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Case Study Framework: Measuring the ROI of Replacing a Legacy VR/Novelty Investment with Core Ops Tech

mmymenu

2026-02-03

10 min read

Use this 2026-ready case study template to justify sunsetting VR pilots—measure ROI, prioritize ops tech, and document decisions with clear metrics.

Cut the noise, keep the gains: documenting the ROI for sunsetting experimental VR in favor of core ops tech

Hook: If your tech stack includes a handful of experimental bets — VR training rooms, novelty collaboration apps, or pilots that never scaled — they may be draining cash, integration capacity, and operational focus. In 2026, when Meta announced the discontinuation of Horizon Workrooms and to stop selling commercial Quest SKUs in February 2026 — many operators faced a choice: persist with an increasingly unsupported VR investment or redirect capital to tools that improve throughput and margins now. This article gives you a practical, fill-in-the-blank case study decision template to document sunsetting decisions, calculate ROI, and prioritize reinvestment into core ops tech.

Executive summary — the most important actions (do these first)

Inventory & Usage Audit every experimental tech and capture actual usage data (daily/weekly active users, sessions, and support tickets).
Calculate total cost of ownership (TCO) for the experimental tool versus the ops tech alternatives over a 12–36 month horizon.
Model upside using conservative conversion gains, error reduction, and labor savings — then run sensitivity scenarios.
Use a weighted prioritization rubric (ROI, adoption, vendor risk, strategic fit) to score sunsetting candidates.
Document a clear decommission and migration plan with stakeholders, data retention rules, and timelines.

Why this matters in 2026: context and trends

Late 2025 and early 2026 marked a rebalancing for many experimental enterprise platforms. High-profile moves — including Meta’s decision to discontinue Horizon Workrooms and to stop selling commercial Quest SKUs in February 2026 — signaled lower vendor certainty for VR-first workplace investments. At the same time, industry coverage in 2025–2026 highlighted a different problem: tool sprawl. Marketing and operations stacks are burdened with underused platforms that add cost and complexity rather than throughput.

As a result, ops leaders are prioritizing investments that deliver measurable throughput, better margins, and seamless integrations with POS and delivery channels. Sunsetting experimental tech is no longer just about cutting costs — it’s about redeploying capital into systems that increase orders, reduce errors, and shorten cycle times.

Overview: a 6-step case study framework for sunsetting experimental tech

Inventory & Usage Audit: List the experiment, dates, users, active sessions, and support incidents.
Cost & TCO Calculation: Include capital, recurring fees, maintenance, staff hours, third-party integrations, and vendor lock-in costs.
Operational Impact Analysis: Measure impact on throughput, error rates, onboarding time, and customer experience.
Opportunity Cost Assessment: Model alternatives — core ops tech (menu management, POS integrations, analytics) and expected KPIs.
Decision Rubric & Prioritization: Score using weighted criteria (ROI, adoption, vendor risk, strategic fit, legal/compliance).
Decommission Plan & Case Study Documentation: Timeline, stakeholder approvals, data migration, and a one-page case study to publish internally.

Step 1 — Inventory & usage audit: what to collect

Tool name, vendor, contract dates and renewal terms.
Number of licenses/headsets, active users, session frequency.
Support tickets, training hours, instructor time, travel costs.
Integration points: which systems are connected (POS, LMS, CRM, menu management).
Business outcomes currently claimed by the pilot (e.g., reduced onboarding time, improved collaboration).

Step 2 — TCO model: what to include

To compare apples to apples, calculate both 12- and 36-month TCO for the experimental tech and for the ops tech alternative. Include:

Capital expenditures (hardware purchases, custom development).
Implementation and integration costs.
Ongoing subscription/licenses and managed services.
Support, maintenance, and replacement cycles (e.g., headset replacements).
Internal labor (hours for admins, onboarding, troubleshooting) converted to cost.
Indirect costs: increased complexity, reduced uptime, duplicate data management.

