← All templates Evidence-led template

A case study template that shows the decision, evidence, and limits

Show what changed, compared with what, under which conditions - And let the reader judge what transfers to their own situation.

What this template is for

Customer stories, programme evaluations, teaching cases, project retrospectives, implementation reports, and evidence-led portfolio pieces.

Before you use the case study template

Choose one decision or intervention and a baseline that makes its result interpretable.
Confirm which evidence may be published and which identities or details require permission or anonymisation.
List plausible contributing factors so the case does not claim more causation than it can support.

The structure, part by part

1. The decision in one paragraph

Name the organisation or subject, the real problem, the choice made, and the result you can support. Avoid suspense: readers use a case study to evaluate relevance before they commit to the detail.

2. Context and baseline

Describe the starting condition with dates, scale, process, and the measurement used. A result is meaningless without knowing what it was compared with and whether the baseline was typical.

3. Constraints and alternatives

Record budget, time, policy, technical, staffing, and other constraints. Explain which alternatives were considered and why the chosen approach fit this context rather than presenting it as the only imaginable option.

4. What was changed

Describe the intervention in enough operational detail that the reader can see the sequence, ownership, duration, and departures from the initial plan. Separate the method from the product or team responsible for it.

5. Evidence and result

Present the observed change with the same measure used at baseline. Distinguish direct measurement from participant report, correlation from cause, and short-term movement from durable outcome.

6. What did not work

Include friction, failed steps, tradeoffs, and unexpected costs. Credible limitations help a reader decide whether the successful parts transfer; they do not weaken a case that is honestly bounded.

7. The transferable lesson

State the principle another reader can test, then list the conditions required and the signs that this case may not apply. End with a next step more specific than a sales call.

The template itself

Copy this skeleton into a new document and replace each line. In Strut you can start a document from it directly - Pick Case study in the template selector when you create one.

Case study template

## The decision in one paragraph
Decision summary: [subject] faced [problem], chose [intervention], and observed [bounded result].

## Context and baseline
Context and baseline: [starting condition, period, scale, and measure].

## Constraints and alternatives
Constraints and alternatives: [limits], [options considered], and [reason for the choice].

## What was changed
Change made: [sequence, owner, duration, and departures from plan].

## Evidence and result
Evidence and result: [observed change] compared with [baseline], measured through [method].

## What did not work
What did not work: [friction, failed step, tradeoff, or unexpected cost].

## The transferable lesson
Transferable lesson: [principle], provided [conditions]; do not apply it when [limits].

Worked example: replace praise with evidence

Too broad

The new process was a major success for the team.

More useful

After the handoff checklist was introduced, the team recorded fewer missing-owner decisions during the next review period; staffing also changed, so the checklist cannot explain the whole difference.

How to adapt this case study template

Use case	What to change
Customer story	Keep the reader's decision central and separate testimonial language from measured evidence.
Programme evaluation	Expand method, baseline, alternative explanations, and limitations.
Project retrospective	Focus on sequence, decisions, failed steps, and what the next team should repeat or avoid.

Check the draft before you move on

The same measure or observation frames both baseline and result.
Evidence, participant report, and interpretation are labelled distinctly.
Limitations tell the reader where the lesson may not transfer.

Where this structure goes wrong

Starting with praise instead of a baseline, leaving the result impossible to evaluate.
Attributing every improvement to the intervention when staffing, timing, selection, or another change may also explain it.
Removing failed steps and tradeoffs, which makes the story smooth but teaches the reader nothing about implementation.
Generalising from one case without naming the conditions that made it work or the situations where it may not transfer.

Questions about this template

How long should a case study be?

Long enough to establish baseline, intervention, evidence, and limit. A concise operational case may be 1,000 words; a research or policy case can be far longer. Completeness matters more than a standard count.

Do I need the customer's name?

No. An anonymised case can be useful if you explain the relevant context and why identity is withheld. Do not invent identifying detail to make anonymity feel vivid.

Can a case study prove causation?

Usually not by itself. Use careful language about observed change and contributing factors unless the design genuinely isolates the intervention.

What evidence is strongest?

A consistent baseline and outcome measure, documented process data, and specific participant evidence that can be checked. Testimonials add texture but rarely establish the whole result.

Guides that go deeper

Citation management for writers, done early - Capture sources as you read, record the fields that matter, keep quotations exact, and verify every borrowed claim in one pass before you publish.
Self-edit a first draft from structure down - A staged self-editing method for diagnosing the promise, reverse outlining, checking evidence, rebuilding paragraphs, and then polishing sentences.
A long-form writing workflow, idea to final draft - Move an essay, report, or long article from raw idea to finished draft through six stages, each closed by a decision you make before going on.