case study 3 client programming

Agency Guide: How To Write a Client Case Study (With Examples)

QUICK SUMMARY:

A client case study highlights an agency's impact on a business, showcasing problem-solving skills and success. It serves as concrete evidence of expertise, building credibility and distinguishing an agency from competitors. Engaging case studies captivate potential clients, demonstrating value and encouraging further exploration. Learn to craft impactful case studies, enhancing your agency's appeal and client acquisition.

It’s an age-old question: if you want to get more clients , where should you put your content marketing focus?

Your first instinct might be to say blogging. This answer makes sense—for many years, blogging has been touted as one of the best ways to attract an audience and demonstrate your expertise. While blogging can highlight your agency's expertise, it isn’t necessarily going to be nearly as effective as showing real results to win future customers.

Instead of pouring all of your agency's time and creative energy into blog posts, another approach is to focus on client case studies that prove the effectiveness of your services.

Case studies are, in many ways, similar to blog posts. Writing them takes a similar skill set and, once finished, helps to bring in organic search traffic.

However, they have one major advantage over blog posts: they're a great way to show potential clients your agency's value proposition . They also help tell a customer story in a very different way than blog posts do.

If you haven’t written any in a while (or ever), you’re missing out on a great marketing opportunity. In this guide, we'll discuss how to write a case study to attract prospective customers.

Why Client Case Studies Are Worth the Effort

How to write a marketing case study that lands you more clients, real client case study examples.

If you’ve never written a case study, it can be challenging to figure out where to start and what to include. For example, how do you decide which clients to feature and what details to include?

While there is a slight learning curve to writing a compelling client case study, it’s not as difficult as you might think, and their benefits far outweigh the effort of creating them.

As highlighted by a study from the Content Marketing Institute , case studies are among the top three pieces of content that B2B marketers focus on in 2023:

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Case Studies Speak Directly to Your Potential Clients.

Your blog posts are probably well-written and informative, but are they driving conversions? Readers are busy, and if your latest blog post doesn’t speak to their current needs, there’s a good chance they won’t read it and you're likely seeing a high bounce rate . Use marketing attribution models to determine where your conversions are coming from accurately.

However, case studies are more likely to grab readers’ attention than blog articles. People love reading about situations like their own. If you can tell a potential client a story about how you helped a business similar to theirs, they won’t just pay attention—they’ll remember you when they’re ready to hire an agency.

Case Studies Can Do Everything Blog Posts Can Do.

Your client case study doesn’t have to be a dry, boring wall of text. It can inform, entertain, and inspire readers. You can share useful findings or advice in a case study, just like you would in a blog post. They are also ideal for displaying your expertise and positioning you as a thought leader and your company as an authority.

Case Studies Build Credibility and Trust.

Your perceived trustworthiness is an essential part of whether people decide to hire you or not. Most people will hesitate to hire an agency that didn’t have any examples of their past work on display. They also give clients a way to evaluate your competence before they commit to working with you.

Case Studies Make You Stand Out From the Competition.

Case studies are a bit more specialized and challenging to write than blog posts, which means that not everyone writes them. If you want your agency to look more professional than your competitors, writing case studies give your brand's image a boost. Be sure to use competitor analysis tools after you've created a few case studies to see how you stack up in your customer's industry.

Case Studies Make a Great Lead Magnet.

They are also useful as part of a cold email marketing strategy. For example, you can let people read the beginning (make sure it’s strong!), and offer to send the full case study in PDF form in exchange for an email sign-up.

Case Studies Work.

In the CMI's survey mentioned above, case studies were ranked in the top 3 highest performing types of content for both nurturing and converting leads:

Report Smarter, Not Harder.

Better, faster & easier client reports are just a few clicks away, 1. define the type of clients you want to attract.

Before you email any former clients or start working on an outline of your first draft, take some time to figure out who your ideal client is. Write out your ideal customer profile and ask yourself questions such as:

Is there a type of business you especially like working with?

What kind of work do you want to do more of?

Case studies, like any other type of content marketing, work best when targeted towards a specific type of reader. If you design your case study to resonate with your ideal clients’ wishes, insecurities, and goals while including relevant theories, your agency will attract more of the kind of clients you enjoy working with. Use a client profile template to ensure you're team is aligned on who your ICP actually is.

2. Gather Information and Data Points

Once you know who you’re writing your case study for, decide which project you want to write about. Pick something that your ideal client will find relatable in some way.

Always reach out to any current or former clients before you write a case study about them. You don’t want to post any potentially-sensitive information about someone else’s business online without their permission.

Many of your clients will probably be happy to be featured in a case study, as long as you make them look good and avoid giving away anything they don’t want to be public knowledge.

If your client does not want to be featured under their brand, you can decide to write the case study and highlight the metrics without using their name and simply say “A Company in [blank] Industry”. That said, a more compelling case study features a brand with customer quotes, so try to find projects and clients that are happy to have their name on your site.

Once a client agrees to the case study, set up an interview with them so you can discuss the project. A testimonial is a great addition to a case study—for example, here's what one of our case studies had to say about us:

AgencyAnalytics automated the work of two to three full-time employees. It’s been a massive savings cost-wise and efficiency-wise. It’s also been a dramatic time-saver. I’m very happy with AgencyAnalytics and what the tool offers our clients.

Gather the information and data points prior to discussing it with your client, so they have a clear idea of what will be included in the study. A great marketing case study includes visual data points of the hard numbers. Take screenshots to highlight results from previous customers to add credibility.

Create your own live Marketing Dashboard in minutes to show your potential clients your agency is doing an excellent job.  Try it free for 14 days ! 

3. Outline Your Case Study

Once you have all the information you need, it’s time to make an outline. It may help to create a content brief before you get started.

Think of your case study like a story—it needs a beginning, a middle, and an end. Present your client’s problem at the beginning, and fill in the middle with the details of how you solved it.

Cap things off with a description of how your client benefited from working with you. For example, you can call out the long-term SEO benefits of a content marketing strategy, including leads that are still being generated months after the post was published. Don’t forget; the client is the protagonist of this story, not you.

4. Be Human

As you start writing your case study, remember to keep it relatable. Don’t just rattle off a list of stats your client wanted to improve. A compelling case study will also be entertaining and enjoyable to read.

Dig a little deeper and talk about the implications of their problem. For instance, was your client frustrated that none of their strategies were working to bring in more traffic? Were they disappointed about having to delay other projects because their conversions weren’t improving? Try to zero in on a specific pain point that your potential clients may be dealing with themselves.

5. Provide Actionable Advice

An effective case study doesn’t just make you and your client look good. It also provides information or advice that anybody can use, whether they decide to hire you or not. You don’t have to give away the key secrets of your trade, but don’t be stingy either—share some of your methods, your knowledge, and any lessons learned while helping your client. Give the reader something they can take away and apply to their own work.

This isn’t as counterproductive as it might sound. Being open about your work will help build valuable trust with potential clients. And even if you’re completely transparent about your methods, most people that aren’t marketing experts will still opt to hire you instead of doing the legwork of implementing your strategy themselves.

6. Write Clearly and Succinctly (Avoid Industry Jargon!)

A great case study is easy to read and digest. These pointers will help you keep your readers interested from beginning to end.

Write concisely. Don’t bog your piece down with unnecessary details.

Avoid jargon as much as possible. Someone outside your field should be able to read and understand your case study.

Break up the page with plenty of white space. Use short paragraphs, sub-headers, and bullet points to organize your content.

Include plenty of charts and graphs. Visual content breaks up the monotony of text and keeps readers engaged.

Include a call-to-action (CTA). After you've told a compelling story to your potential customer, tell them exactly how they can contact your sales team or where they can learn more about your services.

7. Publish and Promote

Before you publish your case study, show it to your client to make sure they’re happy with everything you’ve written. Once they give you the thumbs-up, you can post the piece on your site or start using it as a lead magnet. For best results, promote your case study just like you would a blog post. A few well-timed social media posts can bring your case study a lot of extra attention, and maybe even get you a few more leads.

Locally-targeted Facebook Ads can be really effective for agencies. Using your case study or a pdf expanded version of it can be a great lead magnet to gather the email addresses of potential clients. Don’t just publish the case study and forget it. Make the most of it! One case study can be a powerful lead generation tool.

Spend Less Time Creating Reports and More Time Growing Your Agency

Looking to find a bit of inspiration too? Sometimes the best way to learn is to follow a great example. See how some of these marketers have taken a customer's success story and crafted compelling content with tangible data points for their clients.

Bounteous has an overview section that gives a great overview of the goals, approach, and results.

KlientBoost includes marketing case studies on their website that are short and to the point. The one-page piece of content focuses on results that are delivered to the clients. You can find an example case study here .

AgencyAnalytics provides another example that includes details about the client, the challenge they were facing, the best solution they used, and the ultimate result. You can read find our case studies here .

The Takeaway

Learning to write case studies is a smart investment in your agency’s future success. They help with your agency's reputation management , earn new clients’ trust, and highlight your agency’s skills in a way that most other types of content can’t. They're also a great piece to use in your client proposal arsenal. When it comes to conversions, a few targeted, high-quality case studies will go a long way, so don’t overlook this powerful marketing tool.

Grow your marketing agency by keeping track of conversions and content marketing strategies in a single platform. Get started with your free 14-day trial today.

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

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

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

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

What is a case study?

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

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

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

16 case study examples 

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

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

1. .css-1l9i3yq-Link[class][class][class][class][class]{all:unset;box-sizing:border-box;-webkit-text-fill-color:currentColor;cursor:pointer;}.css-1l9i3yq-Link[class][class][class][class][class]{all:unset;box-sizing:border-box;-webkit-text-decoration:underline;text-decoration:underline;cursor:pointer;-webkit-transition:all 300ms ease-in-out;transition:all 300ms ease-in-out;outline-offset:1px;-webkit-text-fill-color:currentColor;outline:1px solid transparent;}.css-1l9i3yq-Link[class][class][class][class][class][data-color='ocean']{color:#3d4592;}.css-1l9i3yq-Link[class][class][class][class][class][data-color='ocean']:hover{color:#2b2358;}.css-1l9i3yq-Link[class][class][class][class][class][data-color='ocean']:focus{color:#3d4592;outline-color:#3d4592;}.css-1l9i3yq-Link[class][class][class][class][class][data-color='white']{color:#fffdf9;}.css-1l9i3yq-Link[class][class][class][class][class][data-color='white']:hover{color:#a8a5a0;}.css-1l9i3yq-Link[class][class][class][class][class][data-color='white']:focus{color:#fffdf9;outline-color:#fffdf9;}.css-1l9i3yq-Link[class][class][class][class][class][data-color='primary']{color:#3d4592;}.css-1l9i3yq-Link[class][class][class][class][class][data-color='primary']:hover{color:#2b2358;}.css-1l9i3yq-Link[class][class][class][class][class][data-color='primary']:focus{color:#3d4592;outline-color:#3d4592;}.css-1l9i3yq-Link[class][class][class][class][class][data-color='secondary']{color:#fffdf9;}.css-1l9i3yq-Link[class][class][class][class][class][data-color='secondary']:hover{color:#a8a5a0;}.css-1l9i3yq-Link[class][class][class][class][class][data-color='secondary']:focus{color:#fffdf9;outline-color:#fffdf9;}.css-1l9i3yq-Link[class][class][class][class][class][data-weight='inherit']{font-weight:inherit;}.css-1l9i3yq-Link[class][class][class][class][class][data-weight='normal']{font-weight:400;}.css-1l9i3yq-Link[class][class][class][class][class][data-weight='bold']{font-weight:700;} Volcanica Coffee and AdRoll

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

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

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

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

2. Taylor Guitars and Airtable

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

It also supplements each section with a testimonial or quote from the client, using their insights as a catalyst for the case study's narrative. For example, the case study quotes the social media manager and project manager's insights regarding team-wide communication and access before explaining in greater detail.

