Value · Positioning and proof · lesson 2.4 open

Anonymized case study

The one-page text that tells the story of your best work through problem, decision, numbers, and learnings.

Promise: a one-page case study that you use on profiles, in emails, and in interviews.

The structure

Title: the result, in one line.
Context: type of company and scale (no names).
Problem: what hurt, in business terms.
Constraints: what could not be changed.
Decision: what you chose and why (and what you ruled out).
Result: before→after numbers, with how they were measured.
Learnings: what you would change today.

The point that sets seniors apart

Juniors describe what they did. Seniors describe what they decided and what they ruled out, along with the reason. Write down at least two rejected alternatives and why.

Example of the format (fictional)

Title: Metrics job read 90 GB instead of 3 TB. Context: digital retail, events table with billions of rows. Problem: daily run was slow and expensive; report relied on spreadsheets. Decision: partition pruning + column selection; ruled out cluster caching due to cost and recompute due to complexity. Result: ~97% less data read per run; report went from weeks to hours.

Replace everything with your own facts. If you use real numbers, round them and back up the measurement.

Checklist

• Are there at least two rejected alternatives?
• Does the result state how it was measured?

Checked on 05/10/2026. Educational content; tax and legal: confirm with a professional.