an eye-catching headline that shows the value of using Textel. Valvoline saw a significant return on investment from using the platform.

Another smart decision in this case study is highlighting the client’s quote by putting it in green font and doing the same thing for the client’s results because it helps the reader quickly connect the two pieces of information. If you’re in a hurry, you can also take a look at the "At a Glance" column to get the key facts of the case study, starting with information about Valvoline.

Key Learnings from the Textel Case Study Example

  • Include your client’s ROI right in the title of the case study.
  • Add an "At a Glance" column to your case study PDF to make it easy to get insights without needing to read all the text.

19. " Hunt Club and Happeo — a tech-enabled love story ," by Happeo

Case study example from Happeo

In this blog-post-like case study, Happeo opens with a quote from the client, then dives into a compelling heading: "Technology at the forefront of Hunt Club's strategy." Say you’re investigating Happeo as a solution and consider your firm to be technology-driven. This approach would spark your curiosity about why the client chose to work with Happeo. It also effectively communicates the software’s value proposition without sounding like it’s coming from an in-house marketing team.

Every paragraph is a quote written from the customer’s perspective. Later down the page, the case study also dives into "the features that changed the game for Hunt Club," giving Happeo a chance to highlight some of the platform’s most salient features.

Key Learnings from the Happeo Case Study Example

  • Consider writing the entirety of the case study from the perspective of the customer.
  • Include a list of the features that convinced your client to go with you.

20. " Red Sox Season Campaign ," by CTP Boston

Case study example from CTP Boston

What's great about CTP's case study page for their Red Sox Season Campaign is their combination of video, images, and text. A video automatically begins playing when you visit the page, and as you scroll, you'll see more embedded videos of Red Sox players, a compilation of print ads, and social media images you can click to enlarge.

At the bottom, it says "Find out how we can do something similar for your brand." The page is clean, cohesive, and aesthetically pleasing. It invites viewers to appreciate the well-roundedness of CTP's campaign for Boston's beloved baseball team.

Key Learnings from the CTP Case Study Example

  • Include a video in the heading of the case study.
  • Close with a call-to-action that makes leads want to turn into prospects.

21. " Acoustic ," by Genuine

Case study example from Genuine

Sometimes, simple is key. Genuine's case study for Acoustic is straightforward and minimal, with just a few short paragraphs, including "Reimagining the B2B website experience," "Speaking to marketers 1:1," and "Inventing Together." After the core of the case study, we then see a quote from Acoustic’s CMO and the results Genuine achieved for the company.

The simplicity of the page allows the reader to focus on both the visual aspects and the copy. The page displays Genuine's brand personality while offering the viewer all the necessary information they need.

  • You don’t need to write a lot to create a great case study. Keep it simple.
  • Always include quantifiable data to illustrate the results you achieved for your client.

22. " Using Apptio Targetprocess Automated Rules in Wargaming ," by Apptio

Case study example from Apptio

Apptio’s case study for Wargaming summarizes three key pieces of information right at the beginning: The goals, the obstacles, and the results.

Readers then have the opportunity to continue reading — or they can walk away right then with the information they need. This case study also excels in keeping the human interest factor by formatting the information like an interview.

The piece is well-organized and uses compelling headers to keep the reader engaged. Despite its length, Apptio's case study is appealing enough to keep the viewer's attention. Every Apptio case study ends with a "recommendation for other companies" section, where the client can give advice for other companies that are looking for a similar solution but aren’t sure how to get started.

Key Learnings from the Apptio Case Study Example

  • Put your client in an advisory role by giving them the opportunity to give recommendations to other companies that are reading the case study.
  • Include the takeaways from the case study right at the beginning so prospects quickly get what they need.

23. " Airbnb + Zendesk: building a powerful solution together ," by Zendesk

Case study example from Zendesk

Zendesk's Airbnb case study reads like a blog post, and focuses equally on Zendesk and Airbnb, highlighting a true partnership between the companies. To captivate readers, it begins like this: "Halfway around the globe is a place to stay with your name on it. At least for a weekend."

The piece focuses on telling a good story and provides photographs of beautiful Airbnb locations. In a case study meant to highlight Zendesk's helpfulness, nothing could be more authentic than their decision to focus on Airbnb's service in such great detail.

Key Learnings from the Zendesk Case Study Example

  • Include images of your client’s offerings — not necessarily of the service or product you provided. Notice how Zendesk doesn’t include screenshots of its product.
  • Include a call-to-action right at the beginning of the case study. Zendesk gives you two options: to find a solution or start a trial.

