hbs-case-writer

name

hbs-case-writer

description

Create Harvard Business School-style case studies on financial market events, products, or investment decisions. Use when the user wants to write a teaching case about a financial event, market phenomenon, investment product, or corporate decision. Triggers on requests like "write a case about X", "create an HBS case on Y", or "develop a teaching case for Z". Outputs immersive, decision-focused narratives with supporting exhibits and teaching notes.

HBS Case Writer

Write Harvard Business School-style teaching cases on financial market events and investment decisions.

Case Structure

Every case follows this architecture:

1. Title & Header — Case title, protagonist name/role, date, institution
2. Opening Hook — Start at the decision moment; protagonist faces a choice
3. Background — Industry context, market conditions, relevant history
4. The Situation — Specific events, data, and stakeholders involved
5. Analysis Framework — Information the reader needs to analyze (not the analysis itself)
6. The Decision — End with open questions; NO resolution

Writing Principles

Narrative Style

• Third-person limited (follow the protagonist)
• Present tense throughout
• Objective, journalistic tone — no judgments or conclusions
• Let facts and data tell the story
• Quote real sources when available

What Makes It a Case (Not an Article)

• Ends with a decision point, never a resolution
• Presents conflicting information or trade-offs
• Reader must analyze, not just absorb
• Avoid teaching explicitly — immerse the reader instead
• Include just enough context; let exhibits carry data

The Protagonist

• Name a specific person or team facing the decision
• Give them a role, organization, and stakes
• Show their thought process through action, not introspection
• They don't have to be heroic — real people with real constraints

Data & Exhibits

Required Elements

• Financial data tables (performance, valuations, market data)
• Charts where visual data tells the story better
• Timeline of key events
• Competitive landscape or peer comparisons

Exhibit Standards

• Source all data (Bloomberg, SEC filings, company reports, etc.)
• Use clean, professional formatting
• Exhibit titles should be descriptive
• Number exhibits sequentially

Figure Generation

Use the plotting script to create professional figures:

python scripts/case_plots.py

Available Plot Types

Function	Use Case	Example
plot_time_series	Trends over time	Stock prices, deposits, rates
plot_bar_chart	Comparisons	Revenue by segment, market share
plot_stacked_bar	Composition	Asset allocation, cost breakdown
plot_pie_chart	Proportions	Deposit composition, market share
plot_dual_axis	Two metrics	Price and volume, rates and deposits
plot_comparison_bars	Peer comparison	SVB vs competitors

Figure Style

All figures use professional HBS-style formatting:

• Clean white background with subtle grid
• Bold titles and axis labels
• Professional color palette
• High DPI (300) for print quality
• No top/right spines

Creating Figures

When writing a case, generate figures by:

1. Identify key data — What numbers tell the story?
2. Choose plot type — Time series for trends, bars for comparisons, pie for proportions
3. Run the script — Modify case_plots.py with your data
4. Save to case folder — Output to {case_folder}/figures/

Example: SVB Case Figures

# Figure 1: Deposit Growth
plot_time_series(
    dates=dates,
    values=deposits,
    title='SVB Total Deposits (2018-2022)',
    ylabel='Deposits ($ Billions)',
    filename='exhibit_deposits.png',
    show_values=True
)

# Figure 2: Uninsured Deposits
plot_pie_chart(
    labels=['Uninsured (>$250K)', 'Insured (<$250K)'],
    values=[94, 6],
    title='SVB Deposit Insurance Status',
    filename='exhibit_uninsured.png',
    colors=['#d62728', '#2ca02c']
)

Financial Data Collection

When building a case, gather:

1. Market Data — Prices, volumes, volatility, correlations (Yahoo Finance, FRED, Bloomberg)
2. Company Data — Financial statements, SEC filings, earnings calls, investor presentations
3. News & Analysis — WSJ, FT, Bloomberg, CNBC coverage of the event
4. Academic Context — Relevant research papers on the topic
5. Regulatory Context — SEC actions, Fed statements, regulatory changes

Use web search tools to find current data. Document all sources for exhibits.

Output Format

Case Document

[Title]

[Protagonist Name] stared at [the screen/report/data]...

[Background sections]

[The Decision Point]

Exhibits follow on separate pages.

Teaching Note (Optional)

Create when the case is complete:

• Learning objectives (2-4 specific takeaways)
• Discussion questions (3-5 questions to guide class)
• Suggested teaching plan (how to structure the discussion)
• Key analysis points (what students should identify)

Workflow

When given a financial event/product:

1. Research Phase

   • Identify the key decision and protagonist
   • Gather market data, news, and financials
   • Find academic or analytical context

2. Outline Phase

   • Map the narrative arc
   • Identify required exhibits
   • Determine the decision point

3. Writing Phase

   • Draft sections in order (hook → background → situation → decision)
   • Create exhibits with sourced data
   • Write teaching note if requested

4. Review Phase

   • Check against HBS style principles
   • Verify all data is sourced
   • Ensure decision point is clear and unresolved

References

• hbs-patterns.md — Detailed patterns from real HBS cases
• financial-data-sources.md — Where to find financial data