You have a deadline to honour. Time is pressing, tighter and tighter. You are hoping to come up with some topic for your project.....

However, ideas on what to write about keep eluding you.

What are you going to do in situations like these?

Today there are various software and information to start you off when finding yourself in such a rut. They all can come handy, but one sure technique to provide quick results is Keyword Brainstorming.

Let's see what this is all about and how it works in practice.

•find a quiet place and set a time limit

•take a sheet of paper and write subject keyword at top

•now, any idea that this word brings to your mind, jot it down

•don't be judgmental, and keep focusing on start keyword

•just write key words - enough to trigger your thoughts in future

•keep going as fast as you can

•jot down in a list form, without analysing for spelling, validity, etc

•derive as many ideas on paper while keeping fast pace

Different companies use different structures for their case studies, but all should follow same general pattern: 1. Company overview and challenge 2. Project details 3. Positive results (of course)

Customer Overview and Challenge Start with a 2-3 paragraph overview of customer's company. This should be very positive - since you're going to detail a problem customer was having, last thing you want to do is make them sound like jerks. So compliment them. Feel free to adapt overview from their own Website text, where they're already placing themselves in best possible light. Then move on to business challenge. Don't make customer sound stupid or incompetent. The challenge should always be centered on something good that is happening to them - fast growth, industry prominence, strategic IT changes - whatever. Their challenge should be applicable to your readers' own business issues.

Project Details No project goes perfectly, but save debriefing for longer-form trade journal article. These short case studies should report on successful project by briefly discussing specific products and benefits.

Don't go all over map. If project is fairly narrow or specific, you won't have any trouble sticking with main point. In case of large and complex installations, concentrate on main point. For example, Microsoft Great Plains has more modules than you can shake a stick at. Concentrate on ones that had most positive impact on your customer.