Takeaway: Highlight pain points your business solves for its client, and explore that influence in greater detail.

3. EndeavourX and Figma

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

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

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

4. ActiveCampaign and Zapier

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

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

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

5. Ironclad and OpenAI

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

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

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

6. Shopify and GitHub

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

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

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

7 . Audible and Contentful

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

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

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

8 . Zoom and Asana

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

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

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

9 . Hickies and Mailchimp

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

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

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

10. NVIDIA and Workday

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

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

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

11. KFC and Contentful

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

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

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

12. Intuit and Twilio

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

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

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

13. Spotify and Salesforce

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

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

Takeaway: Invest in videos that capture and promote your partnership with your case study subject. Video content plays a promotional role that extends beyond the case study in social media and marketing initiatives .

14. Benchling and Airtable

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

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

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

15. Chipotle and Hubble

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

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

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

16. Hudl and Zapier

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

The Zapier format provides nuggets of high-level insights, milestones, and achievements, as well as the challenge, solution, and results. My favorite part of this case study is how it's supplemented with a blog post detailing how Hudl uses Zapier automation to build a seamless user experience.

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

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

3 case study templates

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

Case study template 1

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

Case study template 2

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

Case study template 3

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

Tips for writing a case study

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

Writing a good case study comes down to a mix of creativity, branding, and the capacity to invest in the project. With those details in mind, here are some case study tips to follow:

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

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

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

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

Use automation to drive results for your case study

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

In fact, with the right technology, it can be refined to work better . Explore how Zapier's automation features can help drive results for your case study by making your case study a part of a developed workflow that creates a user journey through your website, your case studies, and into the pipeline.

Case study FAQ

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

What is an example of a case study?

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

How do you write a case study?

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

What is the format of a case study?

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

Related reading:

How Hudl uses automation to create a seamless user experience

How to make your case studies high-stakes—and why it matters

How experts write case studies that convert, not bore

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Hachem Ramki

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

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How to write a case study — examples, templates, and tools

It’s a marketer’s job to communicate the effectiveness of a product or service to potential and current customers to convince them to buy and keep business moving. One of the best methods for doing this is to share success stories that are relatable to prospects and customers based on their pain points, experiences, and overall needs.

That’s where case studies come in. Case studies are an essential part of a content marketing plan. These in-depth stories of customer experiences are some of the most effective at demonstrating the value of a product or service. Yet many marketers don’t use them, whether because of their regimented formats or the process of customer involvement and approval.

A case study is a powerful tool for showcasing your hard work and the success your customer achieved. But writing a great case study can be difficult if you’ve never done it before or if it’s been a while. This guide will show you how to write an effective case study and provide real-world examples and templates that will keep readers engaged and support your business.

In this article, you’ll learn:

What is a case study?

How to write a case study, case study templates, case study examples, case study tools.

A case study is the detailed story of a customer’s experience with a product or service that demonstrates their success and often includes measurable outcomes. Case studies are used in a range of fields and for various reasons, from business to academic research. They’re especially impactful in marketing as brands work to convince and convert consumers with relatable, real-world stories of actual customer experiences.

The best case studies tell the story of a customer’s success, including the steps they took, the results they achieved, and the support they received from a brand along the way. To write a great case study, you need to:

• Celebrate the customer and make them — not a product or service — the star of the story.
• Craft the story with specific audiences or target segments in mind so that the story of one customer will be viewed as relatable and actionable for another customer.
• Write copy that is easy to read and engaging so that readers will gain the insights and messages intended.
• Follow a standardized format that includes all of the essentials a potential customer would find interesting and useful.
• Support all of the claims for success made in the story with data in the forms of hard numbers and customer statements.

Case studies are a type of review but more in depth, aiming to show — rather than just tell — the positive experiences that customers have with a brand. Notably, 89% of consumers read reviews before deciding to buy, and 79% view case study content as part of their purchasing process. When it comes to B2B sales, 52% of buyers rank case studies as an important part of their evaluation process.

Telling a brand story through the experience of a tried-and-true customer matters. The story is relatable to potential new customers as they imagine themselves in the shoes of the company or individual featured in the case study. Showcasing previous customers can help new ones see themselves engaging with your brand in the ways that are most meaningful to them.

Besides sharing the perspective of another customer, case studies stand out from other content marketing forms because they are based on evidence. Whether pulling from client testimonials or data-driven results, case studies tend to have more impact on new business because the story contains information that is both objective (data) and subjective (customer experience) — and the brand doesn’t sound too self-promotional.

Case studies are unique in that there’s a fairly standardized format for telling a customer’s story. But that doesn’t mean there isn’t room for creativity. It’s all about making sure that teams are clear on the goals for the case study — along with strategies for supporting content and channels — and understanding how the story fits within the framework of the company’s overall marketing goals.

Here are the basic steps to writing a good case study.

1. Identify your goal

Start by defining exactly who your case study will be designed to help. Case studies are about specific instances where a company works with a customer to achieve a goal. Identify which customers are likely to have these goals, as well as other needs the story should cover to appeal to them.

The answer is often found in one of the buyer personas that have been constructed as part of your larger marketing strategy. This can include anything from new leads generated by the marketing team to long-term customers that are being pressed for cross-sell opportunities. In all of these cases, demonstrating value through a relatable customer success story can be part of the solution to conversion.

2. Choose your client or subject

Who you highlight matters. Case studies tie brands together that might otherwise not cross paths. A writer will want to ensure that the highlighted customer aligns with their own company’s brand identity and offerings. Look for a customer with positive name recognition who has had great success with a product or service and is willing to be an advocate.

The client should also match up with the identified target audience. Whichever company or individual is selected should be a reflection of other potential customers who can see themselves in similar circumstances, having the same problems and possible solutions.

Some of the most compelling case studies feature customers who:

• Switch from one product or service to another while naming competitors that missed the mark.
• Experience measurable results that are relatable to others in a specific industry.
• Represent well-known brands and recognizable names that are likely to compel action.
• Advocate for a product or service as a champion and are well-versed in its advantages.

Whoever or whatever customer is selected, marketers must ensure they have the permission of the company involved before getting started. Some brands have strict review and approval procedures for any official marketing or promotional materials that include their name. Acquiring those approvals in advance will prevent any miscommunication or wasted effort if there is an issue with their legal or compliance teams.

3. Conduct research and compile data

Substantiating the claims made in a case study — either by the marketing team or customers themselves — adds validity to the story. To do this, include data and feedback from the client that defines what success looks like. This can be anything from demonstrating return on investment (ROI) to a specific metric the customer was striving to improve. Case studies should prove how an outcome was achieved and show tangible results that indicate to the customer that your solution is the right one.

This step could also include customer interviews. Make sure that the people being interviewed are key stakeholders in the purchase decision or deployment and use of the product or service that is being highlighted. Content writers should work off a set list of questions prepared in advance. It can be helpful to share these with the interviewees beforehand so they have time to consider and craft their responses. One of the best interview tactics to keep in mind is to ask questions where yes and no are not natural answers. This way, your subject will provide more open-ended responses that produce more meaningful content.

4. Choose the right format

There are a number of different ways to format a case study. Depending on what you hope to achieve, one style will be better than another. However, there are some common elements to include, such as:

• An engaging headline
• A subject and customer introduction
• The unique challenge or challenges the customer faced
• The solution the customer used to solve the problem
• The results achieved
• Data and statistics to back up claims of success
• A strong call to action (CTA) to engage with the vendor

It’s also important to note that while case studies are traditionally written as stories, they don’t have to be in a written format. Some companies choose to get more creative with their case studies and produce multimedia content, depending on their audience and objectives. Case study formats can include traditional print stories, interactive web or social content, data-heavy infographics, professionally shot videos, podcasts, and more.

5. Write your case study

We’ll go into more detail later about how exactly to write a case study, including templates and examples. Generally speaking, though, there are a few things to keep in mind when writing your case study.

• Be clear and concise. Readers want to get to the point of the story quickly and easily, and they’ll be looking to see themselves reflected in the story right from the start.
• Provide a big picture. Always make sure to explain who the client is, their goals, and how they achieved success in a short introduction to engage the reader.
• Construct a clear narrative. Stick to the story from the perspective of the customer and what they needed to solve instead of just listing product features or benefits.
• Leverage graphics. Incorporating infographics, charts, and sidebars can be a more engaging and eye-catching way to share key statistics and data in readable ways.
• Offer the right amount of detail. Most case studies are one or two pages with clear sections that a reader can skim to find the information most important to them.
• Include data to support claims. Show real results — both facts and figures and customer quotes — to demonstrate credibility and prove the solution works.

6. Promote your story

Marketers have a number of options for distribution of a freshly minted case study. Many brands choose to publish case studies on their website and post them on social media. This can help support SEO and organic content strategies while also boosting company credibility and trust as visitors see that other businesses have used the product or service.

Marketers are always looking for quality content they can use for lead generation. Consider offering a case study as gated content behind a form on a landing page or as an offer in an email message. One great way to do this is to summarize the content and tease the full story available for download after the user takes an action.

Sales teams can also leverage case studies, so be sure they are aware that the assets exist once they’re published. Especially when it comes to larger B2B sales, companies often ask for examples of similar customer challenges that have been solved.

Now that you’ve learned a bit about case studies and what they should include, you may be wondering how to start creating great customer story content. Here are a couple of templates you can use to structure your case study.

Template 1 — Challenge-solution-result format

• Start with an engaging title. This should be fewer than 70 characters long for SEO best practices. One of the best ways to approach the title is to include the customer’s name and a hint at the challenge they overcame in the end.
• Create an introduction. Lead with an explanation as to who the customer is, the need they had, and the opportunity they found with a specific product or solution. Writers can also suggest the success the customer experienced with the solution they chose.
• Present the challenge. This should be several paragraphs long and explain the problem the customer faced and the issues they were trying to solve. Details should tie into the company’s products and services naturally. This section needs to be the most relatable to the reader so they can picture themselves in a similar situation.
• Share the solution. Explain which product or service offered was the ideal fit for the customer and why. Feel free to delve into their experience setting up, purchasing, and onboarding the solution.
• Explain the results. Demonstrate the impact of the solution they chose by backing up their positive experience with data. Fill in with customer quotes and tangible, measurable results that show the effect of their choice.
• Ask for action. Include a CTA at the end of the case study that invites readers to reach out for more information, try a demo, or learn more — to nurture them further in the marketing pipeline. What you ask of the reader should tie directly into the goals that were established for the case study in the first place.

Template 2 — Data-driven format

• Start with an engaging title. Be sure to include a statistic or data point in the first 70 characters. Again, it’s best to include the customer’s name as part of the title.
• Create an overview. Share the customer’s background and a short version of the challenge they faced. Present the reason a particular product or service was chosen, and feel free to include quotes from the customer about their selection process.
• Present data point 1. Isolate the first metric that the customer used to define success and explain how the product or solution helped to achieve this goal. Provide data points and quotes to substantiate the claim that success was achieved.
• Present data point 2. Isolate the second metric that the customer used to define success and explain what the product or solution did to achieve this goal. Provide data points and quotes to substantiate the claim that success was achieved.
• Present data point 3. Isolate the final metric that the customer used to define success and explain what the product or solution did to achieve this goal. Provide data points and quotes to substantiate the claim that success was achieved.
• Summarize the results. Reiterate the fact that the customer was able to achieve success thanks to a specific product or service. Include quotes and statements that reflect customer satisfaction and suggest they plan to continue using the solution.
• Ask for action. Include a CTA at the end of the case study that asks readers to reach out for more information, try a demo, or learn more — to further nurture them in the marketing pipeline. Again, remember that this is where marketers can look to convert their content into action with the customer.

