A Student Guide to IT Strategy Case Analysis: Develop better solutions and more persuasive presentations

The business world is full of cases to analyze. A “case” is simply a business problem that requires a solution. The aspect of cases that perplexes many students and managers is that they are not “solved” in the optimal sense. Most business problems are complex, ambiguous and must be addressed in a short time-frame and with insufficient information. You cannot simply identify variables in a case, plug them into a formula or model, and spit out an optimal solution.Most cases do not have an optimal or “right” answer. They require analysis of the available information and creating a set of recommended actions that need to be persuasive in their communication. Most of the time, one doesn’t know if the recommendations work until they are implemented and have the benefit of hindsight to evaluate their effectiveness. Complex and/or strategic cases require unique skills. Many students are not trained in structured problem solving techniques. They approach problem solving in an intuitive way often arriving at conclusions that are not strongly supported by evidence. They subsequently have difficulty convincing others that their solutions should be implemented because of presentations with rambling narratives and a lack of data. This guide is focused on problem solving techniques that can be used to analyze cases for the classroom or the boardroom. The best analysis in the world is worthless if you cannot effectively communicate to others and persuade them that your recommendations are worth following. Therefore this guide is also focused on giving you the tools to write effective case presentations. These skills are important to you no matter what your intended career path is. If you are entering the consulting profession these skills will give you a head start on other newly minted associates or senior consultants. If you are entering the corporate realm these skills will differentiate you from your peers who have never studied this process. This guide is organized in two parts. Part I will cover the steps in structured problem solving, i.e. case analysis. Part II will focus on effectively writing and delivering case presentations. There is also a Reading List for additional sources of information. A collection of IT strategy frameworks are provided in the appendix.