Submit a Case Study
Contribute a Real Operating Situation to SAI’s Case Studies & Applied Evidence
Some of the most useful business cases are not the cleanest ones.
A diagnosis may have been correct or incomplete.
An intervention may have worked as expected, failed to produce the expected result, or revealed another governing constraint.
The evidence may even leave an important question unresolved.
Schneider Axiom Institute welcomes serious case submissions that can help examine how governing constraints appear, are interpreted, addressed, and confirmed in real operating situations.
THE PURPOSE IS NOT TO COLLECT SUCCESS STORIES.
The purpose is to expand the body of applied evidence available for examining the Business Constraint Discipline™.
What Makes a Case Worth Submitting?
A useful case begins with a real operating condition and enough information to examine what happened responsibly.
The case may involve a business owner, executive, advisor, consultant, coach, SAI-Credentialed Practitioner, organization, institution, nonprofit, franchise, turnaround, or other operating environment confronting a meaningful performance limitation.
The case does not need to demonstrate a successful outcome.
Cases involving disagreement, incomplete diagnosis, failed corrective action, unexpected results, constraint migration, or unresolved uncertainty may be equally valuable.
What SAI Needs to Understand
A submission should give SAI enough information to answer seven basic questions.
1. What was happening?
What visible symptoms, operating conditions, or performance limitations created concern?
2. What did people initially think was wrong?
What explanation or diagnosis seemed most plausible at the beginning?
3. What evidence was available?
What facts, records, observations, financial information, operating data, customer information, organizational conditions, or other evidence informed the analysis?
4. What other explanations were considered?
What competing causes could reasonably have produced the same symptoms?
5. What appeared to be the governing constraint?
What structural condition appeared to be governing performance, and within which of the Seven Classes of Business Constraint™ did it fall?
Market · Operational · Financial · Organizational · Strategic · Leadership · Credibility
6. What was addressed first?
What corrective direction, intervention, or decision followed?
7. What happened next?
What changed, what did not change, and what remains uncertain?
That is enough for an initial submission.
If the case appears suitable for development, SAI can request additional detail or supporting evidence afterward.
The Case Does Not Have to Prove SAI Was Right
A submission does not need to confirm the Business Constraint Discipline™.
SAI is interested in cases that may:
- support an initial governing-constraint finding;
- challenge an initial finding;
- reveal a secondary constraint;
- show that the original diagnosis was incomplete;
- document an intervention that did not produce the expected change;
- demonstrate constraint migration;
- reveal competing interpretations of the evidence;
- or leave an important question unresolved.
A CASE THAT CHALLENGES AN ASSUMPTION MAY BE AS USEFUL AS ONE THAT SUPPORTS IT.
The standard is whether the case contributes to more careful examination.
Supporting Material, Optional at First Submission
You do not need to assemble a complete case file before submitting.
If available and appropriate, supporting material may include:
Financial information · Operating metrics · Organizational charts · Process documentation · Customer or market information · Diagnostic findings · Decision records · Timelines · Advisor notes · Before-and-after measurements · Relevant correspondence
Supporting documents are optional during the initial submission.
SAI may request specific materials later if the case is selected for further review.
ONLY SUBMIT INFORMATION OR MATERIALS YOU ARE AUTHORIZED TO SHARE.
Do not submit confidential, proprietary, personal, privileged, legally restricted, or third-party information that you do not have authority to provide.
Identified or Anonymized Cases
You do not need to decide this before submitting your case.
Identified Case
The organization or participants may be named if appropriate authorization is obtained before publication.
Anonymized Case
Names, locations, financial figures, industries, or other identifying details may be withheld or modified when confidentiality requires it.
Anonymization should protect identity without materially changing the diagnostic meaning of the case.
If facts are modified for confidentiality, that should be disclosed in the published case where material to interpretation.
What Happens After Submission
Submitting a case begins an editorial and evidence review. It does not guarantee publication.
SAI may:
Review the submission → Ask follow-up questions → Request relevant supporting evidence → Determine whether the case is suitable for development → Discuss identification or anonymization → Prepare a structured case for contributor review
SAI may also decline publication when the available evidence is insufficient, the case cannot be responsibly documented, appropriate permissions cannot be obtained, or the case does not fit the purpose of the Case Study Library.
Some submissions may be useful for internal learning or future research without being published publicly.
If a Case Is Accepted for Development
SAI may organize the material into a structured case-study format:
Presenting Symptom → Initial Explanation → Evidence → Competing Explanations → Governing-Constraint Finding → Corrective Direction → Action Taken → Confirmation → Remaining Uncertainty
Editorial development is intended to make the reasoning and evidence understandable without changing the substantive facts.
Where the evidence does not support a conclusion, the case should say so.
Contributor Review & Permission
Before an identified case is published, the contributor will have an opportunity to review factual representations attributed to the contributor or organization.