While templates are helpful, seeing a case study in action can also be a great way to learn. Here are some examples of how Adobe customers have experienced success.

Juniper Networks

One example is the Adobe and Juniper Networks case study , which puts the reader in the customer’s shoes. The beginning of the story quickly orients the reader so that they know exactly who the article is about and what they were trying to achieve. Solutions are outlined in a way that shows Adobe Experience Manager is the best choice and a natural fit for the customer. Along the way, quotes from the client are incorporated to help add validity to the statements. The results in the case study are conveyed with clear evidence of scale and volume using tangible data.

The story of Lenovo’s journey with Adobe is one that spans years of planning, implementation, and rollout. The Lenovo case study does a great job of consolidating all of this into a relatable journey that other enterprise organizations can see themselves taking, despite the project size. This case study also features descriptive headers and compelling visual elements that engage the reader and strengthen the content.

Tata Consulting

When it comes to using data to show customer results, this case study does an excellent job of conveying details and numbers in an easy-to-digest manner. Bullet points at the start break up the content while also helping the reader understand exactly what the case study will be about. Tata Consulting used Adobe to deliver elevated, engaging content experiences for a large telecommunications client of its own — an objective that’s relatable for a lot of companies.

Case studies are a vital tool for any marketing team as they enable you to demonstrate the value of your company’s products and services to others. They help marketers do their job and add credibility to a brand trying to promote its solutions by using the experiences and stories of real customers.

When you’re ready to get started with a case study:

• Think about a few goals you’d like to accomplish with your content.
• Make a list of successful clients that would be strong candidates for a case study.
• Reach out to the client to get their approval and conduct an interview.
• Gather the data to present an engaging and effective customer story.

Adobe can help

There are several Adobe products that can help you craft compelling case studies. Adobe Experience Platform helps you collect data and deliver great customer experiences across every channel. Once you’ve created your case studies, Experience Platform will help you deliver the right information to the right customer at the right time for maximum impact.

To learn more, watch the Adobe Experience Platform story .

Keep in mind that the best case studies are backed by data. That’s where Adobe Real-Time Customer Data Platform and Adobe Analytics come into play. With Real-Time CDP, you can gather the data you need to build a great case study and target specific customers to deliver the content to the right audience at the perfect moment.

Watch the Real-Time CDP overview video to learn more.

Finally, Adobe Analytics turns real-time data into real-time insights. It helps your business collect and synthesize data from multiple platforms to make more informed decisions and create the best case study possible.

Request a demo to learn more about Adobe Analytics.

https://business.adobe.com/blog/perspectives/b2b-ecommerce-10-case-studies-inspire-you

https://business.adobe.com/blog/basics/business-case

https://business.adobe.com/blog/basics/what-is-real-time-analytics

How To Write A Consulting Case Study: Guide, Template, & Examples

When you deliver a successful project, do you publish a consulting case study about it?

A consulting case study is a short story about a successful project that explains…

• The problem your client was dealing with before hiring you;
• your expertise and process for solving that problem;
• and the results your expertise and process created for the client and their business.

In my experience, our consulting case studies are among the most powerful pieces of content we publish. They’re a big reason why people are comfortable signing up for our Clarity Coaching Program .

Because our case studies prove our program helps our clients get results.

I can say that our coaching program is the best on the market until I’m blue in the face.

But it’s much more powerful for consultants to see the results others have experienced for themselves: through our case studies and testimonials.

If you don’t have something of value on your website like a case study — something that actually shows you can achieve results for your clients — then your website will only serve as “confirmational marketing.”

It will confirm what people hear about you. But it won’t help you generate interest and leads.

So, if you want to shift your website beyond mere confirmational marketing to an asset that helps you generate leads and conversions, consider writing consulting case studies using the method below.

In this article, you’ll learn how to write compelling case studies that help you win more consulting clients.

Ready? Let’s dive in…

Your case study is proof that not only can you talk the talk, but you can also walk the walk.

What Is A Consulting Case Study?

When a potential client is deciding on whether they will hire you or not, a big question in their mind is…

“Can this person or company really do what they say they can for my business?”

There are many forms of thought leadership you can use to prove you can deliver results.

The consulting case study is one of them.

A case study, in the context of consulting, is typically a written document that describes…

• the problem a client was facing,
• the actions you took to solve that problem,
• and the outcomes it created for your client.

You write case studies to demonstrate the results and value you created for a past or current client.

What makes them so effective as marketing material?

• They are relatively easy to put together (especially when you use our template below).
• Your potential clients enjoy reading them.
• And they are a highly effective way to demonstrate your authority and expertise in your field.

Next, I’ll walk you through how to write a consulting case study.

In our program, one of the things we teach consultants is how to better understand their clients’ problems and articulate their ability to solve those problems in a way that will attract new clients.

How To Write A Consulting Case Study

Here are the steps to writing your consulting case study. You can follow along with our consulting case study template .

1. Get Permission From The Client

You shouldn’t write a case study that names your client without their permission.

So, before you start writing it, ask them if they’d be OK with you publishing a case study about the project.

Now, I’m not a lawyer, and nothing in this article or anything I write is legal or financial advice. But here’s what we’ve found, through running consulting businesses for over two decades, often works best:

A question we often receive from consultants is “What if I can’t use the name of my client or the company I worked with?” Generally, this isn’t an issue. If your contract says you can’t use the client’s company name, or the client says “No” to your request, all is not lost.

What tends to work extremely well is still writing the case study, but without using the client’s name. Instead, describe the client.

For example, let’s say your client is the automaker Mazda. If you can’t use their name, consider “Working with a top 20 global automaker…”

This gives prospective buyers a good idea of the caliber and type of company you worked with.

When you ask your client for their permission to create a case study that features them, you’ll generally find that 9 times out of 10 they won’t have a problem with you doing so, but make sure you ask before publishing.

2. Introduce The Client’s Business

Once you’ve gotten permission from the client, you’ll begin writing your case study. Follow along using our template .

The first section is the introduction. Set the stage here by introducing your client, their business, and their industry.

This section gives context to the case study. Ideally, your ideal client is intrigued by being in a similar industry or situation as the client in your case study.

3. Describe The Problem Or Challenge

In this section, you outline the problem your client was facing.

Be as specific as you can be.

Simply saying they had marketing issues or a problem with their PR is not enough.

The more detail you include the clearer the picture will become and the more effective your case study copywriting will be.

If your ideal client reads this and has a similar problem as the client in the case study, you can guarantee that their eyes will be glued to the screen, salivating to learn how you solved it.

4. Summarize Your Action Steps

Now that you’ve described the problem your client was up against, you’ll explain what you did to help solve the problem.

In this section, break down each part of the process you used or the steps you took to solve it.

The reader should get the sense that you have a process or system capable of solving the problem and getting results.

This is where you get to demonstrate your know-how and expertise. Get as technical as you can. Show your reader “Hey, this is how I can get YOU results too.”

5. Share The Results

It’s time to demonstrate results.

Write the results that were achieved and how they impacted the business/organization/person.

In many cases, the outcome isn’t just dollars and cents — it can also be less tangible value.

Are they less stressed? Do they have more free time? Are they finding more meaning and enjoyment in their work?

Mention if you’re continuing to work with this client through a retainer . If you’re not, describe how the results will impact their business in the future.

This is also a great place to include a quote or testimonial from your client.

The “Results” section is key because it shows prospective clients that you’ve solved the problems they are facing and have delivered the actual results that they likely desire.

6. Write A Call To Action

At the end of the case study, you should always include a sentence or two inviting the ideal client to reach out.

They’ve just read about the problems you can solve, how you solve them, and the results you can create.

They are primed and ready to reach out to inquire about how you can do it for them.

But if you don’t have a direct call to action for them to do that, many of them will leave without taking action.

So, write a direct, clear call to action that takes them to a page where it’s easy to book a consultation with you or where you provide your contact information.

7. Share It

Marketing for consultants is all about providing value to your ideal clients, being known for something specific, and positioning yourself as an expert and authority that your ideal clients want to work with. So, whenever you publish a piece of valuable content like a case study, your mission is to get as many eyes on the case study as possible.

The best place to publish your case study is on your website or blog.

You can also submit case studies to industry publications. These are a great way to spread the word about you and your client’s business.

Make sure to also share your case study on all social media platforms where your ideal clients hang out online. For consultants, that means LinkedIn.

Work your “marketing muscle” by actively promoting your case study, and you’ll reap the rewards of this powerful piece of authority-building content.

Writing case studies for your consulting business not only helps you land new clients, but it’s also a great way for you to review past projects.

Doing this helps you to find what worked and what didn’t.

And you’ll continue to learn from your experiences and implement your best practices into your next consulting project.

Consulting Case Study Template

Click here to access our Consulting Case Study Template .

This template is designed using a “fill in the blank” style to make it easy for you to put together your case studies.

Save this template for yourself. Use it to follow along with the examples below.

Consulting Case Study Examples

Here are some example case studies from our Clarity Coaching Program clients.

1. Larissa Stoddart

Larissa Stoddart teaches charities and nonprofits how to raise money.

To do that, she provides her clients with a training and coaching program that walks them through twelve modules of content on raising money for their organization, creating a fundraising plan, putting an information management system into place, finding prospects, and asking those prospects for money.

Through her case studies, Larissa provides a comprehensive overview of how she helps her clients build robust fundraising plans and achieve and win more donations.

2. Dan Burgos

Danila “Dan” Burgos is the president and CEO of Alphanova Consulting, which works with US manufacturers to help them increase their profitability through operational improvements.

The goal of Alphanova is to increase their clients’ quality and on-time delivery by 99 percent and help them increase their net profits by over 25 percent.

Through his case studies, Dan lays out the problem, his solution, and the results in a clear simple way.

He makes it very easy for his prospects to envision working with his firm — and then schedule a consultation to make it happen.

3. Vanessa Bennet

Through her company Next Evolution Performance, Vanessa Bennett and her business partner Alex Davides, use neuroscience to help driven business leaders improve their productivity, energy, profitability, and staff retention, while avoiding burnout.

Through her “Clients” page, she provides a list of the specific industries she works with as well as specific case studies from clients within those industries.

She then displays in-depth testimonials that detail the results that her consulting services create for her clients.

These are powerful stories that help Vanessa’s clients see their desired future state — and how her firm is the right choice to help them get there.

As you see, our clients have taken our template and made them work for their unique style, clients, and services.

I encourage you to do the same.

And if you’d benefit from personal, 1-on-1 coaching and support from like-minded consultants, check out our Clarity Coaching Program .

Get Help & Feedback Writing Consulting Case Studies

If writing and demonstrating your authority were easy, then every consultant would be publishing case studies.

But that’s not the case.

Sometimes it helps to have a consulting coach to walk you through each step — and a community of like-minded consultants with whom you can share your work and get feedback from.

That’s why we’ve built the Clarity Coaching Program.

Inside the program, we teach you how to write case studies (among dozens of other critical subjects for consulting business founders).

