A specific problem a technology is meant to solve, named with an owner and a measurable outcome — unlike a showcase, which exists to be demonstrated.
🤖 This definition was generated with AI from the sources linked throughout. It has not had a complete human review — treat it as a starting point and follow the sources. How this works.
A use case is the specific problem a technology is supposed to solve. It is the answer to "what is this actually for?", and a solid one names three things: the problem, the person or department that owns it, and a number that should move. Offenbach's AI document check for residence permits is one — it flags missing paperwork before an application is filed, on behalf of the immigration authority that has to process it.
Its opposite is the showcase, or lighthouse project: built to demonstrate what is newly possible. Same hardware, opposite intent. Helsinki's EU-funded Sohjoa driverless minibuses carried 3,932 passengers on a real bus route in 2019 and stopped when the project's funding did. The city's unglamorous open journey-planner interface, opened to developers in 2009-10, became open-source software now run in Estonia, several German cities and Oklahoma City. Showcases buy attention and partners; use cases compound.
The honest caveat: "use case" is often used to make a pilot sound purposeful before anyone has named who owns the outcome. The test is awkward and worth asking early — when the number does not move, who is accountable, and who still operates the thing in year five? Our essay showcase or use case works through the evidence; league tables have the same blind spot, see smart city index.
Added 2026-08-01 · Part of the growing Smart City Glossary