24. " Biobot Customer Success Story: Rollins College, Winter Park, Florida ," by Biobot

Case study example from Biobot

Like some of the other top examples in this list, Biobot opens its case study with a quote from its client, which captures the value proposition of working with Biobot. It mentions the COVID pandemic and goes into detail about the challenges the client faced during this time.

This case study is structured more like a news article than a traditional case study. This format can work in more formal industries where decision-makers need to see in-depth information about the case. Be sure to test different methods and measure engagement .

Key Learnings from the Biobot Case Study Example

  • Mention environmental, public health, or economic emergencies and how you helped your client get past such difficult times.
  • Feel free to write the case study like a normal blog post, but be sure to test different methods to find the one that best works for you.

25. " Discovering Cost Savings With Efficient Decision Making ," by Gartner

Case study example from Gartner

You don't always need a ton of text or a video to convey your message — sometimes, you just need a few paragraphs and bullet points. Gartner does a fantastic job of quickly providing the fundamental statistics a potential customer would need to know, without boggling down their readers with dense paragraphs. The case study closes with a shaded box that summarizes the impact that Gartner had on its client. It includes a quote and a call-to-action to "Learn More."

Key Learnings from the Gartner Case Study Example

  • Feel free to keep the case study short.
  • Include a call-to-action at the bottom that takes the reader to a page that most relates to them.

26. " Bringing an Operator to the Game ," by Redapt

Case study example from Redapt

This case study example by Redapt is another great demonstration of the power of summarizing your case study’s takeaways right at the start of the study. Redapt includes three easy-to-scan columns: "The problem," "the solution," and "the outcome." But its most notable feature is a section titled "Moment of clarity," which shows why this particular project was difficult or challenging.

The section is shaded in green, making it impossible to miss. Redapt does the same thing for each case study. In the same way, you should highlight the "turning point" for both you and your client when you were working toward a solution.

Key Learnings from the Redapt Case Study Example

  • Highlight the turning point for both you and your client during the solution-seeking process.
  • Use the same structure (including the same headings) for your case studies to make them easy to scan and read.

27. " Virtual Call Center Sees 300% Boost In Contact Rate ," by Convoso

Case study example from Convoso

Convoso’s PDF case study for Digital Market Media immediately mentions the results that the client achieved and takes advantage of white space. On the second page, the case study presents more influential results. It’s colorful and engaging and closes with a spread that prompts readers to request a demo.

Key Learnings from the Convoso Case Study Example

  • List the results of your work right at the beginning of the case study.
  • Use color to differentiate your case study from others. Convoso’s example is one of the most colorful ones on this list.

28. " Ensuring quality of service during a pandemic ," by Ericsson

Case study example from Ericsson

Ericsson’s case study page for Orange Spain is an excellent example of using diverse written and visual media — such as videos, graphs, and quotes — to showcase the success a client experienced. Throughout the case study, Ericsson provides links to product and service pages users might find relevant as they’re reading the study.

For instance, under the heading "Preloaded with the power of automation," Ericsson mentions its Ericsson Operations Engine product, then links to that product page. It closes the case study with a link to another product page.

Key Learnings from the Ericsson Case Study Example

  • Link to product pages throughout the case study so that readers can learn more about the solution you offer.
  • Use multimedia to engage users as they read the case study.

Start creating your case study.

Now that you've got a great list of examples of case studies, think about a topic you'd like to write about that highlights your company or work you did with a customer.

A customer’s success story is the most persuasive marketing material you could ever create. With a strong portfolio of case studies, you can ensure prospects know why they should give you their business.

Editor's note: This post was originally published in August 2018 and has been updated for comprehensiveness.

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What is business analytics?

Man displays data on a screen to a conference room of individuals.

It should come as no surprise that big business decisions are made every single day at companies small and large. 

It is also well assumed that the best big decisions are ones with evidence and back them up—in the form of data. But how does data go from being raw information like surveys and click-through rates to being part of sometimes world-altering decision-making? Business analytics is how.

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The Online MS in Business Analytics from Pepperdine

The emphasis on data-powered decision-making is nothing new; in fact, businesses have known about its significance for years. A decade ago, Deloitte noted in a 2013 study that focus on big data and analytics were to be the “new normal” for maintaining growth. “Companies must focus on evolving their analytical maturity in addition to developing capabilities around rapid experimentation and trial and error. Remaining agile will be essential for handling this “new normal,” it stated.