And we’ve also created a network of coaches and other consultants who are in the trenches — and who are willing to share their hard-fought knowledge with you.

Inside the Clarity Coaching program , we’ve helped over 850 consultants to build a more strategic, profitable, and scalable, consulting business.

Learn More About Clarity Coaching

We’ll work hands-on with you to develop a strategic plan and then dive deep and work through your ideal client clarity, strategic messaging, consulting offers, use an effective and proven consulting pricing strategy, help you to increase your fees, business model optimization, and help you to set up your marketing engine and lead generation system to consistently attract ideal clients.

15 thoughts on “ How To Write A Consulting Case Study: Guide, Template, & Examples ”

This is a great outline and I found it quite helpful. Thanks.

Shana – glad you found this post helpful!

I have used case studies to get new clients and you're right, They work.

Jay – thanks for sharing. I've worked with many clients to implement case studies and have used them in several businesses and have always found them to be great at supporting proof and establishing authority and credibility.

Dumb question: guess you can't charge if you're doing a case study, huh?

Terri – No such thing as a dumb question where I come from. Always good to ask.

You definitely can charge for case studies. Michael Stelzner has a lot more information on writing white papers (and case studies) as projects.

This post was really aimed at using case studies to win more business and attract clients. But you can definitely offer this service to companies and they'll pay handsomely for it.

That was a great question!

Hello,I am really glad I stumbled upon your consulting site. This outline is very helpful and I love the e-mails I recieve as well Thanks!

Happy to hear that

This is a great site for consultants – great information for the team to share with consultants that reach out to us. Thank you!

Thanks Deborah

It is a good steps if we know how we start and control our working.

All I wanted to know about putting together a case study I have got. Thanks so much.

to put together your consulting case study: to put together your consulting case study:

I have used your outline today to write one case. Thank you for sharing.

Hi – This is a great piece, and covers all the core elements of a case study with impact.

Couple of extra points…

1. it’s really powerful to provide a mix of qualitative and quantitative results where possible e.g. ‘we saved the client $500 per month and feedback tells us morale improved’

2. We are seeing more and more consultancies include images and video in their case studies. This obviously depends on the context, so while it’s not necessarily appropriate within the confines of a bid, it is definitely something to think about for those case studies that you want to publish online or in a marketing brochure.

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Table of Contents

Table of contents:, the 6 rules for creating compelling client case studies:, the 6 rules for creating powerful agency client case studies.

Client case studies are one of the most important elements to master as you grow as an agency.

After all, social proof is a key aspect of any agency growth strategy.

Seeing as you’ve just delivered the desired results for your clients, you’ll want to capitalize on the opportunity to share the success story with other prospective clients.

Clients who can relate and understand how their project might work with your agency. 

Case studies add credibility to you as an agency, make it easier to close deals, and are great for finding quotes for social proof marketing assets. A few strong case studies in a specific niche or service can take an agency to new (authoritative) heights.

What’s the secret to creating compelling, amazing, and credible case studies?

Don’t just come strolling in with your eyes closed — walk into every project with a thoughtful strategy that will help you to best capture the work you’re doing with your clients.

• The 6 Rules For Creating Compelling Case Studies
• Add Case Studies and a Share-Your-Work Clause in Contracts
• Have a Case Study Theme
• Always Ask For Permission Before Publishing a Case Study
• Ask For a Testimonial to Use in Your Case Study
• Gather Several Different Perspectives For a Case Study
• Build Out a Process for Creating Case Studies

If you only think about case studies in hindsight, you could lose the opportunity to bolster your social proof portfolio altogether.

As a general rule, before we dive into the 6 rules for creating compelling client case studies , it’s essential that you emphasize quality over quantity when it comes to building up social proof.

You could have 20 subpar and rushed case studies on your website but they won’t do nearly as well as three in-depth ones that really pack a punch.

1. Add Case Studies and a Share-Your-Work Clause in Contracts

We started adding a notation in our contracts about showcasing client work at a later time and date. 

We don’t do this to be sneaky. We do this to get everything out there right from the beginning of the relationship.

So, if the client has specific instructions that won’t allow us to showcase work, this is a great place to establish it. 

This accomplished two things:

• Helped us get the permission to share work early on — which we would ask additional permission for before publishing a single piece — down in writing.
• Opened their mind to the fact that we like to do case studies and that one may be coming down the pipeline.

As you know, around here, we’re all about hoping for the best and preparing for the worst. 

You want to be actively collecting case studies. It needs to be embedded in your processes. It’s a powerful sales tool that can make you stand out from the competition, and it’s important you take the time to create and then leverage it.

Hope for the Best, Prepare for the Worst

I bring the biggest smile and the most positive attitude in the world into every single client relationship. However, that doesn’t mean that I don’t take responsible measures to help protect myself and my team from any potential dangers lurking around the corner. 

What could go wrong, you ask? Two things:

• Imagine somewhere down the line you write a book and mention a client experience that you had permission to utilize. Let’s say that client decides to sue you for some reason. If you don’t have written permission in your contract, it’s going to be hard to defend yourself. 
• In a similar instance, imagine you chatted about using a case study with a client. They verbally agree and later verbally change their mind. Again, you have no documentation to defend yourself in case things go sour—and no, email proof isn’t quite enough.

2. Have a Case Study Theme

When you’re approaching a client to construct a case study, be sure to have a specific direction in mind for it.

You don’t want to roll in there without a plan. You want to know what particular success you want to emphasize and what the results are for the business and have testimonials from individuals most impacted by the results.

Turn Your Case Study Into a Story

This could be as simple as how you helped them hop over a huge hurdle that no one thought was possible or how together your teams formed a super force that did amazing things. 

You want to gather the information from the client and turn it into a compelling story from prospects, with your client and your agency as the stars. Next, show the transformation from struggling in this specific way, what you did to fix it, and the results of this change.

Finally, paint a picture for the prospect about how you can do the same thing for them.

Your theme is limited to your imagination. A compelling case study isn’t just an event timeline of the work you completed—it’s a story that is moving enough to persuade future businesses to work with you. 

You want to take a prospect reading your case study on a journey.

The theme will help you construct the best possible story, and it will help your clients formulate their thoughts. We all know how intimidating it can be to look at the blinking cursor on the screen. You can help your clients succeed by giving them that theme along with some examples.

You want to give them an outline of the story you want to tell.

3. Always Ask For Permission Before Publishing a Case Study

This is the cardinal rule of case studies: always get explicit permissions from clients.

Yes, we’ve put it in the contract, but that was to open the original conversation and get it down in writing. 

You don’t want unblessed work getting found — especially via Google searches! 

The last thing you want is for your clients to explore your website and find a case study about them that they didn’t sign off on. This is just bad business behavior here. 

In some instances, your case study could appear on the first or top of the second page of search engines related to your client’s organization name. Again, you don’t want them to be surprised in any way, especially by finding it on a search engine by accident.

This is a great way to cause havoc.

Be Sure to Frame the Case Study in a Positive Light

Your case study should never be “our client absolutely sucked, and we rescued them!” 

Rather, it should be something like:

“Our client was awesome. They are talented in (insert areas here). Together, we partnered to collaborate to create some amazing results.” 

The way you position the case study will have a great impact on the permission you receive and how you’re continuing your relationship with your clients. 

Reframe Your Request

Instead of simply just saying:

“We want to do a case study. Is that okay with you?”

Position it along the lines of:

“We did some awesome work. Mind if we brag about our combined story and the amazing results we both achieved?”

At the end of the day, it takes your marketing work and the quality of the team and product of the client to really have success. Showing how this happened and came together does a lot to build positive vibes with the client.

4. Ask For a Testimonial to Use in Your Case Study

Don’t just ask for permission to brag about your work together—ask for a testimonial as well. With your theme already in mind, you can help your client formulate the most concentrated thought possible, which will take your case study to the next level. 

The Key to Amazing Testimonials

The best way to get the testimonials you want is to provide direction for what you’re looking for. But, again, there’s nothing worse than staring at the blinking cursor on a blank screen and trying to come up with something out of the blue. 

Heck—we as agencies struggle enough with creating something out of nothing! Our clients will have the same trouble as well. It’s our job to make it as easy as possible for them to put together an amazing testimonial. 

To do this, send over examples of the ideal testImonial. This will give them something to work with. You once again want to use a simple formula in this. Here’s an easy formula with a testimonial.

This is what I bought > This is why I was hesitant to buy > This is how the agency addressed the concern > This is how happy I am with the results

You want the client to be “realistic,” too. You don’t want non-stop praise and the best, but have an honest assessment of your work. This is why including a “why they were hesitant” helps in the process.

A prospect is going to be reading this case study and has their own concerns with purchasing. You can overcome specific purchasing objections with the smart use of testimonials.

Outlandish testimonials are a dime a dozen in the online world, so collecting testimonials that address objections increases trust.

In a testimonial, you also want to make sure it comes across as real . This means having a headshot, the name of the person, the company, and their role at the company. Again, it reduces the chances a prospect thinks the whole story is made up.

Don’t Neglect Audio and Video in Case Studies

Also, don’t forget the power of audio and video. For some clients, it might also be easier for them to give you their best testimonials via one of these two mediums.

For example, having a video on your website of a client looking into a camera is a great way to connect with the prospect.

It’s not just a picture and a face, but they can see this is another business person just like themselves, who used your services and is now experiencing all the benefits.

5. Gather Several Different Perspectives For a Case Study

Just like we want to involve diverse members of the client’s team — sales, marketing, fulfillment, leadership, etc. — during the GamePlan strategy meetings, we want to bring a variety of perspectives to a case study.

This is all about telling a story, and bringing in multiple perspectives from the client side will help you tell the most compelling story possible that prospective clients will relate to. 

You want the president sharing about the outrageous success his business is now having— the marketing director about how easy your team was to work with and execute a campaign with. 

6. Build Out a Process for Creating Case Studies

At DoInbound, we’re all about building easily repeatable processes that save you time and help you do your best work. The way you go about doing case studies should be no different. 

You want it to be seamless and embedded into your client engagements. It’s easy to have a marketing success and forget about it or have it in your mind but never shared. Taking the time to do that can boost your sales and impress prospects.

It’s another way to use current clients you generate more business.

We’ve streamlined our testimonial and info gathering by sending clients exit surveys when we complete a project. But, of course, this is something they expect to receive and is something we always send when the client has the experience fresh on their minds. 

Start Creating Compelling Case Studies Today!

Case studies are powerful weapons in your sales arsenal. They can help you tell the story of what you do and how you work with your clients. They can mean the difference between a new client or a lost opportunity to start creating compelling ones today!

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Organizing Your Social Sciences Research Assignments

• Annotated Bibliography
• Analyzing a Scholarly Journal Article
• Group Presentations
• Dealing with Nervousness
• Using Visual Aids
• Grading Someone Else's Paper
• Types of Structured Group Activities
• Group Project Survival Skills
• Leading a Class Discussion
• Multiple Book Review Essay
• Reviewing Collected Works
• Writing a Case Analysis Paper
• Writing a Case Study
• About Informed Consent
• Writing Field Notes
• Writing a Policy Memo
• Writing a Reflective Paper
• Writing a Research Proposal
• Generative AI and Writing
• Acknowledgments

A case study research paper examines a person, place, event, condition, phenomenon, or other type of subject of analysis in order to extrapolate  key themes and results that help predict future trends, illuminate previously hidden issues that can be applied to practice, and/or provide a means for understanding an important research problem with greater clarity. A case study research paper usually examines a single subject of analysis, but case study papers can also be designed as a comparative investigation that shows relationships between two or more subjects. The methods used to study a case can rest within a quantitative, qualitative, or mixed-method investigative paradigm.