Step 3 — Operational impact: select measurable KPIs

Choose metrics tied to throughput and margins. For restaurant operations, the most relevant include:

Order throughput — orders/hour and peak capacity.
Order error rate — wrong items, voids, refunds.
Digital order conversion — online menu click-to-order conversion.
Menu update time — minutes to push changes across channels.
Labor hours — time spent on menu updates, training, and support.
Gross margin on incremental orders — to convert revenue uplift into profit impact.

Step 4 — Opportunity cost: model the alternative

Define a concrete alternative investment in ops tech — for example, a unified menu management platform that syncs with POS integrations, delivery partners, and your website. Build a conservative revenue upside model:

Estimate baseline orders and average check.
Apply realistic uplift percentages (e.g., 1–3% conversion gain for easier, synced menus; 5–10% reduction in errors with POS-integrated menus).
Translate incremental orders into gross margin dollars using historical gross margin (food + beverage contribution).
Subtract the marginal cost of the new tech (implementation + subscription + staff time).
Compute payback and ROI.

Step 5 — Decision rubric & prioritization (template)

Use a weighted scorecard to make the decision objective. Example weights and criteria:

ROI potential — 30%
Current adoption / utilization — 20%
Vendor & support risk — 15%
Strategic alignment (ops, CX) — 15%
Integration complexity / data portability — 10%
Legal / compliance risk — 10%

Score each criterion from 1–5 and multiply by weight. Add scores to produce a final recommendation threshold (e.g., >3.5 recommend keep; <3.5 recommend sunset).

Step 6 — Decommission plan & documentation template

When you decide to sunset, document the execution steps:

Approval: sign-off from CFO, COO, Head of Ops, IT, and Legal.
Data retention policy: what historical data to keep, export formats, and owners.
Hardware disposal: inventory and secure wipe of devices.
Contract termination: notice periods, final invoices, and recovery of prepaid fees.
Communications plan: internal announcement, franchisee guidance, helpdesk script.
Migration & training: timeline to roll out alternative ops tech and re-train users.
Post-mortem: collect metrics at 30/90/180 days to validate predicted ROI.

Principle: Sunsetting is not an admission of failure — it’s a reallocation of constrained resources toward tools that materially improve throughput and margins.

Fill-in-the-blank decision template (paste into your case study)

Use this as the one-page case study you'll present to the executive committee.

1) Summary

Tool: [Name] — Primary function: [e.g., VR onboarding].

Recommendation: [Sunset / Keep / Pause and re-evaluate].

2) Snapshot metrics

Start date:
Active users (30-day):
Sessions per user (30-day):
Support tickets (last 90 days):

3) 12-month TCO

CapEx:
Implementation & integration:
Subscription & support (annual):
Internal labor (hours * rate):
Total TCO (12 months):

4) Measured operational impact

Onboarding time saved:
Order errors attributable:
Customer experience notes:

5) Alternative investment & modeled upside

Alternative: [Ops tech name and scope — e.g., central menu management + POS integrations]

Alternative 12-month TCO:
Conservative revenue uplift (%):
Gross margin on incremental revenue:
Net incremental profit (12 months):
Payback period:
ROI% (12-month):

6) Risk analysis

List vendor risk, data retention risk, and user adoption risk, with mitigation steps.

7) Recommendation & next steps

Include approvals required, decommission timeline, and measurement cadence (30/90/180 days).

Worked example — a realistic, conservative ROI calculation

Below is an illustrative example for a 10-store restaurant pilot that considered sunsetting a VR onboarding pilot in favor of a centralized menu management platform that syncs with POS integrations and all delivery partners.

Assumptions

Baseline annual digital orders across pilot stores: 365,000
Average order value (AOV): $25
Gross margin on orders: 60%
VR pilot 12-month TCO: $104,000 (hardware, dev, support, staff time)
Ops tech 12-month TCO: $55,000 (implementation + subscription)
Conservative conversion uplift from ops tech: 2% (industry-observed uplift from better UX and consistent menus)
Expected error reduction: 5% fewer refunds/voids

Calculation

Incremental orders = 365,000 * 2% = 7,300 orders

Incremental revenue = 7,300 * $25 = $182,500

Incremental gross profit = $182,500 * 60% = $109,500

Net benefit vs alternative = incremental gross profit - (Ops tech TCO - VR TCO saved)

