Green Office: Sustainability Dashboard

In working on our set goals for the sprint, we tried to approach our project through building an object. The object demonstrated the contribution of ICT tools to carbon emissions. This is shown in the video below.

We also had another conversational object that aimed at further communicating the impact of ICT energy consumption and emissions. The image below demonstrates that the excessive use of ICT tools can potentially affect energy production.

In the first sprint, we set some target goals that helped us to work on the project challenge. The main goal was to Identify data on Information Communication Technologies (ICT) carbon emissions, themes and stakeholders for the sustainability dashboard.

With  the main goal, we developed three sub-goals that aimed at:

•  Identification of the Stakeholders.
•  Identification of the key themes.
•  Identification of the desired data for collection.

To achieve this we made use of two methods: literature review and stakeholder maps. We then divided the tasks amongst ourselves for the sprint.

Here is the picture of the Green office team at work at the beginning of Sprint 1.

We had a translate session with some experts regarding  the project and they were impressed with our findings. In the last week of the sprint we had a sprint review with our project partner. They also made  comments on areas of improvement and overall were impressed with the approach we used in understanding the project.

At the end of the sprint we managed to meet our goals that we had defined and set in the beginning. These included having a full stakeholder map, identification of data collection points and the important themes

The main goal for this sprint aimed at collecting ICT sustainability data and explore the user-friendly dashboard.

From this goal, we developed two sub-goals which were:

1. Collecting data
2. Exploring dashboard visualisation.

We worked throughout the sprint to gather the data and had meetings with some stakeholders and experts in the field. We also made a comparison of different dashboard tools, based on our project outcome needs we chose Power BI.

At the end of Sprint 2, we managed to collect our data for further work on the project. Based on our need to calculate the carbon emissions, we decided to focus on collecting available data on ICT hardware devices. After collecting this data, the team started working on collecting information on these devices’ power usage per hour. This will then help in adopting a formula that uses power usage in calculating the carbon emissions.

For our definition of done, we compiled a list of hardware devices, and this Figma file shows what we have collected so far.

For Sprint 3, we have defined the following objectives:

Primary Objective:

Develop the initial iteration of the sustainability dashboard and seamlessly integrate it into Power BI or Tableau using the prepared dataset.

Sub-objectives:

• Organize the existing data by cleaning and categorizing it into relevant segments.
• Define and finalize the methodology for calculating carbon emissions.
• Create a Mid-Fidelity Dashboard prototype and export it into Power BI for further development.
• Categorize the specific data sets to be featured on the dashboard for effective presentation and analysis.

After careful consideration, we opted for Power BI for the following reasons:

Proven Usage Within the Organization: Power BI has a track record of successful utilization within our organization.

Collaboration and Sharing Capabilities: The tool facilitates seamless collaboration and sharing with colleagues, promoting a more cohesive and efficient working environment.

Rich Visualisation Features: Power BI boasts a diverse set of visualization features that align with our requirements, providing ample options to effectively display our data.

Real-Time Data Connectivity: The ability of Power BI to connect to real-time data was a crucial factor in our decision-making process, aligning with our project’s dynamic data needs.

Furthermore, we have achieved the following:

• Prepared Excel data files;
• Implemented mid-fidelity Figma dashboard;
• A list of what our partner likes to see in the dashboard;
• Mid-fidelity Project Process Map;
• Supporting literature on the use of Fairphone as a solution to cut on carbon emissions;
• Defined Co2 emission calculation formula;
• Repaired the existing Qualitative dashboard.

As the project progressed toward the final outcome, sprint 4 focused on enhancing the dashboard that was developed in sprint 3. The team worked on optimizing the visualizing techniques.

Before making these adjustments, user test sessions were conducted to assess if the dashboard was user-friendly. After collecting comments on areas of improvement from users. The team made use of visualization techniques to improve the visibility and data presentation as recommended by the end users.

1.  Conducting user feedback sessions to identify pain points in the current UI.
2. Enhance current charts and graphs to better represent the data.
3. Develop comprehensive documentation for users and administrators.
4. Creating a tutorial video or user guide for the dashboard.

1. An improved dashboard that is edited in response to the user’s pain points during the user testing sessions.
2. Development of a supporting document for the project process and outcomes.
3. Began compiling the necessary information and tools to develop the dashboard’s user tutorial/ guide.

The main goal was to finalize the dashboard development.

In this phase we completed the development of the sustainability dashboard. It incorporated all the necessary features, improvements, and adjustments based on our sprint 4 user testing feedback.

1. Data Integration and Validation: We aimed to integrate real data into the dashboard to provide up-to-date information on CO2 emissions caused by ICT.
2. Improve the visual elements of the dashboard based on user feedback, ensuring a user-friendly and intuitive interface.
3. Implement advanced visualization techniques to effectively communicate complex information about ICT-related CO2 emissions.

To wrap up the last sprint of the project we had these outputs:

• A video invitation teaser for our project showcase
• A completed Sustainability Dashboard.

• Improved visual elements based on user testing feedback, making the dashboard more intuitive and user-friendly.
• Accessibility standards were implemented to make the dashboard usable for individuals with diverse needs.
• Comprehensive documentation of the development process,