29th January 2026
Course Relevance: Global business Analytics course for working professionals, Data Analytics, Design thinking and AI for a PGDM students and Problem-solving technique, for BCA and MCA.
This Caselet is relevant for courses in:
- Business Communication and Professional Presentation
- Decision-Making and Strategic Management
- Business Analytics and Data-Driven Decision-Making
- IT Project Management and Product Strategy
- Leadership and Organizational Behaviour
Academic Concepts
- Data-Driven Decision-Making (DDD)
- Strategic Storytelling and Narrative Framing
- Cognitive and Emotional Engagement in Leadership
- Analytics Interpretation vs Analytics Communication
- Stakeholder Management and Executive Influence
- User-Centric Product Management
1. Introduction
In today’s technology-driven organizations, IT investment decisions are often framed as purely quantitative exercises. Return on investment (ROI), total cost of ownership (TCO), net present value (NPV), and other numerical indicators dominate executive boardrooms. However, real-world IT adoption often involves human behavior, operational realities, and organizational culture that cannot always be captured by numbers alone. This case study will look at a situation experienced at MedTech Solutions, a mid-tier provider of healthcare software, where no amount of numerical analysis convinced decision-makers, and a story approach was ultimately used to influence IT adoption.
This case highlights that while numerical indicators may provide powerful insights in IT decision-making, their limitation is that they lack narrative depth, often failing to connect numerical evidence with personal experience or emotion, whereas a story can fill this void by providing a personal, qualitative, and powerful experience that connects
2. Organizational Context
MedTech Solutions specializes in healthcare software solutions for hospitals, clinics, and medical practices. Over the past decade, the company had experienced steady growth, expanding its product portfolio to include hospital management systems, electronic health record (EHR) software, telemedicine solutions.
The firm had about 800 employees, consisting of software developers, healthcare information technology experts, client service representatives, and managerial employees. The firm’s culture entailed collaboration and emphasis on evidence-based decision-making. However, as the firm expanded, decision-making became complex owing to varying priorities of different stakeholders in the business:
• CFO and Finance Team: More concerned with ROI, profit, and budgets.
• Clinical Directors & Healthcare Professionals: Patient care efficiency, clinician workloads, and regulations were prioritized.
• IT Department: Focused on performance, technical viability, & scalability aspects.
• Operations Team: These teams deal with the continuity of processes and making the system user-friendly.
This meant that the stakeholder environment posed challenges for making information technology decisions that were amenable to multiple viewpoints, some of which were not quantifiable.
3. The IT Challenge
In 2022, MedTech Solutions had an important decision to make-to replace the existing EHR platform with a next-generation, cloud-based version. Although the existing system was functional, it had a number of limitations.
• There is slow data retrieval and frequent system lag.
• Interoperability with other healthcare systems to a minimum.
• Most data are fed into the software manually and are prone to errors.
• Fragmented reporting and analytics hurt both internal decisioning and client satisfaction.
The IT leadership believed that migrating to a cloud-based EHR would:
1. Improve operational efficiency for healthcare providers.
2. Reduce errors from fragmented records.
3. Perform real-time analytics to improve patient outcomes.
4. Support future scalability and integration with emerging healthcare technologies.
The research paper conducted financial projections by:
• Outlay: License fees of $2.5 million, migrating expenses, and employees’ training.
• Projected Annual Savings: Improved efficiency and reduction of downtime will pay for the $450,000.
• Anticipated return on investment: 18 percent, over a five-year period.
• Implementation Timeline: Six months.
4. Limitations of Numeric Analysis
These were the presentations made by the IT personnel:
• Comparison between the cost and benefits of the existing system and the
• Expected decrease in errors in entering information.
• Increased efficiency per clinician per day.
• Lowered costs related to servers and downtime.
Although such reports were detailed, some limitations were obvious within the numeric method:
1. Abstract Numbers: Measures such as ROI percentages and error reductions were abstract and not easily visualizable in the context of business-as-usual activities.
2. Emotional Disconnection: The decision-makers were not able to connect on their own with improvements in patient care or reductions in clinician workloads on just a technical level through
3. Risk Aversion: The management’s concern with initial investment and the possibilities of disruptions in the implementation process led to overestimation of financial
4.Cognitive Bias: The leadership showed confirmation bias when they preferred the status quo over the long-term advantages.
Finally, the IT department came to the realization that figures just weren’t persuasive to the board by themselves. A different strategy was required—one that was able to draw from human experience and combine it with numbers.
5. Story-Driven Approach
Laura Chen, the IT director, came up with a story-based approach. This idea was inspired by examples from behavioural economics and decision science. Laura recognized that the use of stories provided a way to make intangible values concrete.
5.1. Created Story
Laura partnered with the clinicians and the operations team to develop a narrative that would compare and contrast the existing system to the proposed cloud system.
Current System Scenario:
Dr. Patel, a primary care physician, starts his day by examining patient charts. It takes him 45 minutes to reconcile test results, medications, and referrals from other facilities. Sometimes, important test results come in late, causing delays in treatment. His staff is annoyed with entering information repetitively, and patient satisfaction is lower.
System Proposal Scenario:
With the new cloud-based EHR system, Dr. Patel simply logs in and has access to the full data record for each patient. Automatic notifications point out important laboratory results and possible drug interactions. Interaction with nurses and pharmacists occurs in real time. Health care providers save 30 minutes for each patient. This increases the time spent with patients. Morale also increases among employees. Patients also sense the improvement.
