Planning a Product Case Study

The first step in conducting a case study is deciding on a goal. Ask yourself, “What do I want to learn?” Before you can move any farther in the process, you’ll need a clear idea of exactly what it is you want to achieve. Once you know the answer to that question, be sure to consider: “Is this information I can find out with a case study?” Not every situation calls for a case study, and they can’t answer every question. Making these decisions before you dive in to a study will keep you from wasting time and energy researching the wrong question or pursuing unsolvable outcomes, and will get you started from a place of confidence.

In these lessons on Planning a Product Case Study, you’ll learn what to consider before putting your case study out into the world. First you’ll learn what situations call for a case study to be written, and how to decide if a certain product or feature needs one. Next we’ll get into the step-by-step process of planning your case study, starting with deciding on your study’s objective. Finally, we’ll talk about how to effectively gather data and interview subjects for your case study.

Learning Objectives

• Determine when to write a case study
• Decide on a goal for your case study 
• Gather data and interview study subjects