How to write case studies that engineers actually care about

You ever read a SaaS case study and feel nothing?

You ever read one of those SaaS case studies and just… nothing happens? Like, it’s all words, but none of it sticks?

It’s like someone dumped a bunch of corporate jargon onto a Google Doc, hit publish, and called it a day.

And engineers? They hate that sh*t.

I wanted to figure out why most SaaS case studies suck—and more importantly, what makes a good one. So I did what I always do when something bugs me:

I went deep.

Read 50+ SaaS case studies from companies like AWS, Datadog, and GitHub.
Dug through 20+ engineering reports on what devs actually read and retain.
Talked to real engineers about what makes them not click away.

And dude… the patterns were clear.

If you want engineers to actually read (and maybe even share) your case study, here’s what you need to do.

First, engineers love a good problem

Think about your favorite movies. They all start with conflict—a real, pressing problem.

The best case studies? Same thing.

If you start your case study with some generic business goal, no one’s sticking around.

Bad:"X Company wanted to improve efficiency and scalability." (This says nothing.)

Good:"X Company’s DevOps team was drowning in failed deployments—40% of their rollouts had to be rolled back. Engineers were burning weekends on fixes. They needed a way out."

See the difference?

The first one is corporate fluff. The second one is a real, relatable problem.

This is the hook—the thing that makes an engineer go, “Oh sht, I’ve been there.”

Next, tell a story—but keep it technical

Now, here’s where people screw up.

Some case studies just dump a pile of technical details with zero flow, like an engineering blog post with no life. Others go the opposite way—all story, no substance—just a fluffy marketing piece that engineers can see right through.

The best ones? They do both.

They explain the real struggle while keeping the tech details clear and useful.

Example:

“Deployments were failing 40% of the time, and every rollback took 10 minutes. The team was exhausted. They decided to automate rollbacks with Kubernetes health checks. Now? If a deployment causes latency spikes, it’s rolled back in 10 seconds—no manual intervention needed.”

See that? Problem, solution, tech depth—all in one smooth flow.

Pro Tip: Engineers love diagrams. Show them a before-and-after architecture. Maybe even a small code snippet. Make it real.

The data matters (because engineers don’t trust marketing BS)

Here’s the thing—engineers are data-driven.

If you don’t back up your claims with real numbers, they won’t take you seriously.

Bad:"This solution significantly improved deployment efficiency."

Good:

Deployment failures dropped from 40% → 2%
Rollback time went from 10 minutes → 10 seconds
$500K saved in cloud costs annually

That’s what an engineer is looking for. Tangible impact. Real proof.

And if you want bonus points? Include a quote from an actual engineer at the company.

“We used to spend nights fixing failed rollouts. Now, we deploy with confidence. The rollback system gives us peace of mind, and we’ve saved hours of stress.” – Jane Doe, Lead DevOps Engineer

That’s how you make it real.

Make it scannable (engineers read fast)

Here’s another thing I found—engineers don’t read case studies top to bottom.

They skim. They scan for headings, bullet points, and bold key takeaways.

So if you write your case study like a dense academic paper, guess what? No one’s reading it.

How to fix it:

Short paragraphs (2–3 lines max)
Use bold for key insights
Break it up with bullet points
Add clear section headings

Make it easy to digest.

End with takeaways (give ‘em something to walk away with)

At the end of the case study, don’t just stop. Give them a quick TL;DR of what they learned.

Key Takeaways:

Automated rollbacks prevent deployment nightmares
Feature flags make rollouts safer & faster
Observability is key—real-time monitoring catches issues early

Now your case study isn’t just proof that your tool works—it’s a useful resource.

And that’s the stuff engineers actually share.

Final thoughts: Why this works

At the end of the day, engineers don’t want marketing copy—they want proof, clarity, and real insights.

If you do it right, your case study won’t just sit on your website collecting dust—it’ll actually drive sales, convince engineers, and get shared.

That’s the goal. Now go write something worth reading.