Microsoft, Azure SAP
Helping users to make sustainable cloud decisions
Project
Virtual team project
Role
Designer
Timeline
Feb — June 2024
My role
As a designer, I collaborated with the innovation team to explore new explorative ideas for sustainable options during deployment process in Azure. I developed design and created interactive prototypes, which were tested over two rounds of usability testing.
Overview
This project explores how the team aims to understand how Azure customers set and track their cloud sustainability goals.
It focuses on identifying the metrics customers use to make deployment decisions and monitor their progress, with the goal of helping Azure better support sustainability efforts.
It focuses on identifying the metrics customers use to make deployment decisions and monitor their progress, with the goal of helping Azure better support sustainability efforts.
Outcome and Impacts
- Developed an interactive prototype and conducted usability testing with 7 participants, gathering key insights into user behavior and preferences, which informed product decisions.
- The final design received strong buy-in from the broader team. I prepared and successfully handed it off to another team for further development.
Background
As organizations increasingly migrate to cloud services, sustainability has become a top priority, seeking to reduce their carbon footprint.
However, Azure customers have limited visibility into measure and track the environmental impact of their cloud usage.
Without clear insights into sustainability metrics, customers find it difficult to make informed decisions about their cloud deployments and monitor progress towards their sustainability goals.
However, Azure customers have limited visibility into measure and track the environmental impact of their cloud usage.
Without clear insights into sustainability metrics, customers find it difficult to make informed decisions about their cloud deployments and monitor progress towards their sustainability goals.
Opportunities
The innovation team saw an opportunity to support customers in their sustainability efforts by providing greater transparency and actionable insights.
By integrating sustainability metrics into the deployment process, we aimed to help customers understand the carbon emissions associated with their cloud operations and offer recommendations for reducing their environmental impact.
This led to the development of two key features:
By integrating sustainability metrics into the deployment process, we aimed to help customers understand the carbon emissions associated with their cloud operations and offer recommendations for reducing their environmental impact.
This led to the development of two key features:
- Sustainability Metrics on the Cost Card: This feature provides users with real-time insights into the environmental impact of their cloud deployments, including carbon emissions data.
- Sustainability Recommendations: Users receive actionable recommendations on how to optimize their deployments to align with sustainability goals, such as using energy-efficient resources or selecting greener regions for deployment.
I’m happy to share more detailed progress upon request.
Contact me: hwak26@gmail.com
Contact me: hwak26@gmail.com
Added of sustainability/emissions information within the create experience by adding these details and recommendations to the cost card.