So, with today there being hundreds of thousands of workers who describe themselves as business analysts (not to mention there now being an entire international organization dedicated to the field, the IIBA ), an important question lingers: what exactly even is business analytics? Fortune has you covered.

In the simplest terms, business analytics is the process or the ability to drive decisions using data and analytics, according to Anindya Ghose, the director of the master’s of science in business analytics program at New York University’s Stern School of Business. The school Stern is home to the no. 9 best MBA program , based on Fortune ’s ranking.

Business analytics is a field that is constantly evolving in accordance with technological developments. A few decades ago, business analytics was a much simpler domain in the typical business-tech space: spreadsheets could house information, trends could be identified using basic formulas, and data could be visualized to the team of decision-makers.

But today, business analytics is everywhere—in tech, healthcare, education, retail, media, and beyond. 

“The way we think about business analytics now—it’s a little bit of everything for everybody,” says Devanshu Mehrotra, curriculum developer and lead instructor at General Assembly, with a background in the world of analytics.

Business analytics is more so the art of data translating, says Mehrotra.

“And the idea is, since data is being democratized, and the idea is that specific organizations should own their data, they should be responsible for their data, then it’s important for there to be data translators,” he adds.

What skills do you need for business analytics?

While the exact skills needed to excel in business analytics may differ depending on industry, company, and level of experience, there are several foundations that are important to have, including:

  • Domain expertise: business fundamentals and relevant industry knowledge
  • Technical know-how: programming, data analysis, data visualization
  • Storytelling: translating data trends to business needs

The last point in particular was something Mehrotra and Ghose both emphasized as an area that really sets excellent business analysts apart from other fields. 

Additionally, knowledge of both high and low code tools are important technical aspects of the job, including for, as Mehrotra notes:

Because there are many data-related tools available—and every company may use something different—Mehrotra says it is important to be tool agnostic. 

“Multiple tools should be in your repertoire, (so) that you pick the tool based on the problem, not try and shove every problem into the two tools that you know,” he says. “And that’s why I’m always like—it’s do you understand the why before you understand the how.”

Ghose adds that in order to succeed in business analytics, having training in these two areas are of great importance:

  • Econometrics (advanced statistics and modeling)
  • Experimental design (creation and understanding of tests and behaviors)

It would also be remiss to not mention the criticality of AI in space. Like other fields, the tech is streamlining some of the day-to-day activities of business analytics. 

How can you learn business analytics?

Those wanting to get involved in business analytics are in luck because there are numerous ways to learn the in-demand skills.

When looking at traditional degree pathways, many universities have undergraduate and graduate degrees focused specifically on business analytics. ( Fortune ranks the best online master’s in business analytics ). And even if there is no program labeled business analytics directly, you can also gain through a combination of business and data science endeavors.

If a longer degree program is not for you, checking out a bootcamp or course in business analytics may provide a quicker, cheaper, and/or more flexible opportunity.

A few years ago, Mehrotra explains he may have recommended going down a traditional degree route, but because the world of analytics is always changing, a shorter program may be a better way to get the most up-to-date skills from instructors with recent industry experience.

“To me, I think long form education, specifically around these areas are not very impactful and not a good return on investment,” Mehrotra says. “I think short form and creating your own journey, so as to speak, is important and I do think that some kind of short form educational programs are a very important part of that.”

Regardless, what’s key to sticking out in a competitive job ecosystem is gaining hands-on projects, creating a portfolio, and learning from instructors with real-world experience, Mehrotra notes.

Studying business analytics also does not necessarily mean you are boxed in to becoming a business analyst. Other job titles may include data scientist , data analyst , market researcher, chief digital officer, chief data officer, head of product, and intelligence analyst.

“It’s now increasingly difficult, if not impossible to imagine—taking decisions without the help of computers, algorithms and data,” Ghose says. “So, you will almost certainly see lots of benefits from that. I think that is just the way of the world today will just continue to be even more ubiquitous as we proceed. So, jump in and join the party.”

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Create a System to Grow Consistently

  • Paul Leinwand

case studies business analysis

Delivering consistent growth is one of the hardest things a company can do. A brilliant idea or product innovation can create a burst of episodic growth, but few companies demonstrate growth year in and year out, especially amid the disruptions and uncertain economy we’ve experienced during the 2020s. Some companies have managed to sustain consistent growth, however.