Case Studies. Writing@CSU. Colorado State University; Mills, Albert J. , Gabrielle Durepos, and Eiden Wiebe, editors. Encyclopedia of Case Study Research . Thousand Oaks, CA: SAGE Publications, 2010 ; “What is a Case Study?” In Swanborn, Peter G. Case Study Research: What, Why and How? London: SAGE, 2010.

How to Approach Writing a Case Study Research Paper

General information about how to choose a topic to investigate can be found under the " Choosing a Research Problem " tab in the Organizing Your Social Sciences Research Paper writing guide. Review this page because it may help you identify a subject of analysis that can be investigated using a case study design.

However, identifying a case to investigate involves more than choosing the research problem . A case study encompasses a problem contextualized around the application of in-depth analysis, interpretation, and discussion, often resulting in specific recommendations for action or for improving existing conditions. As Seawright and Gerring note, practical considerations such as time and access to information can influence case selection, but these issues should not be the sole factors used in describing the methodological justification for identifying a particular case to study. Given this, selecting a case includes considering the following:

• The case represents an unusual or atypical example of a research problem that requires more in-depth analysis? Cases often represent a topic that rests on the fringes of prior investigations because the case may provide new ways of understanding the research problem. For example, if the research problem is to identify strategies to improve policies that support girl's access to secondary education in predominantly Muslim nations, you could consider using Azerbaijan as a case study rather than selecting a more obvious nation in the Middle East. Doing so may reveal important new insights into recommending how governments in other predominantly Muslim nations can formulate policies that support improved access to education for girls.
• The case provides important insight or illuminate a previously hidden problem? In-depth analysis of a case can be based on the hypothesis that the case study will reveal trends or issues that have not been exposed in prior research or will reveal new and important implications for practice. For example, anecdotal evidence may suggest drug use among homeless veterans is related to their patterns of travel throughout the day. Assuming prior studies have not looked at individual travel choices as a way to study access to illicit drug use, a case study that observes a homeless veteran could reveal how issues of personal mobility choices facilitate regular access to illicit drugs. Note that it is important to conduct a thorough literature review to ensure that your assumption about the need to reveal new insights or previously hidden problems is valid and evidence-based.
• The case challenges and offers a counter-point to prevailing assumptions? Over time, research on any given topic can fall into a trap of developing assumptions based on outdated studies that are still applied to new or changing conditions or the idea that something should simply be accepted as "common sense," even though the issue has not been thoroughly tested in current practice. A case study analysis may offer an opportunity to gather evidence that challenges prevailing assumptions about a research problem and provide a new set of recommendations applied to practice that have not been tested previously. For example, perhaps there has been a long practice among scholars to apply a particular theory in explaining the relationship between two subjects of analysis. Your case could challenge this assumption by applying an innovative theoretical framework [perhaps borrowed from another discipline] to explore whether this approach offers new ways of understanding the research problem. Taking a contrarian stance is one of the most important ways that new knowledge and understanding develops from existing literature.
• The case provides an opportunity to pursue action leading to the resolution of a problem? Another way to think about choosing a case to study is to consider how the results from investigating a particular case may result in findings that reveal ways in which to resolve an existing or emerging problem. For example, studying the case of an unforeseen incident, such as a fatal accident at a railroad crossing, can reveal hidden issues that could be applied to preventative measures that contribute to reducing the chance of accidents in the future. In this example, a case study investigating the accident could lead to a better understanding of where to strategically locate additional signals at other railroad crossings so as to better warn drivers of an approaching train, particularly when visibility is hindered by heavy rain, fog, or at night.
• The case offers a new direction in future research? A case study can be used as a tool for an exploratory investigation that highlights the need for further research about the problem. A case can be used when there are few studies that help predict an outcome or that establish a clear understanding about how best to proceed in addressing a problem. For example, after conducting a thorough literature review [very important!], you discover that little research exists showing the ways in which women contribute to promoting water conservation in rural communities of east central Africa. A case study of how women contribute to saving water in a rural village of Uganda can lay the foundation for understanding the need for more thorough research that documents how women in their roles as cooks and family caregivers think about water as a valuable resource within their community. This example of a case study could also point to the need for scholars to build new theoretical frameworks around the topic [e.g., applying feminist theories of work and family to the issue of water conservation].

Eisenhardt, Kathleen M. “Building Theories from Case Study Research.” Academy of Management Review 14 (October 1989): 532-550; Emmel, Nick. Sampling and Choosing Cases in Qualitative Research: A Realist Approach . Thousand Oaks, CA: SAGE Publications, 2013; Gerring, John. “What Is a Case Study and What Is It Good for?” American Political Science Review 98 (May 2004): 341-354; Mills, Albert J. , Gabrielle Durepos, and Eiden Wiebe, editors. Encyclopedia of Case Study Research . Thousand Oaks, CA: SAGE Publications, 2010; Seawright, Jason and John Gerring. "Case Selection Techniques in Case Study Research." Political Research Quarterly 61 (June 2008): 294-308.

Structure and Writing Style

The purpose of a paper in the social sciences designed around a case study is to thoroughly investigate a subject of analysis in order to reveal a new understanding about the research problem and, in so doing, contributing new knowledge to what is already known from previous studies. In applied social sciences disciplines [e.g., education, social work, public administration, etc.], case studies may also be used to reveal best practices, highlight key programs, or investigate interesting aspects of professional work.

In general, the structure of a case study research paper is not all that different from a standard college-level research paper. However, there are subtle differences you should be aware of. Here are the key elements to organizing and writing a case study research paper.

I.  Introduction

As with any research paper, your introduction should serve as a roadmap for your readers to ascertain the scope and purpose of your study . The introduction to a case study research paper, however, should not only describe the research problem and its significance, but you should also succinctly describe why the case is being used and how it relates to addressing the problem. The two elements should be linked. With this in mind, a good introduction answers these four questions:

• What is being studied? Describe the research problem and describe the subject of analysis [the case] you have chosen to address the problem. Explain how they are linked and what elements of the case will help to expand knowledge and understanding about the problem.
• Why is this topic important to investigate? Describe the significance of the research problem and state why a case study design and the subject of analysis that the paper is designed around is appropriate in addressing the problem.
• What did we know about this topic before I did this study? Provide background that helps lead the reader into the more in-depth literature review to follow. If applicable, summarize prior case study research applied to the research problem and why it fails to adequately address the problem. Describe why your case will be useful. If no prior case studies have been used to address the research problem, explain why you have selected this subject of analysis.
• How will this study advance new knowledge or new ways of understanding? Explain why your case study will be suitable in helping to expand knowledge and understanding about the research problem.

Each of these questions should be addressed in no more than a few paragraphs. Exceptions to this can be when you are addressing a complex research problem or subject of analysis that requires more in-depth background information.

II.  Literature Review

The literature review for a case study research paper is generally structured the same as it is for any college-level research paper. The difference, however, is that the literature review is focused on providing background information and  enabling historical interpretation of the subject of analysis in relation to the research problem the case is intended to address . This includes synthesizing studies that help to:

• Place relevant works in the context of their contribution to understanding the case study being investigated . This would involve summarizing studies that have used a similar subject of analysis to investigate the research problem. If there is literature using the same or a very similar case to study, you need to explain why duplicating past research is important [e.g., conditions have changed; prior studies were conducted long ago, etc.].
• Describe the relationship each work has to the others under consideration that informs the reader why this case is applicable . Your literature review should include a description of any works that support using the case to investigate the research problem and the underlying research questions.
• Identify new ways to interpret prior research using the case study . If applicable, review any research that has examined the research problem using a different research design. Explain how your use of a case study design may reveal new knowledge or a new perspective or that can redirect research in an important new direction.
• Resolve conflicts amongst seemingly contradictory previous studies . This refers to synthesizing any literature that points to unresolved issues of concern about the research problem and describing how the subject of analysis that forms the case study can help resolve these existing contradictions.
• Point the way in fulfilling a need for additional research . Your review should examine any literature that lays a foundation for understanding why your case study design and the subject of analysis around which you have designed your study may reveal a new way of approaching the research problem or offer a perspective that points to the need for additional research.
• Expose any gaps that exist in the literature that the case study could help to fill . Summarize any literature that not only shows how your subject of analysis contributes to understanding the research problem, but how your case contributes to a new way of understanding the problem that prior research has failed to do.
• Locate your own research within the context of existing literature [very important!] . Collectively, your literature review should always place your case study within the larger domain of prior research about the problem. The overarching purpose of reviewing pertinent literature in a case study paper is to demonstrate that you have thoroughly identified and synthesized prior studies in relation to explaining the relevance of the case in addressing the research problem.

III.  Method

In this section, you explain why you selected a particular case [i.e., subject of analysis] and the strategy you used to identify and ultimately decide that your case was appropriate in addressing the research problem. The way you describe the methods used varies depending on the type of subject of analysis that constitutes your case study.

If your subject of analysis is an incident or event . In the social and behavioral sciences, the event or incident that represents the case to be studied is usually bounded by time and place, with a clear beginning and end and with an identifiable location or position relative to its surroundings. The subject of analysis can be a rare or critical event or it can focus on a typical or regular event. The purpose of studying a rare event is to illuminate new ways of thinking about the broader research problem or to test a hypothesis. Critical incident case studies must describe the method by which you identified the event and explain the process by which you determined the validity of this case to inform broader perspectives about the research problem or to reveal new findings. However, the event does not have to be a rare or uniquely significant to support new thinking about the research problem or to challenge an existing hypothesis. For example, Walo, Bull, and Breen conducted a case study to identify and evaluate the direct and indirect economic benefits and costs of a local sports event in the City of Lismore, New South Wales, Australia. The purpose of their study was to provide new insights from measuring the impact of a typical local sports event that prior studies could not measure well because they focused on large "mega-events." Whether the event is rare or not, the methods section should include an explanation of the following characteristics of the event: a) when did it take place; b) what were the underlying circumstances leading to the event; and, c) what were the consequences of the event in relation to the research problem.

If your subject of analysis is a person. Explain why you selected this particular individual to be studied and describe what experiences they have had that provide an opportunity to advance new understandings about the research problem. Mention any background about this person which might help the reader understand the significance of their experiences that make them worthy of study. This includes describing the relationships this person has had with other people, institutions, and/or events that support using them as the subject for a case study research paper. It is particularly important to differentiate the person as the subject of analysis from others and to succinctly explain how the person relates to examining the research problem [e.g., why is one politician in a particular local election used to show an increase in voter turnout from any other candidate running in the election]. Note that these issues apply to a specific group of people used as a case study unit of analysis [e.g., a classroom of students].

If your subject of analysis is a place. In general, a case study that investigates a place suggests a subject of analysis that is unique or special in some way and that this uniqueness can be used to build new understanding or knowledge about the research problem. A case study of a place must not only describe its various attributes relevant to the research problem [e.g., physical, social, historical, cultural, economic, political], but you must state the method by which you determined that this place will illuminate new understandings about the research problem. It is also important to articulate why a particular place as the case for study is being used if similar places also exist [i.e., if you are studying patterns of homeless encampments of veterans in open spaces, explain why you are studying Echo Park in Los Angeles rather than Griffith Park?]. If applicable, describe what type of human activity involving this place makes it a good choice to study [e.g., prior research suggests Echo Park has more homeless veterans].