Since sunsetting VR saves $104,000 and investing in ops tech costs $55,000, net cash freed/used depends on timing. For 12-month ROI, compute the incremental net profit if you switch:

Net benefit year 1 = $109,500 (profit uplift) + $104,000 (VR TCO avoided) - $55,000 (ops tech TCO) = $158,500
ROI% = Net benefit / Ops tech TCO = $158,500 / $55,000 = 288% (first 12 months, conservative example)
Payback period = Ops tech TCO / (Incremental gross profit + VR cost savings per month) = less than 2 months in this example

Notes: this example uses conservative adoption and margin assumptions. Run sensitivity analysis on the uplift (1%–4%) and on AOV and margin.

How to present this as a compelling internal case study

Start with a one-page executive summary: recommendation, headline ROI, payback, and risks.
Include the TCO tables and the sensitivity analysis (best/likely/worst cases).
Attach raw data appendices: usage logs, support tickets, contract terms, and the rubric scores.
Schedule a 30-minute readout with the executive committee and include a 90-day measurement checkpoint.

Common objections — and how to answer them

“But we invested already — we shouldn’t abandon it.” Answer: sunk cost is not a valid criterion. Evaluate forward-looking cash flows and opportunity cost of capital.
“It’s strategic long-term tech.” Answer: quantify strategic benefits and compare against short-term throughput and margin needs; consider preserving a small R&D budget for long-term bets.
“Users like it, morale matters.” Answer: capture qualitative benefits, but weigh them against objective operational improvements; consider phased sunsetting to preserve engagement while migrating functionality.

Decommission checklist (operationally practical)

Export data (user activity, session logs) and store in analytics warehouse.
Notify vendor per contract and confirm termination penalties (if any).
Inventory physical devices and schedule secure disposal or redeployment.
Freeze new spend and create a redirect for incoming support tickets to the ops tech helpdesk.
Run a 30/90/180 day measurement plan to prove the ROI assumptions.

Prioritization in practice — sprint vs. marathon

Not every move needs to be a sprint. Use the martech metaphor from 2025–2026: treat quick wins (low cost, high adoption) like sprints and structural migrations (POS integrations, composable architecture) like marathons. But sunsetting a vendor with declining support (e.g., discontinued headset SKUs) should be prioritized — vendor risk increases the expected cost of holding the investment.

Advanced strategies & future predictions (2026–2028)

Expect continued consolidation: platforms offering integrated menu, POS, analytics, and delivery orchestration will win share.
APIs and composable architectures will make migration less risky — capture and standardize data exports during pilots.
AI-first ops insights will shift the value proposition from novelty features to measurable throughput lifts and margin optimization.
Pay-as-you-grow contracts will become the default; avoid large upfront hardware bets unless replacement/secondary market value is clear.

Final checklist — what to do in the next 14 days

Run an inventory & usage audit for all experimental tech.
Build a 12-month TCO model for top 3 candidates for sunsetting.
Score each candidate with the prioritization rubric.
Draft a one-page case study for the top candidate and circulate for stakeholder feedback.
Schedule an executive decision meeting and prepare the decommission plan.

Closing — use this template to move from experimentation to impact

Sunsetting experimental tech like VR pilots is not about playing it safe — it’s about being deliberate. In 2026 the market has changed: vendor support for enterprise VR is less certain, and the opportunity cost of holding novelty investments is higher. Use this case study framework and decision template to create a defensible, data-driven recommendation that reallocates capital toward ops tech that increases orders, reduces errors, and improves margins.

Actionable takeaway: Run the inventory audit this week, calculate the 12‑month TCO, and build the one-page case study using the template above. Present it at your next ops/finance sync to free up capital for a prioritized ops tech rollout.

Call to action: If you want a ready-to-use spreadsheet version of this decision template or a 30-minute review with an ops tech specialist, contact your mymenu.cloud account team to schedule a case study workshop. We'll help you quantify ROI and build the executive brief so you can redeploy resources into systems that drive measurable throughput and margin improvement.

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