Whitepaper Format: HKBCS Model
When writing a whitepaper, there is no right way to do it, although there are general guidelines. This is a sample whitepaper format from the Hong Kong Blockchain Society and it has the following sections:
- Executive Summary
- Problem Area
- Solution Space
- Competitor
- Market
- Product
- Stakeholders
- Technology
- Operations
- Security
- Governance
- Compliance Issues
- Legal Issues
- Distribution
- Scaling
- Revenue Model
- Financial Projection
- Team
Why this order? Does it matter?
What matters is that the narrative flows like a “story” so feel free to add or remove and reorder as you see fit to present your “story”
What if I remove a section?
Some stories are better told with different [section] titles or sections altogether! White papers are evaluated based on the narrative and supporting material. Do not force your story into this example outline if it doesn’t fit!
1. Executive Summary
TL;DR: This is the most important section, because:
- It makes the first impression (convince reader to keep going)
- It will be re-read many times over
- It may even be the only thing that gets read.
Tips:
- Summarize key points
- i.e. stuff on this checklist
- Within one page
- Clear and concise language
2. Problem Area
What is the opportunity? Is it worth capturing, or let it slip?
- Why it is a problem
- How long it has been a problem
- Why it hasn’t been solved yet
- Why here?
- Why now?
Tips:
- Tell a story, maybe examples
- Clear and concise language
- May double over with Market if it is a huge market or growing market that is part of the problem
3. Solution Space
What is the value proposition? Why blockchain?
- How it solves the problem
- How this time it’s different than other solutions
- Why here?
- Why now?
Tips:
- Tell a story, maybe examples
- Clear and concise language
- May lead into Product or Tech
4. Competitor
What else is out there? What are alternatives?
- Direct competitors
- Indirect i.e. another way
- If you have no competitors, you’re not looking hard enough
- If you looked hard, and still cannot find, it’s because you haven’t noticed the indirect competitors
Tips:
- Tell a story, maybe examples
- Clear and concise language
- May lead into Product or Market
5. Market
How big is the opportunity Why you wanna capture it
- How big?
- How special?
- Why here?
- Why now?
Tips:
- Tell a story, maybe examples
- Clear and concise language
- May lead into Product or Competitors
6. Product
What are you building? How do you use blockchain
- How it is designed
- How to develop
- Prototype info
- Initial users
- Roadmap
Tips:
- Tell a story
- Clear and concise language
- May lead into Tech or Competitors or Market, Governance, Legal, Compliance… Product is the centerpiece of your project!
7. Stakeholders
Who benefit from this? Such as but not limited to
- Primary users
- Related users or roles
- Network nodes
- Regulators
Tips:
- Tell a story, maybe examples
- Clear and concise language
- May lead into Operations, Security, Governance, Legal & Compliance, etc…
8. Technology
Why did you build it like this? This is where you justify your technical design decisions
- Why this platform
- Why these features
- Why not those features
- Why are weaknesses negligible
- Other technology attributes
Tips:
- Tell a story, preferable with many diagrams and charts and graphs
- Clear and concise language
- May lead to Product and Operations and Security and Governance…
9. Operations
How does the project run? The details of all the features and components
- Who will do what
- Why like this
- How it will work
Tips:
- Tell a story, maybe scenarios
- Clear and concise language
- May lead into Product or Tech or Stakeholders or Security or Governance or Legal & Compliance
10. Security
What keeps the system safe? The safeguards involved
- Cryptography
- Protocols
- Governance
- Other measures
Tips:
- Tell a story, maybe scenarios
- Clear and concise language
- May lead into everything..!
11. Governance
How will the system be governed? Details about governance
- Who are the parties involved
- What are their roles
- When do they do what
- Where do they do what
- Why they are involved
- How the roles will be done
Tips:
- Tell a story, maybe scenarios
- Clear and concise language
- May lead into Product, Tech, Operations, Security, Legal and Compliance
12. Compliance Issues
How will you satisfy regulators, especially
- Existing regulations
- Possible changes
- G D P R
Tips:
- Tell a story, maybe scenarios
- Clear and concise language
- May lead into …everything
13. Legal Issues
Not breaking any laws… Clarify the legality of the project
- What jurisdictions
- What risks
- Comparable cases
Tips:
- Tell a story, maybe scenarios
- Clear and concise language
- May lead into everything!
14. Distribution
How will the project grow? This is like a typical business or startup
- Vision Plan
- Distribution Plan
- Budget Projection
Tips:
- Tell a story, how to get first sales
- Clear and concise language
- May lead into Scaling, Revenue Model, and Financials… this is now Business Plan stuff!
15. Scaling
How will the project continue growing? All aspects of rapid growth issues:
- Business challenges
- Technical challenges
- Legal or compliance risk
Tips:
- Tell a story, future scenarios
- Clear and concise language
- May lead into distribution, revenue, financials, etc
16. Revenue Model
How the project will capture value? Usually that value is money, but can be different KPIs and ROI if social enterprise, etc:
- Price points
- Target segments
- Estimated markets
- Justifications
Tips:
- Tell a story, maybe examples
- Clear and concise language
- May lead into Product or Market or Competitors, and definitely Distribution, Scaling, and Financials
17. Financial Projection
What does the future look like? Show that the project can survive:
- Pro Forma
- Assumptions
- Justifications
Tips:
- Charts and graphs tell the story but keep it simple, and leave complex stuff out, or in the Appendices
- May lead back into other sections that contributed to this section
18. Team
Who is behind this project? How will this project be executed?
- Who are you?
- What are your roles?
- Why you?
- Who are your advisors?
- Why them?
- How did you meet?
- How long have you worked together and on what?
Tips:
- Tell a story, a life story
- Clear and concise language
- Non-Americans tend to be shy about their achievements… DON’T BE!
The International Blockchain Olympiad (IBCOL) is a multidisciplinary design and building competition. If you are a student in good standing or have graduated within 2 years, IBCOL 2019 invites you to propose solutions to real-world challenges using decentralised applications. For further details and to register, please visit ibcol.org or reach out to our Student Relations Team.