If your subject of analysis is a phenomenon. A phenomenon refers to a fact, occurrence, or circumstance that can be studied or observed but with the cause or explanation to be in question. In this sense, a phenomenon that forms your subject of analysis can encompass anything that can be observed or presumed to exist but is not fully understood. In the social and behavioral sciences, the case usually focuses on human interaction within a complex physical, social, economic, cultural, or political system. For example, the phenomenon could be the observation that many vehicles used by ISIS fighters are small trucks with English language advertisements on them. The research problem could be that ISIS fighters are difficult to combat because they are highly mobile. The research questions could be how and by what means are these vehicles used by ISIS being supplied to the militants and how might supply lines to these vehicles be cut off? How might knowing the suppliers of these trucks reveal larger networks of collaborators and financial support? A case study of a phenomenon most often encompasses an in-depth analysis of a cause and effect that is grounded in an interactive relationship between people and their environment in some way.

NOTE:   The choice of the case or set of cases to study cannot appear random. Evidence that supports the method by which you identified and chose your subject of analysis should clearly support investigation of the research problem and linked to key findings from your literature review. Be sure to cite any studies that helped you determine that the case you chose was appropriate for examining the problem.

IV.  Discussion

The main elements of your discussion section are generally the same as any research paper, but centered around interpreting and drawing conclusions about the key findings from your analysis of the case study. Note that a general social sciences research paper may contain a separate section to report findings. However, in a paper designed around a case study, it is common to combine a description of the results with the discussion about their implications. The objectives of your discussion section should include the following:

Reiterate the Research Problem/State the Major Findings Briefly reiterate the research problem you are investigating and explain why the subject of analysis around which you designed the case study were used. You should then describe the findings revealed from your study of the case using direct, declarative, and succinct proclamation of the study results. Highlight any findings that were unexpected or especially profound.

Explain the Meaning of the Findings and Why They are Important Systematically explain the meaning of your case study findings and why you believe they are important. Begin this part of the section by repeating what you consider to be your most important or surprising finding first, then systematically review each finding. Be sure to thoroughly extrapolate what your analysis of the case can tell the reader about situations or conditions beyond the actual case that was studied while, at the same time, being careful not to misconstrue or conflate a finding that undermines the external validity of your conclusions.

Relate the Findings to Similar Studies No study in the social sciences is so novel or possesses such a restricted focus that it has absolutely no relation to previously published research. The discussion section should relate your case study results to those found in other studies, particularly if questions raised from prior studies served as the motivation for choosing your subject of analysis. This is important because comparing and contrasting the findings of other studies helps support the overall importance of your results and it highlights how and in what ways your case study design and the subject of analysis differs from prior research about the topic.

Consider Alternative Explanations of the Findings Remember that the purpose of social science research is to discover and not to prove. When writing the discussion section, you should carefully consider all possible explanations revealed by the case study results, rather than just those that fit your hypothesis or prior assumptions and biases. Be alert to what the in-depth analysis of the case may reveal about the research problem, including offering a contrarian perspective to what scholars have stated in prior research if that is how the findings can be interpreted from your case.

Acknowledge the Study's Limitations You can state the study's limitations in the conclusion section of your paper but describing the limitations of your subject of analysis in the discussion section provides an opportunity to identify the limitations and explain why they are not significant. This part of the discussion section should also note any unanswered questions or issues your case study could not address. More detailed information about how to document any limitations to your research can be found here .

Suggest Areas for Further Research Although your case study may offer important insights about the research problem, there are likely additional questions related to the problem that remain unanswered or findings that unexpectedly revealed themselves as a result of your in-depth analysis of the case. Be sure that the recommendations for further research are linked to the research problem and that you explain why your recommendations are valid in other contexts and based on the original assumptions of your study.

V.  Conclusion

As with any research paper, you should summarize your conclusion in clear, simple language; emphasize how the findings from your case study differs from or supports prior research and why. Do not simply reiterate the discussion section. Provide a synthesis of key findings presented in the paper to show how these converge to address the research problem. If you haven't already done so in the discussion section, be sure to document the limitations of your case study and any need for further research.

The function of your paper's conclusion is to: 1) reiterate the main argument supported by the findings from your case study; 2) state clearly the context, background, and necessity of pursuing the research problem using a case study design in relation to an issue, controversy, or a gap found from reviewing the literature; and, 3) provide a place to persuasively and succinctly restate the significance of your research problem, given that the reader has now been presented with in-depth information about the topic.

Consider the following points to help ensure your conclusion is appropriate:

• If the argument or purpose of your paper is complex, you may need to summarize these points for your reader.
• If prior to your conclusion, you have not yet explained the significance of your findings or if you are proceeding inductively, use the conclusion of your paper to describe your main points and explain their significance.
• Move from a detailed to a general level of consideration of the case study's findings that returns the topic to the context provided by the introduction or within a new context that emerges from your case study findings.

Note that, depending on the discipline you are writing in or the preferences of your professor, the concluding paragraph may contain your final reflections on the evidence presented as it applies to practice or on the essay's central research problem. However, the nature of being introspective about the subject of analysis you have investigated will depend on whether you are explicitly asked to express your observations in this way.

Problems to Avoid

Overgeneralization One of the goals of a case study is to lay a foundation for understanding broader trends and issues applied to similar circumstances. However, be careful when drawing conclusions from your case study. They must be evidence-based and grounded in the results of the study; otherwise, it is merely speculation. Looking at a prior example, it would be incorrect to state that a factor in improving girls access to education in Azerbaijan and the policy implications this may have for improving access in other Muslim nations is due to girls access to social media if there is no documentary evidence from your case study to indicate this. There may be anecdotal evidence that retention rates were better for girls who were engaged with social media, but this observation would only point to the need for further research and would not be a definitive finding if this was not a part of your original research agenda.

Failure to Document Limitations No case is going to reveal all that needs to be understood about a research problem. Therefore, just as you have to clearly state the limitations of a general research study , you must describe the specific limitations inherent in the subject of analysis. For example, the case of studying how women conceptualize the need for water conservation in a village in Uganda could have limited application in other cultural contexts or in areas where fresh water from rivers or lakes is plentiful and, therefore, conservation is understood more in terms of managing access rather than preserving access to a scarce resource.

Failure to Extrapolate All Possible Implications Just as you don't want to over-generalize from your case study findings, you also have to be thorough in the consideration of all possible outcomes or recommendations derived from your findings. If you do not, your reader may question the validity of your analysis, particularly if you failed to document an obvious outcome from your case study research. For example, in the case of studying the accident at the railroad crossing to evaluate where and what types of warning signals should be located, you failed to take into consideration speed limit signage as well as warning signals. When designing your case study, be sure you have thoroughly addressed all aspects of the problem and do not leave gaps in your analysis that leave the reader questioning the results.

Case Studies. Writing@CSU. Colorado State University; Gerring, John. Case Study Research: Principles and Practices . New York: Cambridge University Press, 2007; Merriam, Sharan B. Qualitative Research and Case Study Applications in Education . Rev. ed. San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass, 1998; Miller, Lisa L. “The Use of Case Studies in Law and Social Science Research.” Annual Review of Law and Social Science 14 (2018): TBD; Mills, Albert J., Gabrielle Durepos, and Eiden Wiebe, editors. Encyclopedia of Case Study Research . Thousand Oaks, CA: SAGE Publications, 2010; Putney, LeAnn Grogan. "Case Study." In Encyclopedia of Research Design , Neil J. Salkind, editor. (Thousand Oaks, CA: SAGE Publications, 2010), pp. 116-120; Simons, Helen. Case Study Research in Practice . London: SAGE Publications, 2009;  Kratochwill,  Thomas R. and Joel R. Levin, editors. Single-Case Research Design and Analysis: New Development for Psychology and Education .  Hilldsale, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates, 1992; Swanborn, Peter G. Case Study Research: What, Why and How? London : SAGE, 2010; Yin, Robert K. Case Study Research: Design and Methods . 6th edition. Los Angeles, CA, SAGE Publications, 2014; Walo, Maree, Adrian Bull, and Helen Breen. “Achieving Economic Benefits at Local Events: A Case Study of a Local Sports Event.” Festival Management and Event Tourism 4 (1996): 95-106.

Writing Tip

At Least Five Misconceptions about Case Study Research

Social science case studies are often perceived as limited in their ability to create new knowledge because they are not randomly selected and findings cannot be generalized to larger populations. Flyvbjerg examines five misunderstandings about case study research and systematically "corrects" each one. To quote, these are:

Misunderstanding 1 :  General, theoretical [context-independent] knowledge is more valuable than concrete, practical [context-dependent] knowledge. Misunderstanding 2 :  One cannot generalize on the basis of an individual case; therefore, the case study cannot contribute to scientific development. Misunderstanding 3 :  The case study is most useful for generating hypotheses; that is, in the first stage of a total research process, whereas other methods are more suitable for hypotheses testing and theory building. Misunderstanding 4 :  The case study contains a bias toward verification, that is, a tendency to confirm the researcher’s preconceived notions. Misunderstanding 5 :  It is often difficult to summarize and develop general propositions and theories on the basis of specific case studies [p. 221].

While writing your paper, think introspectively about how you addressed these misconceptions because to do so can help you strengthen the validity and reliability of your research by clarifying issues of case selection, the testing and challenging of existing assumptions, the interpretation of key findings, and the summation of case outcomes. Think of a case study research paper as a complete, in-depth narrative about the specific properties and key characteristics of your subject of analysis applied to the research problem.

Flyvbjerg, Bent. “Five Misunderstandings About Case-Study Research.” Qualitative Inquiry 12 (April 2006): 219-245.

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Hogan Lovells Case Study: Building Blocks of An Effective Key Client Program

Clients are looking for trusted advisors in their law firms — lawyers who know their business almost better than they do themselves. They are looking for firms to serve as partners to address challenges and provide seamless service across all aspects of the relationship.

A firm that can deliver outstanding experience consistently across all practices that serve the client can be a real differentiator in developing a truly institutionalized or "sticky" relationship. This is where a key client program offers great value. It provides a structure to identify and systemize the common ingredients needed to reach this level of relationship — and maintain it.

While we talk about structure, we also recognize the need for flexibility, as individual client relationships and their needs vary. The ultimate focus should be on continually monitoring results and capturing learnings from one client that can be used with others in the portfolio.

4 Elements for a Strong Key Client Program

The Hogan Lovells Global Client Program was launched roughly five years ago and currently comprises approximately 100 clients chosen annually, with the aim of focusing our resources to provide that excellent client experience  Here are a few key elements that structure our program:

Sector Focus

To understand our clients, we must have deep insights into the markets they operate in. That’s why our client program is built around our sector strengths. We select clients in these sectors to be included in the program and review them annually. The sector approach allows us to segment the portfolio and facilitates idea sharing to support client needs holistically.

Relationship Categories

Clients are classified within the program by stage of the relationship. Is it already an institutionalized client where we are deeply embedded? If so, our focus is on maintaining and nurturing the relationship. Is it a client for which we have deep relationships in certain areas, with room to expand further? Here, the focus is on widening the relationship by breaking into new areas. The type of resources we invest in are different for each category to ensure alignment with these objectives.

Client Support

The legal expertise we bring to the table isn’t the only thing that influences overall client experience. In addition to partner leads, a member of our marketing and business development team acts as an account manager, with a key focus on growing our relationship in line with the client’s needs and expectations. We also include members from our business services teams to ensure key firm areas that influence the client journey are in sync. This often includes knowledge management, finance, conflicts, legal project management and pricing teams.

