UX CASE STUDY · HACKATHON PROJECT

UX CASE STUDY · HACKATHON PROJECT

Grand Erie: Data Centre Decision Support Platform

Grand Erie: Data Centre Decision Support Platform

Grand Erie: Data Centre Decision Support Platform

A hackathon project designed to help stakeholders evaluate and compare data centre proposals competing for limited energy resources while considering workforce, economic, and community impacts.

A hackathon project designed to help stakeholders evaluate and compare data centre proposals competing for limited energy resources while considering workforce, economic, and community impacts.

A hackathon project designed to help stakeholders evaluate and compare data centre proposals competing for limited energy resources while considering workforce, economic, and community impacts.

Role

UX Designer

Team

Timmy King, Tiana Fairclough, Aliasgar Cuttleriwala, Rahamam Rahman

Client

Workforce Planning Board of Grand Erie · Stakeholder: Danette Dalton

Timeline

Hackathon Project

Tools

Figma, Miro, User Journey Mapping, Wireframing, Prototyping

Focus

Proposal comparison, workforce impact, community outcomes, and energy trade-offs

Proposal Evaluation Dashboard

Energy · Workforce · Community

Replace with final mockup or map visualization

Weighted proposal score

+1.8k

Projected jobs

72%

Energy feasibility

Decision-support recommendation

Scenario B balances workforce growth with lower community displacement risk.

01 · THE CHALLENGE

Limited energy resources made proposal evaluation a systems-design problem.

Limited energy resources made proposal evaluation a systems-design problem.

Limited energy resources made proposal evaluation a systems-design problem.

Ontario faces increasing demand for data centres, but energy resources are limited. Decision-makers need a way to assess competing proposals while balancing energy consumption, workforce development, economic impact, and community outcomes. The challenge was to create a tool that helps stakeholders compare proposals and understand trade-offs before making investment decisions.

Ontario faces increasing demand for data centres, but energy resources are limited. Decision-makers need a way to assess competing proposals while balancing energy consumption, workforce development, economic impact, and community outcomes. The challenge was to create a tool that helps stakeholders compare proposals and understand trade-offs before making investment decisions.

Problem statement

How might we help decision-makers quickly compare and evaluate data centre proposals using social, economic, workforce, and energy-related factors instead of relying on technical metrics alone?

How might we help decision-makers quickly compare and evaluate data centre proposals using social, economic, workforce, and energy-related factors instead of relying on technical metrics alone?

02 · RESEARCH & DISCOVERY

A fragmented decision space needed to become visible, comparable, and actionable.

A fragmented decision space needed to become visible, comparable, and actionable.

A fragmented decision space needed to become visible, comparable, and actionable.

Data centre growth

Mapped why Ontario is seeing larger, more energy-intensive infrastructure proposals.

Workforce implications

Reviewed how construction, operations, and adjacent roles would affect regional labour needs.

Community impact

Identified effects on land use, local services, public perception, and shared benefits.

Economic development

Compared proposals through investment, supplier opportunities, and long-term regional value.

Equity outcomes

Looked for ways to surface who benefits from new employment and training pathways.

Information is fragmented across multiple sources.

Information is fragmented across multiple sources.

Stakeholders need faster comparisons.

Stakeholders need faster comparisons.

Research synthesis diagram placeholder

Research synthesis diagram placeholder

Community impact is difficult to visualize.

Community impact is difficult to visualize.

Workforce outcomes are often overlooked.

Workforce outcomes are often overlooked.

Decision-makers require a holistic proposal view.

Decision-makers require a holistic proposal view.

03 · IDEATION & DESIGN PROCESS

From brainstorming trade-offs to a clear proposal evaluation flow.

From brainstorming trade-offs to a clear proposal evaluation flow.

From brainstorming trade-offs to a clear proposal evaluation flow.

Proposal comparison tools

Side-by-side scoring helped make trade-offs easier to scan.

Workforce forecasting

Explored labour demand, job quality, and training pathway indicators.

Community visualization

Mapped proposal effects into understandable regional impact signals.

Energy trade-offs

Balanced allocation constraints against projected economic outcomes.

Interactive scoring

Considered weighted factors for different stakeholder priorities.

Core user flow

01

Review submitted proposals

02

Compare key metrics

03

Analyze workforce impacts

04

Review community outcomes

05

Generate recommendations

Low-fidelity wireframes and information architecture placeholder

Screen evolution and interactive prototype placeholder

04 · FINAL SOLUTION

A decision-support platform that reframes proposals around public-sector impact.

A decision-support platform that reframes proposals around public-sector impact.

A decision-support platform that reframes proposals around public-sector impact.

Proposal comparison dashboard

A single view for comparing proposals across weighted decision criteria.

Workforce impact metrics

Surfaces job creation, skill gaps, training opportunities, and equity considerations.

Community outcomes

Makes local benefits, concerns, and geographic effects easier to evaluate.

Energy usage insights

Shows proposal feasibility against limited energy resources and allocation constraints.

Decision recommendations

Turns complex proposal data into prioritized recommendations and next-step guidance.

Replace with final dashboard screens

05 · OUTCOME

A complete hackathon solution that showed how UX can support complex public-sector decisions.

A complete hackathon solution that showed how UX can support complex public-sector decisions.

A complete hackathon solution that showed how UX can support complex public-sector decisions.

1

Complete solution delivered during the hackathon

5

Decision factors organized into one evaluation model

∞

Framework adaptable to future proposal reviews

UX

Demonstrated design’s role in stakeholder decision-making

06 · REFLECTION

Key takeaways from designing under constraints.

Key takeaways from designing under constraints.

Key takeaways from designing under constraints.

Designing for complex systems

The work required simplifying relationships without flattening the consequences of each decision.

Simplifying large datasets

Good UX turned dense, technical inputs into comparable signals stakeholders could discuss.

Information architecture

The hardest design challenge was deciding what belonged in overview, detail, and recommendation views.

Cross-functional collaboration

The project depended on quickly translating stakeholder language into product structure.

Tight deadlines

The hackathon constraint made prioritization, clarity, and visual storytelling essential.

The strongest outcome wasn’t only the prototype — it was the framework for helping stakeholders discuss energy, workforce, economy, and community impact in the same decision space.

The strongest outcome wasn’t only the prototype — it was the framework for helping stakeholders discuss energy, workforce, economy, and community impact in the same decision space.

The strongest outcome wasn’t only the prototype — it was the framework for helping stakeholders discuss energy, workforce, economy, and community impact in the same decision space.