The story was enhanced with a short video demo, illustrating real-world workflows and the human impact of the system.
5.2 Integrating Data into the Narrative
Numbers were not simply replaced with words; rather, they were woven into the narrative to add to the believability of the story: “
•”Dr. Patel will save 30 minutes per patient, which is projected to result in a savings of $450,000 per year.”
• ‘Error reduction of 25% in medication tracking results in significant patient safety improvements as per regulatory requirements.’
By merging the power of narrative and the power of numbers, the reporting did justice to the emotional and logical sides of decision-making.
6. Presentation to the Executive Team
1. Storytelling: The day in the life scenario was presented by Laura
2. Video Demonstration: A practical imitation of physician operations utilizing the new approach.
3. Data Reinforcement: Return on Investment, efficiency, and error reductions as statistics within the narrative.
4. Open Discussion: Cost-related questions, implementation issues, and training requirements were posed to stakeholders. The answers were provided with citations from narrative as well as numeric inputs.
It was a totally different experience from the previous board meetings, because:
• CFO appreciated seeing the direct correlation between efficiency improvement and financial outcome.
• Clinical directors responded well to better patient care and less stress.
• Operations personnel appreciated the practical representation of improving the workflow.
The story made the abstract concept concrete. The story tackled issues that only the figures couldn’t. The figures couldn’t convey that although there were
7. Implementation and Outcomes
In adherence to the story-based approach, the following project was approved by the Board:
Implementation of the upgrade to the Cloud-based EHR. This project took a period of six months to be accomplished and
• Employee training sessions on workshop change management.
• Migration of data from legacy systems.
• Real time monitoring and feedback.
8. Implications for IT Leadership
IT leaders need to believe that decision-making is rational and emotional at the same time. The data is important, but it’s much more impactful when wrapped inside real, relatable stories. Organizations can execute the following:
• Devise “Day-in-the-Life” Scenarios: Map current vs. future processes to show tangible benefits.
Use multi-media tools and technology-take videos, simulations, and role play to breathe life into stories.
• Embed Data Within Stories: Connect numeric evidence to results in ways that are meaningful to stakeholders.
• Tailor Stories to Stakeholders: the Finance, Operations, and Clinical Staff may value different aspects of a story.
• Iterative Feedback: With small groups, test the narrative to then communicate to decision makers.
In so doing, IT leaders will be able to bridge the chasm between the analytical rigor and the human experience, thereby facilitating informed, actionable decisions.
9. Key Lessons Learned
This case highlights several critical insights for IT decision-making:
- Numbers Alone Are Insufficient: Even comprehensive quantitative analysis may fail if stakeholders cannot relate the data to their operational realities.
- Storytelling Enhances Comprehension: Narratives translate abstract metrics into experiences that resonate emotionally and cognitively.
- Integration of Data and Narrative: The most persuasive cases combine credible numbers with human-centered storytelling, creating a multi-dimensional argument.
- Change Management: Story-driven approaches can reduce resistance by illustrating benefits clearly, thereby supporting smoother adoption.
- Stakeholder-Centric Decision-Making: Understanding the perspectives and priorities of different stakeholders is essential in shaping persuasive narratives.
10. Outcomes:
1.Operational Efficiency: Average clinician time to document increased by 35%.
2.Reduction of Error: There was a 28% decline in medication and data input errors.
3.Financial Implications: Cost savings within operational budgets matched closely to expectations, substantiating both numerical and narrative claims.
4.Stakeholder Satisfaction: Staff satisfaction scores improved by 20%, and patient feedback reflected enhanced service.
11. Conclusion
In the case MedTech Solutions, it represents one of those ageless truths in information technology decision-making: while numbers are key, they’re not always enough. However, in cases where IT decision-makers don’t feel a personal connection to their data, narrative-based influence can be just what’s needed to contextualize data for understanding and build support. This is because, with information woven around people, IT adoption hurdles feel easier to overcome, and IT investments are assured to offer practical, real-world value.
12. References
- Damodaran, A. (2017). Narrative and Numbers: The Value of Stories in Business. thekeypoint.org
- Boje, D. M. (2001/2008). Narrative Methods for Organization and Communication Research; Storytelling Organizations. Wikipedia
- Denning, S. (2006). Effective Storytelling: Strategic Business Narrative Techniques. Strategy & Leadership, 34(1). ResearchGate
- Schröder, K., Eberhardt, W., Belavadi, P., et al. (2023). Telling stories with data – A systematic review. arXiv. arXiv
- Green, M. C., & Brock, T. C. (2000). Narrative transportation theory. (implicit in current literature). Wikipedia
- Huet, C. (2020). The Power of Narratives in Decision Making. The Decision Lab. The Decision Lab
Questions
- Why do data-backed arguments sometimes fail to persuade IT stakeholders?
- How do stories create emotional or contextual understanding that numbers alone cannot?
- What types of IT decisions are most influenced by narrative rather than analytics?
- How can leaders balance data credibility with storytelling impact in technology proposals?
- What risks arise when stories outweigh evidence in IT decision-making?
- How can technical teams translate complex metrics into compelling, relatable stories?
- What lessons can organizations learn from cases where storytelling changed the final IT decision?