Research from PwC reveals that the highest-performing organizations invest in a growth system, an integrated collection of capabilities and assets that drives both short-term and long-term growth. The authors provide a framework for building a growth system offering case examples highlighting Toast, IKEA, Vertex, Adobe, and Roblox.

Five elements can move you beyond episodic success.

Delivering sustained growth is one of the hardest things a company can do. A brilliant idea or product innovation can create a burst of episodic growth, but few companies demonstrate growth year in and year out, especially amid the disruptions and uncertain economy we’ve experienced during the 2020s. Some companies have cracked the code on sustained growth, however, while realizing the elusive goal of knowing precisely where next quarter’s revenue will come from.

Invest in prediction, adaptability, and resilience.

  • Paul Blase is a principal at PwC U.S. and leads the firm’s growth platform. He advises executives on designing systems to deliver consistent growth.
  • Paul Leinwand is a principal at PwC U.S., a global managing director at Strategy&, and an adjunct professor at Northwestern’s Kellogg School. He is a coauthor, with Mahadeva Matt Mani, of Beyond Digital: How Great Leaders Transform Their Organizations and Shape the Future (HBR Press, 2022).

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Video Case Studies: PayPal helps improve the customer experience for Southwest Airlines

PayPal Editorial Staff

February 16, 2024

Together with PayPal, Southwest Airlines explores forward thinking solutions to further enhance their customer experience.

Southwest Airlines is the world's largest low-cost carrier, operating non-stop flights to more than 120 destinations across over 10 countries. With PayPal, Southwest customers can purchase airline tickets at southwest.com seamlessly and securely. PayPal and Southwest continue to expand their relationship to provide efficiency and an even better customer experience.

We spoke with Chris Priebe, Managing Director of Payments and Risk at Southwest Airlines to discuss how PayPal and Southwest continue to collaborate and innovate the future of payments.

Watch the testimonial videos to learn how PayPal helps improve the customer experience for Southwest Airlines customers.

Southwest Airlines Case Study (PDF)

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case studies business analysis

Some virtual care companies putting patient data at risk, new study finds

Canadian researchers have patient privacy concerns as industry grows post-covid.

case studies business analysis

Social Sharing

This story is part of CBC Health's Second Opinion, a weekly analysis of health and medical science news emailed to subscribers on Saturday mornings. If you haven't subscribed yet, you can do that by  clicking here .

If you visit a doctor virtually through a commercial app, the information you submit in the app could be used to promote a particular drug or service, says the leader of a new Canadian study involving industry insiders.

The industry insiders "were concerned that care might not be designed to be the best care for patients, but rather might be designed to increase uptake of the drug or vaccine to meet the pharmaceutical company objectives," said Dr. Sheryl Spithoff, a physician and scientist at Women's College Hospital in Toronto.

Virtual care took off as a convenient way to access health care during the COVID-19 pandemic, allowing patients to consult with a doctor by videoconference, phone call or text.

It's estimated that more than one in five adults in Canada —  or 6.5 million people — don't have a family physician or nurse practitioner they can see regularly, and virtual care is helping to fill the void.

But the study's researchers and others who work in the medical field have raised concerns that some virtual care companies aren't adequately protecting patients' private health information from being used by drug companies and shared with third parties that want to market products and services.

A female doctor with long, brown hair standing in a medical office.

Spithoff co-authored the study in this week's BMJ Open , based on interviews with 18 individuals employed or affiliated with the Canadian virtual care industry between October 2021 and January 2022. The researchers also analyzed 31 privacy documents from the websites of more than a dozen companies.

The for-profit virtual care industry valued patient data and "appears to view data as a revenue stream," the researchers found.

One employee with a virtual care platform told the researchers that the platform, "at the behest of the pharmaceutical company, would conduct 'A/B testing' by putting out a new version of software to a percentage of patients to see if the new version improved uptake of the drug."

case studies business analysis

Many virtual care apps pushing products, selling personal data, research finds

Concerns about how data might be shared.

Matthew Herder, director of the Health Law Institute at Dalhousie University in Halifax, said he hopes the study draws the public's attention to what's behind some of these platforms.

"All of this is happening because of a business model that sees value in collecting that data and using it in a variety of ways that have little to do with patient care and more to do in building up the assets of that company," Herder said.

Bearded man standing in front of a chalkboard.

Other industry insiders were concerned about how data, such as browsing information, might be shared with third parties such as Google and Meta, the owner of Facebook, for marketing purposes, Spithoff said.

