An Uber Experience
Your case study will be stronger if you focus on things that matter and leave the mundane details out
I got a free Uber ride the other day. My van was being serviced by a dealer so I got to go home in an Uber. It was somewhat magical!
I could see the driver approaching the scheduled pick up location on the map. I knew his name and what he looked like, what car he was driving, and exact time he would arrive. He knew my name, where to pick me up, and where to take me.
I didn’t have to worry about setting up anything nor paying for the ride. I just hopped in, rode home, and hopped out. That was it!
I admit this was not quite an ordinary Uber experience. Most Uber users would have to download an app, create an account, enter payment detail and other boring stuff before they can ride. It is not quite so magical.
But still… once these mundane details are out of the way, they are “set and forget”, there is no need to think about them again. You are free to enjoy Uber’s service!
And that’s exactly what made this Uber experience so magical for me. I didn’t have to worry about any details. I could simply enjoy what Uber had to offer: a care free ride.
What made this moment truly magical was the fact that I was already burdened by the need to take my car for service, and I was looking at almost $2000 worth of repairs. The last thing I wanted to do is to think about how I am going to get home.
Why am I telling you all this?
I see too many case studies that start with mocks of login and sign up pages, credit card forms, and other boring, mundane things. In fact, often there are so many screens to look at that it is impossible to see “the magic” of what a product has to offer.
It will be naive to think I would care enough to look closer.
You see, hiring managers are busy. They are looking at dozens if not hundreds of applications and portfolios. Needless to say they all have their own burdens to bear.
You will serve them well by providing a magical Uber-like experience.
Focus on what really matters: pages and views that directly address the problem you are solving.
You can always add secondary pages like sign up and settings later, or you can choose to leave them out of your case study completely. After all, those are obvious details. They don’t add much value to a story. They are often best kept under a veil of mystery so you can deliver a magical Uber experience.