prd-v10-case-study-builder

# Case Study Builder

Position in workflow: v1.0 Mom Test Interview → **v1.0 Case Study Builder** → v1.0 Testimonial Collector, GTM channels

## Execution Mode

Default is **standard**. See [`.claude/rules/08-skill-execution-modes.md`](../../rules/08-skill-execution-modes.md) for selection logic.

| Mode | What this skill produces |
|------|--------------------------|
| **quick** | Short-format case (testimonial + 1-paragraph story + logo); single placement |
| **standard** | Full case study (1,500 words) + short and medium derivatives + customer-approved + 3 channel placements |
| **deep** | Long-form case (2,500–4,000 words) + multi-format derivatives (PDF, blog, video, conference talk) + measurable outcome quantified + outcome-attribution interview |

## What This Does

Turns customer success — already documented as CFD-* evidence and ADO-REF-* candidates — into structured **case studies**. Case studies are the pragmatist buyer's #1 reference signal: they need to see a customer in their segment achieving the outcome they want, with enough detail to make it credible.

This is an **operational** "doing" skill, not a strategy skill. The strategic question (which segment, what story angle, what outcome to highlight) was answered by [prd-v10-chasm-adoption-moore](../prd-v10-chasm-adoption-moore/SKILL.md). This skill produces the artifact.

## How It Works

1. **Identify candidate customers** — Pull from ADO-REF-* candidates and CFD-* entries with strong outcome quantification. Must satisfy:
   - In-beachhead (or in an adjacent segment where the story would still resonate)
   - Has a quantifiable outcome to talk about
   - Willing to be public (consent path is clear)
2. **Run the case-study interview** — Extended Mom Test interview (45–60 min), focused on:
   - Before-state (specific past: what life was like, what tools, what cost)
   - Trigger (what changed; why they evaluated alternatives)
   - Evaluation (who they considered; how they chose)
   - Implementation (what happened in onboarding; what was hard)
   - After-state (specific present: quantified outcome, time/money saved, what they can do now they couldn't)
3. **Structure the story** — Situation → Complication → Question → Resolution (the McKinsey SCQR pattern):
   - **Situation**: where they were before
   - **Complication**: what broke / changed / hit a wall
   - **Question**: what they needed to figure out
   - **Resolution**: how they solved it (your product as one part of the answer, ideally credibly)
4. **Quantify outcome** — Specific numbers beat vague claims:
   - "Cut tier-selection time from 3 days to 30 minutes" beats "much faster"
   - "Saved $12k/year on tool consolidation" beats "saves money"
   - "85% activation rate (industry average 35%)" beats "great activation"
5. **Get customer review** — Send draft to customer for accuracy + tone + legal. Iterate until approved.
6. **Produce in 3 formats**:
   - **Short** (testimonial — 1–2 sentences + name + role + logo): for landing pages, pricing page, ad creative
   - **Medium** (1-paragraph + 3 bullet outcomes + logo + linked deeper): for "Customers" page, social, email
   - **Long** (1,500–2,500 word case study): for blog, sales enablement, sales call followup

## Example

Customer: Acme Logistics (beachhead segment: freight forwarders, 50-200 employees, US PNW). ADO-REF-002.

**Interview**: 50 minutes with Acme's VP Operations.

**Quantified outcome**:
- Tier-selection time: 3 days → 30 min (90% reduction)
- Annual savings from tool consolidation: $14k
- Onboarding time per new hire: 2 weeks → 3 days (after migrating to product)

**SCQR**:
- **Situation**: Acme used 4 disjointed tools to track shipments, with manual export every Friday for ops reporting
- **Complication**: Two new hires + a Q3 customer surge meant the manual export bottlenecked the team; ops director was working Saturdays to keep the dashboards current
- **Question**: How could Acme consolidate tooling without disrupting an in-flight Q4 customer onboarding?
- **Resolution**: Acme migrated to [product] over 3 weeks; consolidated 4 tools to 1; automated the Friday export. VP Operations reclaimed 6 hours/week. New hires onboard in 3 days instead of 2 weeks.

**Three formats produced**:
- **Short**: *"We replaced 4 tools with [product] and cut new-hire onboarding from 2 weeks to 3 days." — [Name], VP Ops, Acme Logistics*
- **Medium**: 1-paragraph + 3 bullet outcomes + Acme logo + "Read the full story →"
- **Long**: 1,800-word blog case study with screenshots, quotes, before/after metrics, and an embedded testimonial video.

## What You Get Back

- **CFD-CASE-\* entries** — One per case-study interview; the durable evidence record
- **GTM-CASE-\* entries** (one per produced format) — Marketing assets with placement plan
- **Updates to ADO-REF-\* entries** — Reference status: "draft pending" → "approved" → "published"
- **Customer approval record** — Signed approval + version-controlled draft history

## When to Use It

| Trigger | Mode |
|---------|------|
| First reference customer in beachhead is ready to talk | standard |
| Chasm-crossing push needs 3+ in-segment case studies | deep |
| Pricing-page logo wall expansion | quick (short format only) |
| Sales enablement asset for new segment | standard |
| Investor / partner update | standard |
| Customer success milestone (e.g., 1-year anniversary) | quick |

Do **not** use for: customers outside beachhead during chasm crossing (their story doesn't resonate with pragmatists); customers without consent (legal risk); customers without quantifiable outcomes (story will feel vague).

## Consumes

- **CFD-\* customer evidence** (Mom Test discipline) — Source for candidate selection
- **ADO-REF-\* candidates** (from prd-v10-chasm-adoption-moore) — Cultivated reference targets
- **ADO-BEACHHEAD-\*** — Defines "in-segment" for case priority
- **KPI-\* outcomes** — Defines what "outcome" means; case quantification must speak to these
- **GTM-\* positioning + offer**