The study's authors said companies placed data in three categories:

  • Registration data, such as name, email address and date of birth.
  • User data, such as how, when and where you use the website, on what device and your internet protocol or IP address.
  • De-identified personal health information, such as removing the name and date of birth and modifying the postal code.

Some companies considered the first two categories as assets that could be monetized, employees told the researchers.

  • Many Canadians welcomed virtual health care. Where does it fit in the system now?
  • Virtual urgent care didn't divert Ontario patients from ER visits during pandemic, study suggests

Not all of the companies treated the third category the same way. Some used personal health information only for the primary purpose of a patient's virtual exchange with a physician, while others used it for commercial reasons, sharing analytics or de-identified information with third parties.

The study's authors said while each individual data point may not provide much information, advertisers and data analytic companies amalgamate data from browsing history and social media accounts to provide insights into an individual's mental health status, for example.

One study participant described how a partnership for targeted ads might work: "If an individual is coming through our service looking for mental health resources, how can we lean them into some of our partnerships with corporate counselling services?"

case studies business analysis

Nurses’ union says virtual care is a move toward privatization of health care

Conflict-of-interest questions.

Lorian Hardcastle, an associate professor of law and medicine at the University of Calgary, studied  uptake of virtual care in 2020. She highlighted issues of continuity of care, privacy legislation and consent policies.

Since then, she said, uptake in virtual care accelerated during the COVID-19 pandemic.

"I think that the commercialization of the health-care system raises concerns around conflicts of interest between what is best for patients on the one hand and then on the other hand, what has the best return for shareholders," said Hardcastle, who was not involved in the BMJ Open study.

A woman with long brown hair wearing a blouse and jacket.

Hardcastle said it is helpful to have industry insiders acknowledge problems that health professionals and academics have expressed about commercialization.

The Office of the Privacy Commissioner of Canada, which funded the study, said in an email that privately funded health professionals are generally considered to be conducting commercial activities.

Hospitals, long-term care facilities and home care services that are publicly funded are not considered to be engaged in commercial activities and are covered by provincial privacy legislation, the office said. Health information falls into many categories and may be subject to different privacy laws across various jurisdictions.

Hardcastle also suggested that self-regulatory bodies, such as provincial colleges of physicians and surgeons, may need to revisit policies around relationships between health providers and industry.

Virtual care industry responds

CBC News heard from some Canadian virtual care companies that said they take the privacy of individuals seriously.

"Patient data is only used with patients' explicit consent and only when it's required for health-care interactions between a patient and a doctor," a spokesperson for virtual care platform Maple said. "We do not exploit patient data for marketing or commercial gain."

  • Is virtual care a cure for Canada's battered health-care system?

In a statement, Rocket Doctor said it is important to note that the company "does not do any of the things listed by the researchers as common in the telehealth industry."

Telus said that all of the data collected from its virtual care service is treated as personal health information.

"Telus Health doesn't receive any funds from pharmaceutical companies for our virtual care service and we do not sell any patient data collected," said Pamela Snively, the company's chief data and trust officer.

Source of information hard to pin down

Hardcastle said it may be difficult for some people to distinguish between receiving reliable and accurate information from a health-care provider on an app and getting services marketed to them that the health provider may or may not find useful.

"Your family doctor isn't trying to collect superfluous information in order to market services to you," she said.

Some provinces and territories pay for the virtual services. In other cases, patients pay themselves or are covered by employer or private insurance.

  • Patients tapping into alternative care options, but N.S. emergency departments still face challenges

Nova Scotia's government, for example, has a contract with Maple to provide residents without a primary care provider with unlimited virtual visits. Those who do have a regular provider can have two visits per year paid for by the province.

Tara Sampalli, senior scientific director at Nova Scotia Health Innovation Hub, said the province's contract with Maple means residents' data can't be used in other ways, such as by third-party providers.

The province doesn't have that level of control over other providers of virtual care, said Sampalli, who holds a PhD in health informatics.

Calls for an opt-out choice

Herder, of Dalhousie University, said users should be able to easily opt out of having their data used for commercial purposes. He also said that if the data doesn't represent the full diversity of Canada, algorithms shaping clinical decision-making could be racially biased.

Spithoff said while patient awareness is important, patients aren't in a position to fix this problem.

  • 140,000 Nova Scotians are waiting for a family doctor. Can virtual care help?

"We need better legislation, regulation, and we need better funding for primary care," she said. "Or people can get virtual care integrated into their offline care."

Spithoff and her co-authors said self-regulation by the industry is unlikely to lead to change. 