That review is intended to identify:
Factual errors · Confidentiality concerns · Unauthorized disclosures · Material omissions
It is not intended to remove legitimate uncertainty, competing interpretations, or evidence that does not support a preferred conclusion.
Publication of identifying information will require appropriate authorization.
SAI WILL NOT PUBLICLY IDENTIFY AN ORGANIZATION OR INDIVIDUAL SOLELY BECAUSE A CASE WAS SUBMITTED.
Submit Your Case
The initial form should take approximately 10–15 minutes for most contributors.
1. About You
Name*
Email*
Title / Role*
Organization, optional
Phone, optional
Your relationship to the case*
Choose one:
Business Owner / Founder
Executive / Leader
Advisor / Consultant / Coach
SAI-Credentialed Practitioner
Educator / Researcher
Employee / Team Member
Other
2. About the Organization
Industry / Sector*
Approximate organization size, optional
Organization name, optional at initial submission
Confidentiality preference*
Identified may be acceptable
Prefer anonymized
Unsure, discuss with SAI
3. The Operating Situation
What was happening?*
Briefly describe the principal symptoms, operating conditions, or performance limitation.
Suggested response: 100–300 words
4. The Initial Explanation
What did you or others initially believe was causing the problem?*
Suggested response: 50–200 words
5. The Evidence
What evidence informed the analysis?*
You may describe documents, operating data, financial information, observations, customer information, organizational conditions, interviews, or other relevant evidence.
Suggested response: 100–300 words
6. Competing Explanations
Were other plausible explanations considered?*
Yes / No / Unsure
If yes:
What were they?
Suggested response: 50–200 words
7. Governing-Constraint Finding
Was a governing constraint identified?*
Yes / No / Uncertain
Which constraint class appeared most relevant?
Market · Operational · Financial · Organizational · Strategic · Leadership · Credibility · Unsure
What structural condition appeared to be governing performance?
Suggested response: 50–200 words
8. What Was Addressed First?
What action, corrective direction, or intervention followed?*
Suggested response: 50–250 words
9. What Happened Next?
What changed or did not change?*
Include any evidence that the improvement held, failed to hold, or revealed another governing constraint.
Suggested response: 100–300 words
10. What Remains Uncertain?
What can the available evidence not yet establish?
Optional, but strongly encouraged.
Suggested response: up to 200 words
11. Supporting Material
Would you be able to provide supporting material if SAI requests it?*
Yes / Possibly / No
Optional upload
Upload only material you are authorized to share.
Do not upload confidential, privileged, personal, proprietary, or legally restricted information unless you have authority to provide it.
Before You Submit
Please confirm:
☐ I have described the case as accurately as I reasonably can.
☐ I am authorized to submit the information and materials I am providing.
☐ I understand that submission does not guarantee publication.
☐ I understand that SAI may contact me for clarification or supporting evidence.
☐ I understand that submitting a case does not authorize SAI to publicly identify me, another individual, or an organization. Additional authorization may be required before publication of identifying information.
☐ I understand that SAI may decline my submission or, if it is selected for development, may edit or anonymize the case subject to appropriate factual review and any required permissions before publication.
Ready to contribute?
After completing the Tally form, review the required acknowledgments and use Tally’s Submit button. A successful submission begins SAI’s editorial and evidence review.
Review the Submission FormWhat Not to Submit
Please do not submit:
- fabricated or hypothetical cases presented as real;
- promotional testimonials without sufficient operating context;
- unsupported allegations about individuals or organizations;
- confidential or legally restricted information you are not authorized to disclose;
- personal information unrelated to the purpose of the case;
- submissions primarily intended to advertise a product, service, consultancy, or organization.
The Case Study Library is intended for serious examination of operating evidence.
Not Ready to Submit?
If you believe you have a potentially useful case but are uncertain whether you have enough evidence or whether confidentiality can be protected appropriately, you do not need to complete the full form yet.
Contact SAI About a Potential Case
Return to Case Studies & Applied Evidence
The Contribution Standard
REAL OPERATING SITUATION.
RELEVANT EVIDENCE.
COMPETING EXPLANATIONS.
DISCIPLINED INTERPRETATION.
CLEAR LIMITATIONS.
HONEST CONFIRMATION.
A useful case does not need a perfect ending.
It needs to help us understand what happened more carefully.
Legal Notice
This page describes SAI’s case-study submission and review process for informational purposes. It does not create an engagement, guarantee acceptance or publication, or constitute legal, financial, business, or professional advice.
Submit only information and materials you are authorized to provide. SAI may request clarification, decline a submission, or develop a selected case through editing, anonymization, and contributor review before any publication decision is made.
Submission does not authorize SAI to publicly identify a person or organization. Any publication of identifying information requires appropriate authorization.