INTEGRATING WEB APPS TO PROVIDE A CLEAR USER JOURNEY

In compliance with NDAs, some confidential information has been generalized or omitted.
All info below is my own, and does not necessarily reflect the views of the company.

OVERVIEW

Like many state-run services, the website for this state’s DMV was slow and antiquated. After an initial scope of work to update the organization’s content footprint and branding, a holistic digital transformation and modernization of all web services and applications was necessary.

The key priorities were to:

• Increase throughput of online self-help transactions
• Modernize by simplifying workflows and reducing steps in complex processes
• Apply new branding and design system for a seamless visual experience
• Reduce in-person demand on DMV field offices (through actions above)

THE PROBLEM

The DMV website and its web applications, where things like registration renewals or filing an address change are completed, have always been disparate technology stacks as well as individual UX flows and processes.

Also, once logged in, users were not prompted or led to curated tasks that applied to them, their licenses, records, vehicles, etc.

DESIRED OUTCOME

A platform-agnostic system for a consistent, seamless digital experience for DMV users. This initiative would prove especially important during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic to minimize in-person transactions.

Our iterative approach to designing and engineering a shared design system created visual continuity, reduced the time to launch for each subsequent application, simplified maintenance requirements, and lowered the long-term cost of app ownership.

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PROCESS

RESEARCH:

Data was gathered through conversion funnel analysis, A/B testing, heat mapping, and user testing (via screen recordings and user surveys) to better understand how people used and interacted with the apps, where friction was encountered, and when and how often tasks are abandoned.

The data was then interpreted and presented to the DMV Executive Team. These analyses and insights that ensured an improved user experience and increased conversion rates were roadmapped for a year-long period.

LEARNINGS ALONG THE WAY

It became clear that users were confused
because they were not being prompted to
log in first. They were searching through
many pages of the site to find the thing
they were there to do.

DESIGN:

This led us to propose the My DMV Dashboard, where upon logging in, the user is brought to their “home page,” with all of their info loaded and any upcoming expirations and next steps clearly flagged.

Using the established look and feel of the DMV from the first scope of work, two different avenues were explored for the dashboard: one involved the use of the website’s design system, and the other was a completely new experience after login from the website proper.

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IN CONCLUSION

In the end, the idea of My DMV Dashboard was widely liked and accepted as a third scope of work that would be outlined and started after all the web app improvements had been completed.

This also gave the engineers time to integrate the back-end components necessary to execute a unified dashboard that pulls information from all the different databases once the user logs in.

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PROJECT SCOPE

As mentioned, there were a number of web apps within the scope of the project:

1. Driver’s license renewals and replacements
2. Change of address
3. Release of liability and notice of vehicle transfer
4. Vehicle registration renewal
5. Request a driver or vehicle record
6. Insurance submission
7. Personalized license plates

Each app had its own discovery phase and was then assessed for improvements and had the new visual design language applied. Below is an abridged outline of how we handled the Change of Address app.

REQUIREMENTS SPECIFIC TO CHANGE OF ADDRESS (CoA)

Among general simplification of complexities and improvements to the overall flow, we were also specifically asked to resolve some other issues specific to this web app: allowing users to opt-in for text updates and including a way for users to update the address for disabled parking placards.

CONSTRAINTS RELATING TO CoA

A major constraint that we found during discovery was that even though a user will change the address for their driver’s license or vehicle registration(s), they would not received any new documentation, the address change was only being recorded on their DMV account.

As we were contemplating this problem, it became obvious that this was a perfect opportunity for resolution through the My DMV Dashboard. In that instance we would be able to offer the option for a replacement DL (at that point one of the other separate, not integrated apps) after the address change.

We continued improving the flow of this app because regardless of where it was to appear, the actual user tasks, and their content, would be the same.