The researchers acknowledged they were limited to publicly available documents and that they did not interview those affiliated with the third-party advertisers.

case studies business analysis

Canadian Medical Association calls for health-care system overhaul

Corrections.

  • An earlier version of this story suggested that all health professionals conduct commercial activities under federal legislation. In fact, some publicly funded health services are not commercial and are covered by various other legislation. Feb 12, 2024 6:11 PM ET

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

case studies business analysis

Amina Zafar covers medical sciences and health topics, including infectious diseases, for CBC News. She holds an undergraduate degree in environmental science and a master's in journalism.

With files from CBC's Christine Birak

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College of Nursing

Driving change: a case study of a dnp leader in residence program in a gerontological center of excellence.

View as pdf A later version of this article appeared in Nurse Leader , Volume 21, Issue 6 , December 2023 . 

The American Association of Colleges of Nursing (AACN) published the Essentials of Doctoral Education for Advanced Practice Nursing in 2004 identifying the essential curriculum needed for preparing advanced practice nurse leaders to effectively assess organizations, identify systemic issues, and facilitate organizational changes. 1 In 2021, AACN updated the curriculum by issuing The Essentials: Core Competencies for Professional Nursing Education to guide the development of competency-based education for nursing students. 1 In addition to AACN’s competency-based approach to curriculum, in 2015 the American Organization of Nurse Leaders (AONL) released Nurse Leader Core Competencies (updated in 2023) to help provide a competency based model to follow in developing nurse leaders. 2

Despite AACN and AONL competency-based curriculum and model, it is still common for nurse leaders to be promoted to management positions based solely on their work experience or exceptional clinical skills, rather than demonstration of management and leadership competencies. 3 The importance of identifying, training, and assessing executive leaders through formal leadership development programs, within supportive organizational cultures has been discussed by national leaders. As well as the need for nurturing emerging leaders through fostering interprofessional collaboration, mentorship, and continuous development of leadership skills has been identified. 4 As Doctor of Nursing Practice (DNP) nurse leaders assume executive roles within healthcare organizations, they play a vital role within complex systems. Demonstration of leadership competence and participation in formal leadership development programs has become imperative for their success. However, models of competency-based executive leadership development programs can be hard to find, particularly programs outside of health care systems.

The implementation of a DNP Leader in Residence program, such as the one designed for The Barbara and Richard Csomay Center for Gerontological Excellence, addresses many of the challenges facing new DNP leaders and ensures mastery of executive leadership competencies and readiness to practice through exposure to varied experiences and close mentoring. The Csomay Center , based at The University of Iowa, was established in 2000 as one of the five original Hartford Centers of Geriatric Nursing Excellence in the country. Later funding by the Csomay family established an endowment that supports the Center's ongoing work. The current Csomay Center strategic plan and mission aims to develop future healthcare leaders while promoting optimal aging and quality of life for older adults. The Csomay Center Director created the innovative DNP Leader in Residence program to foster the growth of future nurse leaders in non-healthcare systems. The purpose of this paper is to present a case study of the development and implementation of the Leader in Residence program, followed by suggested evaluation strategies, and discussion of future innovation of leadership opportunities in non-traditional health care settings.

Development of the DNP Leader in Residence Program

The Plan-Do-Study-Act (PDSA) cycle has garnered substantial recognition as a valuable tool for fostering development and driving improvement initiatives. 5 The PDSA cycle can function as an independent methodology and as an integral component of broader quality enhancement approaches with notable efficacy in its ability to facilitate the rapid creation, testing, and evaluation of transformative interventions within healthcare. 6 Consequently, the PDSA cycle model was deemed fitting to guide the development and implementation of the DNP Leader in Residence Program at the Csomay Center.

PDSA Cycle: Plan

Existing resources. The DNP Health Systems: Administration/Executive Leadership Program offered by the University of Iowa is comprised of comprehensive nursing administration and leadership curriculum, led by distinguished faculty composed of national leaders in the realms of innovation, health policy, leadership, clinical education, and evidence-based practice. The curriculum is designed to cultivate the next generation of nursing executive leaders, with emphasis on personalized career planning and tailored practicum placements. The DNP Health Systems: Administration/Executive Leadership curriculum includes a range of courses focused on leadership and management with diverse topics such as policy an law, infrastructure and informatics, finance and economics, marketing and communication, quality and safety, evidence-based practice, and social determinants of health. The curriculum is complemented by an extensive practicum component and culminates in a DNP project with additional hours of practicum.

New program. The DNP Leader in Residence program at the Csomay Center is designed to encompass communication and relationship building, systems thinking, change management, transformation and innovation, knowledge of clinical principles in the community, professionalism, and business skills including financial, strategic, and human resource management. The program fully immerses students in the objectives of the DNP Health Systems: Administration/Executive Leadership curriculum and enables them to progressively demonstrate competencies outlined by AONL. The Leader in Residence program also includes career development coaching, reflective practice, and personal and professional accountability. The program is integrated throughout the entire duration of the Leader in Residence’s coursework, fulfilling the required practicum hours for both the DNP coursework and DNP project.

The DNP Leader in Residence program begins with the first semester of practicum being focused on completing an onboarding process to the Center including understanding the center's strategic plan, mission, vision, and history. Onboarding for the Leader in Residence provides access to all relevant Center information and resources and integration into the leadership team, community partnerships, and other University of Iowa College of Nursing Centers associated with the Csomay Center. During this first semester, observation and identification of the Csomay Center Director's various roles including being a leader, manager, innovator, socializer, and mentor is facilitated. In collaboration with the Center Director (a faculty position) and Center Coordinator (a staff position), specific competencies to be measured and mastered along with learning opportunities desired throughout the program are established to ensure a well-planned and thorough immersion experience.

Following the initial semester of practicum, the Leader in Residence has weekly check-ins with the Center Director and Center Coordinator to continue to identify learning opportunities and progression through executive leadership competencies to enrich the experience. The Leader in Residence also undertakes an administrative project for the Center this semester, while concurrently continuing observations of the Center Director's activities in local, regional, and national executive leadership settings. The student has ongoing participation and advancement in executive leadership roles and activities throughout the practicum, creating a well-prepared future nurse executive leader.

After completing practicum hours related to the Health Systems: Administration/Executive Leadership coursework, the Leader in Residence engages in dedicated residency hours to continue to experience domains within nursing leadership competencies like communication, professionalism, and relationship building. During residency hours, time is spent with the completion of a small quality improvement project for the Csomay Center, along with any other administrative projects identified by the Center Director and Center Coordinator. The Leader in Residence is fully integrated into the Csomay Center's Leadership Team during this phase, assisting the Center Coordinator in creating agendas and leading meetings. Additional participation includes active involvement in community engagement activities and presenting at or attending a national conference as a representative of the Csomay Center. The Leader in Residence must mentor a master’s in nursing student during the final year of the DNP Residency.

Implementation of the DNP Leader in Residence Program

PDSA Cycle: Do

Immersive experience. In this case study, the DNP Leader in Residence was fully immersed in a wide range of center activities, providing valuable opportunities to engage in administrative projects and observe executive leadership roles and skills during practicum hours spent at the Csomay Center. Throughout the program, the Leader in Residence observed and learned from multidisciplinary leaders at the national, regional, and university levels who engaged with the Center. By shadowing the Csomay Center Director, the Leader in Residence had the opportunity to observe executive leadership objectives such as fostering innovation, facilitating multidisciplinary collaboration, and nurturing meaningful relationships. The immersive experience within the center’s activities also allowed the Leader in Residence to gain a deep understanding of crucial facets such as philanthropy and community engagement. Active involvement in administrative processes such as strategic planning, budgeting, human resources management, and the development of standard operating procedures provided valuable exposure to strategies that are needed to be an effective nurse leader in the future.

Active participation. The DNP Leader in Residence also played a key role in advancing specific actions outlined in the center's strategic plan during the program including: 1) the creation of a membership structure for the Csomay Center and 2) successfully completing a state Board of Regents application for official recognition as a distinguished center. The Csomay Center sponsored membership for the Leader in Residence in the Midwest Nurse Research Society (MNRS), which opened doors to attend the annual MNRS conference and engage with regional nursing leadership, while fostering socialization, promotion of the Csomay Center and Leader in Residence program, and observation of current nursing research. Furthermore, the Leader in Residence participated in the strategic planning committee and engagement subcommittee for MNRS, collaborating directly with the MNRS president. Additional active participation by the Leader in Residence included attendance in planning sessions and completion of the annual report for GeriatricPain.org , an initiative falling under the umbrella of the Csomay Center. Finally, the Leader in Residence was involved in archiving research and curriculum for distinguished nursing leader and researcher, Dr. Kitty Buckwalter, for the Benjamin Rose Institute on Aging, the University of Pennsylvania Barbara Bates Center for the Study of the History of Nursing, and the University of Iowa library archives.