Client Feedback

Client service is not one size fits all, so feedback from the client is critical to a best-in-class approach. We’ve worked hard to make feedback-seeking a standard practice at our firm. We ask clients for post-matter, post-pitch and annual relationship feedback, and we also capture informal feedback received along the way. Hearing directly from our clients allows us to better understand what they want and need from our firm. If something works, they tell us; if it doesn’t, they tell us. More importantly, we focus on acting on this feedback. (More on this below.)

Defining Success in a Key Client Program 

There are several essential items to an effective key client program:

• Client selection: It can be easy to focus on obvious financial metrics in selecting a portfolio of key clients. However, additional factors that influence success include the amount of engagement from client relationship partners, how receptive the client is to building a partnership with the firm and having access to the right contacts within the client’s organization.
• Reviewing progress: Consistent check-ins are critical. Use a mix of financial and non-financial metrics — team engagement, client feedback, market penetration, practice development, etc. This isn’t limited to evaluating performance; it’s also an opportunity to discuss issues and share ideas when things aren’t working well.
• Translating feedback into action: It’s important to act on all client feedback, positive or negative. This is a key driver in developing evolving client action plans. Discuss with lawyers exactly what was conveyed by the client and decide what action is needed to respond, as well as who is responsible for delivering on it, to improve the client experience.

Lessons Learned Along the Way

In the five years that Hogan Lovell has run its Global Client Program, there are a few lessons learned worth imparting.

• Go for a simple and flexible approach : Don’t be overly prescriptive about how each team needs to operate. Every client is different, and teams should adapt their style to what suits the client. Be open to experimenting.
• Maintain client-facing and internal-facing focuses: Define base-level requirements for client teams that focus on client-facing goals and internal-facing requirements. Encourage teams to progress on both simultaneously. It can be easy for teams to get tied up with the internal piece. While this is important, ensure it doesn’t roadblock opportunities for client touchpoints.
• Build action-based client plans: Client teams can be enthusiastic, suggesting ideas in all directions of areas to develop. Plans need to be kept manageable in size and action-based so that teams stay focused. Set three to five goals and actions each year, focused on areas to grow or protect in the client relationship. Always identify who is responsible for moving these actions forward.
• Equip teams for success: Provide regular internal training to lawyers and account managers around specific areas of client development and relationship management. This includes developing best practice templates and tools, sharing success stories and bringing teams on similar clients together to exchange ideas.

Effectiveness of the Client Program

We’re happy when our clients are happy and the relationship is working for them. Through our client feedback exercises, we’ve been able to measure the results our key client program is bringing. As shown by the testimony below, this feedback provides proof that we are creating “sticky” relationships benefitting both sides:

"The team consistently goes above and beyond… They are a hands-on team that consistently provides the best service and prioritizes knowledge and client relationships."

Our clients continue to push the bar higher, with the contours of great client service constantly changing. The ongoing challenge is to keep our client program agile enough to respond to new expectations.

Katryn Green is a client development manager at Hogan Lovells, where she is deeply involved in designing and developing the supporting infrastructure of the firm’s global client program. Through many years of managing client relationships with a particular focus on European-based financial institutions, she has developed a profound understanding of best-in-class client service.

Adrienne Johannes is head of client development at Hogan Lovells. In this role, she manages Hogan Lovells’ key client program focused on strategic relationship management and growth for the firm’s major clients, and has managed several large client accounts during her career. She also helped launch and currently directs the firm’s global client feedback program.

Related Content from LMA

Programming Case Study Examples: A Comprehensive Guide for HR Professionals

As an HR professional, you’re aware of the importance of hiring the right candidate for a job. With the rise in demand for skilled programmers, it’s essential to have a thorough understanding of their skills and expertise. One way to assess their abilities is through case studies. In this article, we’ll explore programming case study examples that can help you evaluate the technical skills of potential hires.

What are Programming Case Studies?

Programming case studies are real-world examples of programming challenges that a developer has faced and solved. These case studies can be used to assess the problem-solving abilities of potential hires. Case studies can also provide insight into a developer’s approach to problem-solving, their technical knowledge, and their ability to work under pressure.

Benefits of Programming Case Studies

Programming case studies can provide several benefits to HR professionals, including:

• Evaluating Technical Skills: Programming case studies can help evaluate the technical skills of potential hires.
• Assessing Problem-Solving Abilities: Programming case studies can assess the problem-solving abilities of developers.
• Insight into Developer’s Approach: Programming case studies can provide insight into a developer’s approach to problem-solving.
• Assessing Ability to Work Under Pressure: Programming case studies can assess a developer’s ability to work under pressure.

Programming Case Study Examples

Here are some programming case study examples that HR professionals can use to evaluate the technical skills of potential hires:

• Creating a Tic-Tac-Toe Game: This case study involves creating a Tic-Tac-Toe game using programming languages such as Python or JavaScript.
• Developing a CRUD Application: This case study involves developing a CRUD (Create, Read, Update, Delete) application using programming languages such as PHP or Ruby on Rails.
• Building a Web Scraper: This case study involves building a web scraper using programming languages such as Python or Node.js.

Why Choose Algobash?

Algobash is an online platform that provides programming case study examples to HR professionals. Algobash offers a wide range of case studies that cover various programming languages and topics. With Algobash, you can evaluate the technical skills of potential hires and make informed hiring decisions.

Benefits of Using Automated Interview for Companies

Best platform for ai interview in indonesia, 10 interview questions and answers that job seekers should keep in mind.

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Level 3 PT Coursework and Progressive Predictive Plan – In 5 Simple Steps

This blog is going to introduce you to 5 simple steps to create your Progressive Predictive Plan for your Level 3 PT coursework.

You’ll discover:

Why so many trainee Personal Trainers get stuck on the 8-week and 12-week plan

• What is a Progressive Predictive plan and how does this fit with your level 3 PT coursework
• 6-minute video tutorial to explain how to create a progressive plan for your client
• Five simple steps to complete your progressive predictive plan without overwhelm or confusion
• How to advance your knowledge and confidence as a FitPro inside 31 days

This is notoriously the toughest part of the Level 3 PT coursework, and I reckon that is down to two big reasons:

• It’s a big empty box with little to no guidance of how to complete it
• You haven’t been taught how to create an overview that includes logical progression

And the biggest problem with this is that most Personal Trainers graduate without ever FULLY UNDERSTANDING how to create a long term predictive over view for their client sessions.

What is a Progressive Predictive plan?

A Progressive Predictive Plan is an overview showing HOW you are going to get the client their goal by applying key progressions of variables, over a set time frame.

Which basically means you need to show a map of the 8 week or 12 week journey to your client achieving their goal.

All the awarding bodies and training providers have slightly different recommendations as to how they would like it to be completed.

However, the foundational 5 steps I show you today are appropriate for everyone (even after you’ve graduated and are working with real clients). Be mindful to check the recommendations inside your L3 PT coursework to check you are including everything your training provider requires.

The six-minute video tutorial below will help you with either an eight-week or twelve-week progressive plan for your client.

6 Minute Video Tutorial: Progressive Predictive Plan

There are 5 clear steps you need to follow to master your L3 PT progressive plan

STEP 1: Goals

The first of these five steps is to make sure that you are truly aware of what your client’s goal is.

It is absolutely crucial that your client’s medium term goal is a very clear SMART goal that lasts 8 or 12 weeks (depending on the requirement of yoru coursework)

This goal should also be a performance goal, which means it is super easy to measure that your client has achieved that goal at the end of your plan.

Goals are so important, that I have two more video tutorials to help you craft the perfect goals for your PT casestudy and client:

• The goal should be a PERFORMANCE goal that is clearly measurable, learn more about Process and Performance goals HERE
• The goal needs to be described in a SMART format, learn how to write this for your case study HERE

STEP 2: Chunks of Adaptation

Now you have a very clear goal, step two is to understand what physiological adaptation you want your client to have by the end of the eight week or twelve-week goal.

The best way to do that is to divide it up in chunks, kinda like how a book is divided up into chapters.

If you’ve got an 8-week goal divide it into two chunks of four if you’ve got a 12-week goal divide it into three chunks of four weeks.

These chunks (or chapters) are called mesocycles

And each mesocycle has a clear outcome or physiological adaptation you would like your client to achieve by the end of each chunk,

These chunks/ mesocycles build-up systematically to achieve their goal at the end.

For example, I could say I want to focus on endurance training and endurance adaptation in this first four weeks and then focus on hypertrophy in the second four weeks.

or I might want to focus on the distance that my client is running in the first four weeks (if they’ve got an event for a running goal) and then I could work on the speed that they’re gonna compete at, in the second mesocycle.

Think about the end outcome after 8-weeks or 12 weeks and consider their starting point.

Create the chunks/ mesocycles that break up the bigger goal, and start to place logical milestones/ outcomes after every 4 weeks.

This will basically allow you to now have an understanding of what you need to aim towards achieving, and the adaptation you expect.

In this example, mesocycle 1 is focused on endurance, I know that I want to focus on type 1 muscle fibers and using aerobic energy system. This helps focus my planning for those first 4 weeks.

If I’m looking for hypertrophy I know I want the type 2a muscle fibers and I also want to be targeting the lactic acid system as much as I possibly can.

It gives you an idea of what physiological adaptation is required in each of the four weeks, within your Level 3 PT Overview of Progressive Predictive Plan.

If you are totally stuck when it comes to physiological adaptation, and knowing how this links to planning then we have a 31 day coaching program that will teach you this with simplicity.

Our FitPro31 course is invite-only, so if you’d like to find out more, CONTACT ME HERE and I’ll send you the details of FitPro-31

STEP 3: The GAS Principle

We’ve got the general progression that we’re looking for across the eight weeks now we’re going to break that down even further to understand the individual progressions.

In order to do that, I definitely advise you use the gas principle so the GAS principle means general adaptation syndrome.

General adaptation syndrome (GAS) is related to building up the progression week on week with your client.

You make it harder each week for three weeks but on the fourth week we drop down which allows the adaptation to happen in the body.

All of the demand we’ve already put on the body causes stress, and the fourth week is an adaptation week to allow that stress to turn into results.

We reduce something in that week to encourage recovery.

Each mesocycle has this same three-up-one-down pattern.

Your step three is to basically draw this gas principle out whereby it’s going up up up and then down, up up up and then down,

and apply that across your 8-12 week Level 3 PT Overview of Progressive Predictive Plan Now.

STEP 4: Progression

We’re going to show the set progression in each week so in order to do this we need to be aware of the FITT principle:

We are going to plan the FITT for both CV and for resistance over all weeks. The easiest way to do this is to do it on two separate grids.

Draw one of these for CV and then another one for resistance training and then you want to detail the frequency intensity time and type that your client is gonna do for each of these weeks.

We’re gonna look for a steady progression on the first three weeks and then bring it down a notch on the fourth week to resemble this gas principle that we’ve just drawn a quick example of.

If I only go to the gym and do cardiovascular once a week in the first week, but then I want to go twice a week in the second week and then I’m gonna go twice a week on the third week and then drop down to just once a week on the fourth week.

You can progress the frequency and then drop it back down also you can progress the intensity and progress this along so that something changes in every single week and that’s the main way to show the progression from the beginning all the way across the end.

At least one part of your frequency, intensity, time and type will change inside every single week.

STEP 5: Program Cards

Once you’ve now detailed all of your FITT for all wweeks for CV and resistance training this is your  Level 3 PT Overview of Progressive Predictive Plan complete.

