Case Study Meta Structure
Headine text field in arrival_statement section on case_study.id 11
This is a test of the body tag in the arrival_statement section (output is supposed to be markdown)
Context
Context/overview
Purpose: Establish why this work existed and why it mattered at that moment.
This section answers: What was happening in the business or organization? Why was this work necessary now? What was at risk if nothing changed?
Include: Business or organizational context, Timing or inflection point, Platform or product maturity, Scale of the problem
Avoid: Visual descriptions, Tool lists, Personal anecdotes
Litmus test: A reader should understand the stakes before seeing a single artifact.
Purpose: Establish why this work existed and why it mattered at that moment.
This section answers: What was happening in the business or organization? Why was this work necessary now? What was at risk if nothing changed?
Include: Business or organizational context, Timing or inflection point, Platform or product maturity, Scale of the problem
Avoid: Visual descriptions, Tool lists, Personal anecdotes
Litmus test: A reader should understand the stakes before seeing a single artifact.
Situation
Situation (problem + goals)
Purpose: Clearly define the problem and what success looked like.
This section answers: What was the core tension driving the work? What needed to change? For whom? How would success be recognized?
Include: One primary problem, One to three concrete goals, User, business, or system outcomes
Avoid: Vague statements like “improve UX”, Feature lists
Litmus test: A reader should be able to articulate the problem and goals in one sentence.
Purpose: Clearly define the problem and what success looked like.
This section answers: What was the core tension driving the work? What needed to change? For whom? How would success be recognized?
Include: One primary problem, One to three concrete goals, User, business, or system outcomes
Avoid: Vague statements like “improve UX”, Feature lists
Litmus test: A reader should be able to articulate the problem and goals in one sentence.
Constraints
Constraints (role & scope)
Purpose: Establish ownership and boundaries.
This section answers: What was your role? What did you own end to end? What did you influence but not own? Who did you partner with?
Include: Your role, Ownership boundaries, Key partners, Technical platforms, Accessibility and globalization, Performance and scalability, Organizational or political realities
Avoid: Downplaying responsibility, Over-crediting collaborators
Litmus test: A reviewer should immediately understand your seniority and scope of responsibility.
Purpose: Establish ownership and boundaries.
This section answers: What was your role? What did you own end to end? What did you influence but not own? Who did you partner with?
Include: Your role, Ownership boundaries, Key partners, Technical platforms, Accessibility and globalization, Performance and scalability, Organizational or political realities
Avoid: Downplaying responsibility, Over-crediting collaborators
Litmus test: A reviewer should immediately understand your seniority and scope of responsibility.
Decisions
Decisions (approach)
Purpose: Explain how you chose to solve the problem.
This section answers: What options were considered? What tradeoffs were evaluated? Why this approach over others?
Include: Key decisions, Tradeoffs evaluated, Iterative prototyping, Pilots or MVPs, Phased rollouts, Validation through testing or data, Reuse of existing systems where possible
Avoid: Tool walkthroughs, Chronological task lists
Litmus test: A reviewer should understand your judgment and reasoning, not just what you did.
Purpose: Explain how you chose to solve the problem.
This section answers: What options were considered? What tradeoffs were evaluated? Why this approach over others?
Include: Key decisions, Tradeoffs evaluated, Iterative prototyping, Pilots or MVPs, Phased rollouts, Validation through testing or data, Reuse of existing systems where possible
Avoid: Tool walkthroughs, Chronological task lists
Litmus test: A reviewer should understand your judgment and reasoning, not just what you did.
Execution
Execution (system thinking)
Purpose: Show how the work scaled beyond a single deliverable.
This section answers: How did the work evolve over time? How did it scale beyond an initial output? How did it enable repeatability?
Include: Reusability, Governance, Enablement of other teams, Long-term system impact, Templates, Libraries, Standards, Repeatable patterns
Avoid: Treating execution as “production”, Isolated screenshots without context
Litmus test: A reader should see evidence of system-level thinking, not just delivery.
Purpose: Show how the work scaled beyond a single deliverable.
This section answers: How did the work evolve over time? How did it scale beyond an initial output? How did it enable repeatability?
Include: Reusability, Governance, Enablement of other teams, Long-term system impact, Templates, Libraries, Standards, Repeatable patterns
Avoid: Treating execution as “production”, Isolated screenshots without context
Litmus test: A reader should see evidence of system-level thinking, not just delivery.
Measurement
Measurement (execution artifacts)
Purpose: Support the narrative with proof, not decoration.
This section answers: What evidence validates the decisions already explained? How do the artifacts demonstrate feasibility, iteration, and tradeoffs?
Include: Intentional images, Evidence of iteration, Demonstrated tradeoffs, System consistency, Alt text describing purpose
Avoid: Image-led storytelling, Redundant visuals
Litmus test: Each artifact should clearly justify why the approach was sound.
Purpose: Support the narrative with proof, not decoration.
This section answers: What evidence validates the decisions already explained? How do the artifacts demonstrate feasibility, iteration, and tradeoffs?
Include: Intentional images, Evidence of iteration, Demonstrated tradeoffs, System consistency, Alt text describing purpose
Avoid: Image-led storytelling, Redundant visuals
Litmus test: Each artifact should clearly justify why the approach was sound.
Outcome
Outcome (results)
Purpose: Show what changed because of the work.
This section answers: What impact did the work have on users? On the business? On the system or team?
Include: User impact, Business impact, System or team impact, Metrics where available, Platform or system contributions, Qualitative stakeholder feedback
Avoid: Overclaiming results, Hiding incomplete metrics, Vague outcomes
Litmus test: A reader should clearly understand what changed and why it mattered.
Purpose: Show what changed because of the work.
This section answers: What impact did the work have on users? On the business? On the system or team?
Include: User impact, Business impact, System or team impact, Metrics where available, Platform or system contributions, Qualitative stakeholder feedback
Avoid: Overclaiming results, Hiding incomplete metrics, Vague outcomes
Litmus test: A reader should clearly understand what changed and why it mattered.
Learning
Learning(s)
Purpose: Show growth and forward momentum.
This section answers: What would you do differently? What scaled better than expected? What became foundational for future work? What did this unlock next?
Include: Clear reflections, Scalable learnings, Foundations for future work, Forward-looking takeaways
Avoid: Framing the work as final or complete, Retrospective defensiveness
Litmus test: A reader should see evidence of maturity, reflection, and continued trajectory.
Purpose: Show growth and forward momentum.
This section answers: What would you do differently? What scaled better than expected? What became foundational for future work? What did this unlock next?
Include: Clear reflections, Scalable learnings, Foundations for future work, Forward-looking takeaways
Avoid: Framing the work as final or complete, Retrospective defensiveness
Litmus test: A reader should see evidence of maturity, reflection, and continued trajectory.