Suggested Evaluation Strategies of the DNP Leader in Residence Program

PDSA Cycle: Study

Assessment and benchmarking. To effectively assess the outcomes and success of the DNP Leader in Residence Program, a comprehensive evaluation framework should be used throughout the program. Key measures should include the collection and review of executive leadership opportunities experienced, leadership roles observed, and competencies mastered. The Leader in Residence is responsible for maintaining detailed logs of their participation in center activities and initiatives on a semester basis. These logs serve to track the progression of mastery of AONL competencies by benchmarking activities and identifying areas for future growth for the Leader in Residence.

Evaluation. In addition to assessment and benchmarking, evaluations need to be completed by Csomay Center stakeholders (leadership, staff, and community partners involved) and the individual Leader in Residence both during and upon completion of the program. Feedback from stakeholders will identify the contributions made by the Leader in Residence and provide valuable insights into their growth. Self-reflection on experiences by the individual Leader in Residence throughout the program will serve as an important measure of personal successes and identify gaps in the program. Factors such as career advancement during the program, application of curriculum objectives in the workplace, and prospects for future career progression for the Leader in Residence should be considered as additional indicators of the success of the program.

The evaluation should also encompass a thorough review of the opportunities experienced during the residency, with the aim of identifying areas for potential expansion and enrichment of the DNP Leader in Residence program. By carefully examining the logs, reflecting on the acquired executive leadership competencies, and studying stakeholder evaluations, additional experiences and opportunities can be identified to further enhance the program's efficacy. The evaluation process should be utilized to identify specific executive leadership competencies that require further immersion and exploration throughout the program.

Future Innovation of DNP Leader in Residence Programs in Non-traditional Healthcare Settings

PDSA Cycle: Act

As subsequent residents complete the program and their experiences are thoroughly evaluated, it is essential to identify new opportunities for DNP Leader in Residence programs to be implemented in other non-health care system settings. When feasible, expansion into clinical healthcare settings, including long-term care and acute care environments, should be pursued. By leveraging the insights gained from previous Leaders in Residence and their respective experiences, the program can be refined to better align with desired outcomes and competencies. These expansions will broaden the scope and impact of the program and provide a wider array of experiences and challenges for future Leaders in Residency to navigate, enriching their development as dynamic nurse executive leaders within diverse healthcare landscapes.

This case study presented a comprehensive overview of the development and implementation of the DNP Leader in Residence program developed by the Barbara and Richard Csomay Center for Gerontological Excellence. The Leader in Residence program provided a transformative experience by integrating key curriculum objectives, competency-based learning, and mentorship by esteemed nursing leaders and researchers through successful integration into the Center. With ongoing innovation and application of the PDSA cycle, the DNP Leader in Residence program presented in this case study holds immense potential to help better prepare 21 st century nurse leaders capable of driving positive change within complex healthcare systems.

Acknowledgements

         The author would like to express gratitude to the Barbara and Richard Csomay Center for Gerontological Excellence for the fostering environment to provide an immersion experience and the ongoing support for development of the DNP Leader in Residence program. This research did not receive any specific grant from funding agencies in the public, commercial, or not-for-profit sectors.

  • American Association of Colleges of Nursing. The essentials: core competencies for professional nursing education. https://www.aacnnursing.org/Portals/42/AcademicNursing/pdf/Essentials-2021.pdf . Accessed June 26, 2023.
  • American Organization for Nursing Leadership. Nurse leader core competencies. https://www.aonl.org/resources/nurse-leader-competencies . Accessed July 10, 2023.
  • Warshawsky, N, Cramer, E. Describing nurse manager role preparation and competency: findings from a national study. J Nurs Adm . 2019;49(5):249-255. DOI:  10.1097/NNA.0000000000000746
  • Van Diggel, C, Burgess, A, Roberts, C, Mellis, C. Leadership in healthcare education. BMC Med. Educ . 2020;20(465). doi: 10.1186/s12909-020-02288-x
  • Institute for Healthcare Improvement. Plan-do-study-act (PDSA) worksheet. https://www.ihi.org/resources/Pages/Tools/PlanDoStudyActWorksheet.aspx . Accessed July 4, 2023.
  • Taylor, M, McNicolas, C, Nicolay, C, Darzi, A, Bell, D, Reed, J. Systemic review of the application of the plan-do-study-act method to improve quality in healthcare. BMJ Quality & Safety. 2014:23:290-298. doi: 10.1136/bmjqs-2013-002703

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