Pick which ones you would like to turn into a program card so for example you might pick week two or maybe your training provider want you to do Week 4 and 8.

You take your FITT overview for that week and then create a programme card

This is a way to stop you from going around and around in circles about what to actually put in your program card because now you’ve got the detail of how intense they need to be training. You even know which training systems they need to be using, all you need to address now is the timings and the exercises.

It makes it laser-focused on what you need to include on every single program card.

Do you want more confidence in your ability to get a result as a FitPro?

Find out how you can improve your training knowledge and application simultaneously in 31 days  

FITPRO-31 is not another course with more exams or for trainee fitness peep… far from it. 

It’s all about Practical application of Training Knowledge and building your CONFIDENCE as a FITPRO

You’ll supercharge your confidence and knowledge to work with clients and guarantee their goals.  

I guarantee you’ll have hundreds of “ah ha” moments as you progress your knowledge in coaching, planning, nutrition and behaviour change.

If you are constantly doubting your ability to get a result with a client and you want to build your confidence with more knowledge and practical application

Book a free strategy call HERE  and we’ll send you all the details about FitPro31 as well as hop on a call with you to answer your questions and see if you are a good fit for the programme 🙂

Hayley “Progressive Predictive Plan” Bergman

Parallel Coaching

P.S. You can also find us on the following platforms: Instagram:  https://www.instagram.com/parallelcoaching Facebook:  https://www.facebook.com/ParallelCoaching Twitter:  https://twitter.com/ParallelCoach YouTube:  http://bit.ly/2F1Z1bs

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A case study investigating programming students’ peer review of codes and their perceptions of the online learning environment

• Published: 05 February 2020
• Volume 25 , pages 3553–3575, ( 2020 )

Cite this article

• Roshni Sabarinath   ORCID: orcid.org/0000-0001-8473-7744 1 &
• Choon Lang Gwendoline Quek 1  

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Programming in schools is no longer a novel subject. It is now quite commonly found in our schools either in formal or informal curriculum. Programmers use creative learning tactics to solve problems and communicate ideas. Learning to program is generally considered challenging. Developing and implementing new methodologies in teaching programming is imperative to overcome the current challenges associated with teaching and learning of programming. This case study aims to contribute to the programming education in schools by investigating how students learn in an online programming while involved in peer review of codes. The study subsequently examines students’ perceptions of the pedagogical, social and technical design of the online programming learning environment. When students are involved in providing and receiving feedback and creating their own identity in a programming community, they may be better prepared for learning and applying programming in their undergraduate studies and their future career in the field.

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Code Review at High School? Yes!

Evaluating the Effectiveness of a New Programming Teaching Methodology Using CodeRunner

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1.1 Review criteria for assessing source code

Maximum marks to be granted is 100.

In case of compilation error, NO MARKS WILL BE GRANTED.

Marks will be deducted in case the coding rules are not followed.

1.1 Sample peer review comments

1.1 A survey on students’ perceptions of the online learning environment

Dear Participant.

The purpose of this survey is to capture students’ perceptions on the use of online learning environment. This survey will take about 15 min.

Your honest response will provide valuable inputs to improve on the quality of teaching and learning in this class. All responses will be kept confidential and no names will be identified in the report of findings.

To what extent do you agree with the following statements?

(5-point LIKERT scale: 1 – Strongly Disagree to 5 – Strongly Agree)

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Sabarinath, R., Quek, C.L.G. A case study investigating programming students’ peer review of codes and their perceptions of the online learning environment. Educ Inf Technol 25 , 3553–3575 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10639-020-10111-9

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Received : 15 August 2019

Accepted : 17 January 2020

Published : 05 February 2020

Issue Date : September 2020

DOI : https://doi.org/10.1007/s10639-020-10111-9

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15.8: Case Study- Generic Client/Server Classes

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• Ralph Morelli & Ralph Wade
• Trinity College

[pg-sec-clientserver] Suppose your boss asks you to set up generic client/server classes that can be used to implement a number of related client/server applications. One application that the company has in mind is a query service, in which the client would send a query string to the server, and the server would interpret the string and return a string that provides the answer. For example, the client might send the query, “Hours of service,” and the client would respond with the company’s business hours.

Another application the company wants will enable the client to fill out an order form and transmit it as a string to the server. The server will interpret the order, fill it, and return a receipt, including instructions as to when the customer will receive the order.

All of the applications to be supported by this generic client/server will communicate via strings, so something very much like the readFromSocket() and writeToSocket() methods can be used for their communication. Of course, you want to design classes so they can be easily extended to support byte-oriented, two-way communications, should that type of service become needed.

In order to test the generic models, we will subclass them to create a simple echo service. This service will echo back to the client any message that the server receives. For example, we’ll have the client accept keyboard input from the user and then send the user’s input to the server and simply report what the server returns. The following shows the output generated by a typical client session:

On the server side, the client’s message will be read from the input stream and then simply echoed back (with some additional characters attached) through the output stream. The server doesn’t display a trace of its activity other than to report when connections are established and closed. We will code the server in an infinite loop so that it will accept connections from a (potentially) endless stream of clients. In fact, most servers are coded in this way. They are designed to run forever and must be restarted whenever the host that they are running needs to be rebooted. The output from a typical server session is as follows:

Object-Oriented Design

A suitable solution for this project will make extensive use of object-oriented design principles. We want Server and Client classes that can easily be subclassed to support a wide variety of services. The solution should make appropriate use of inheritance and polymorphism in its design. Perhaps the best way to develop our generic class is first to design the echo service, as a typical example, and then generalize it.

The Threaded Root Subclass: ClientServer

One lesson we can draw at the outset is that both clients and servers use basically the same socket I/O methods. Thus, as we’ve seen, the readFromSocket() and writeToSocket() methods could be used by both clients and servers. Because we want all clients and servers to inherit these methods, they must be placed in a common superclass. Let’s name this the ClientServer class.

Where should we place this class in the Java hierarchy? Should it be a direct subclass of Object , or should it extend some other class that would give it appropriate functionality? One feature that would make our clients and servers more useful is if they were independent threads. That way they could be instantiated as part of another object and given the subtask of communicating on behalf of that object.

Therefore, let’s define the ClientServer class as a subclass of Thread (Fig. 15.25). Recall from Chapter 14 that the typical way to derive functionality from a Thread subclass is to override the run() method. The run() method will be a good place to implement the client and server protocols. Because they are different, we’ll define run() in both the Client and Server subclasses.

For now, the only methods contained in ClientServer (Fig. [fig-clientserver] ) are the two I/O methods we designed. The only modification we have made to the methods occurs in the writeToSocket() method, where we have added code to make sure that any strings written to the socket are terminated with an end-of-line character.

This is an important enhancement, because the read loop in the readFromSocket() method expects to receive an end-of-line character. Rather than rely on specific clients to guarantee that their strings end with \n , our design takes care of

this problem for them. This ensures that every communication that takes place between one of our clients and servers will be line oriented.

The EchoServer Class

Let’s now develop a design for the echo server. This class will be a subclass of ClientServer (Fig. 15.27). As we saw in discussing the server protocol, one task that echo server will do is create a ServerSocket and establish a port number for its service. Then it will wait for a Socket connection, and once a connection is accepted, the echo server will then communicate with the client. This suggests that our server needs at least two instance variables. It also suggests that the task of creating a ServerSocket would be an appropriate action for its constructor method. This leads to the following initial definition:

Note that the constructor method catches the IOException . Note also that we have included a stub version of run() , which we want to define in this class.

Once EchoServer has set up a port, it should issue the port.accept() method and wait for a client to connect. This part of the server protocol belongs in the run() method. As we have said, most servers are designed to run in an infinite loop. That is, they don’t just handle one request and then quit. Instead, once started (usually by the system), they repeatedly handle requests until deliberately stopped by the system. This leads to the following run algorithm:

For simplicity, we are printing the server’s status messages on System.out . Ordinarily these should go to a log file. Note also that the details of the actual service algorithm are hidden in the provideService() method.

As described earlier, the provideService() method consists of writing a greeting to the client and then repeatedly reading a string from the input stream and echoing it back to the client via the output stream. This is easily done using the writeToSocket() and readFromSocket() methods we developed. The implementation of this method is shown, along with the complete implementation of EchoServer , in Figure [fig-echoserver] .

The protocol used by EchoServer.provideService() starts by saying “hello” and loops until the client says “goodbye.” When the client says “goodbye,” the server responds with “goodbye.” In all other cases it responds with “You said X,” where X is the string that was received from the client. Note the use of the toLowerCase() method to convert client messages to lowercase. This simplifies the task of checking for “goodbye” by removing the necessity of checking for different spellings of “Goodbye.”

This completes the design of the EchoServer . We have deliberately designed it in a way that will make it easy to convert into a generic server. Hence, we have the motivation for using provideService() as the name of the method that provides the echo service. In order to turn EchoServer into a generic Server class, we can simply make provideService() an abstract method, leaving its implementation to the Server subclasses. We’ll discuss the details of this change later.

The EchoClient Class

The EchoClient class is just as easy to design (Fig. 15.29). It, too, will be a subclass of ClientServer . It needs an instance variable for the Socket that it will use, and its constructor should be responsible for opening a socket connection to a particular server and port. The main part of its protocol should be placed in the run() method. The initial definition is as follows:

The constructor method takes two parameters that specify the URL and port number of the echo server. By making these parameters, rather than hard coding them within the method, we give the client the flexibility to connect to servers on a variety of hosts.

As with other clients, EchoClient ’s run() method will consist of requesting some kind of service from the server. Our initial design called for EchoClient to repeatedly input a line from the user, send the line to the server, and then display the server’s response. Thus, for this particular client, the service requested consists of the following algorithm:

With an eye toward eventually turning EchoClient into a generic client, let’s encapsulate this procedure into a requestService() method that we can simply call from the run() method. Like for the provideService() method, this design is another example of the encapsulation principle:

The requestService() method will take a Socket parameter and perform all the I/O for this particular client:

Although this method involves several lines, they should all be familiar to you. Each time the client reads a message from the socket, it prints it on System.out . The first message it reads should start with the substring “Hello”. This is part of its protocol with the client. Note how the substring() method is used to test for this. After the initial greeting from the server, the client begins reading user input from the keyboard, writing it to the socket, then reading the server’s response, and displaying it on System.out .

Note that the task of reading user input from the keyboard has been made into a separate method, which is one we’ve used before:

The only method remaining to be defined is the run() , which is shown with the complete definition of EchoClient in Figure [fig-echoclient] . The run() method can simply call the requestService() method. When control returns from the requestService() method, run() closes the socket connection. Because requestService() might throw an IOException , the entire method must be embedded within a try/catch block that catches that exception.

Testing the Echo Service

Both EchoServer and EchoClient contain main() methods (Figs. [fig-echoserver] and [fig-echoclient] ). In order to test the programs, you would run the server on one computer and the client on another computer. (Actually they can both be run on the same computer, although they wouldn’t know this and would still access each other through a socket connection.)

The EchoServer must be started first, so that its service will be available when the client starts running. It also must pick a port number. In this case it picks 10001. The only constraint on its choice is that it cannot use one of the privileged port numbers—those below 1024—and it cannot use a port that’s already in use.

When an EchoClient is created, it must be given the server’s URL ( java.trincoll.edu ) and the port that the service is using:

As they are presently coded, you will have to modify both EchoServer and EchoClient to provide the correct URL and port for your environment. In testing this program, you might wish to experiment by trying to introduce various errors into the code and observing the results. When you run the service, you should observe something like the following output on the client side: