Design an app for the DMV (California’s Department of Motor Vehicles).

Me: Thank you, Summarizing the scope. I am building a brand new product, a mobile app for DMV (provided by DMV officially), for the state of California that could be built in 6 months with a handful of people. I did not pick Kiosk since it requires additional hardware, setup, etc. and DMV already has a web app (although I believe there is scope for improvement there). Does that sound good to you?

Interviewer: Yes

Me: Now that I understand the question, Let me share a rough structure I have in mind.

I am going to think of what is important to DMV and the goal of the app, then what we should build- such as users, pain points, and solutions, followed by final consideration like how would I measure success. Does that sound good to you?

Interviewer: Yes, go ahead.

Starting with mission and goal.

Me: Although I don't know the exact mission of DMV, I would assume it should be broadly in line with other public-serving agencies. - Provide timely services around identity, licensing, vehicle registrations to residents while enforcing the laws of the motor vehicle industry while ensuring high satisfaction to its users.

Given this mission, it is clear that a mobile app from DMV would go a long way in providing information, actionable steps to users on the go without the need for them to be physically present at DMV all the time, for every inquiry, service. So I would go with this as the mission of the product.

I would like to set a high-level objective for this product. We could look at adoption, engagement, retention, monetization. Given the scope, and the fact it is provided by directly DMV, I would like to deprioritize Monetization (although there could be future in-app monetization capabilities), and also I believe our first goal should be in building a most engaging product. Among the remaining, I would want to focus on engagement, since it is an indicator of the value we are providing to the user and is core to the product, and would drive retention and eases adoption.

Me: Next, I would want to look at users, archetypes, personas. Could I take a minute to put my thoughts?

First, I would like to point out there are a couple of sides to this app usage - Residents, DMV agents, and officers. If I have to prioritize, I would like to focus on residents, and I believe if we create a great engaging product for the residents, then it would benefit other players in the long run.

Looking at segmenting the resident user group further across a few dimensions to identifying interesting user group who may have interesting pain points, so that I could empathize with them

Based on the engagement Level

Residents who are interacting with the DMV for the first time. For example, I remember when I first came to the US and went to DMV for getting my license, I did not know anything about how DMV operates, where to ask, what to do prior, etc.

Residents who are coming back to the DMV, folks who are a little familiar with the DMV, know just enough about the basics.

Based on demographics

Age: Teens who are looking for their first license, identity, etc; Adults who want one or more standard DMV services; Seniors who need services like disability parking stickers, eye test clearance, etc.

Time: Folks who have a lot of time prepping for the DMV, spending time at the DMV, while on the other end where the time is not a constraint

Language: Persons who are familiar with English on one end to persons whose primary language is different.

Education level: a related dimension to the above is around education levels of the person and the level of understanding of different documents and their relevance and importance (Low <--> high)

Based on motivation

Resident coming for identification and driver license

Organization and drivers coming in for vehicle-related services

From this list, few interesting user groups are - Residents coming for the first time, Seniors, the user group with low English reading and speaking proficiency, and Resident coming for identification / Driver license

Based on my own personal experience, I empathize with residents coming for the first time like immigrants who lack English reading and speaking proficiency and individual residents coming in for identification/ license

Does that sound good?

Interviewer: I am good with the user segment you selected

Me: Thank you, Before I go to identify the pain points, summarizing: Product: a mobile app for DMV, Mission: Timely service and client satisfaction, Goal: Engagement, with focus on a specific user segment of residents coming for the first time like immigrants who lack English reading and speaking proficiency / lower education levels and individual residents coming in for identification/ license

Me: Can I take a minute to jot down the pain points

User Journey: Rough stages: Preparing before the visit, in DMV office, post the visit of DMV.

Pain points:

Prepare:

[1] I want to learn about DMV procedures and the documents required for my service, but it is not available in my native language

[2] I want to go to the nearest DMV, but I don't know where it is located

At DMV

[3] I want to reduce my time at DMV, but I am not able to since I don't know which counter to go for my service

[4] I want to effectively communicate with the DMV agent, but I am not proficient in speaking English

Post

[5] I want to understand the status of the request, but I don't know where and how to check or enquire because it is not available in my native language.

Of these, if I have to narrow it down, I would prioritize the pain point [1] and [4] since it is much more specific to the user segment we selected, the others are a little less unique to that. Also, this would provide maximum impact, matches to our mission of timely services and satisfaction, and as well our goal of engagement

Me: Let me brainstorm solutions, a couple of mins, please.

a] Chat-bot

Helps user to interact in their native language

which will respond with required documents based on the service requested

b] A voice-enabled assistant

Helps user interact with their native language without the need to type

which will respond with required documents based on the service requested

c] Live translation services

Helps users with translation at DMV office

which provides clarity and eases the interaction with the DMV agent

Prioritizing the solution based on impact, effort, and as well mapping it to our goal

The live translation service is really cool, as it addresses the other side - the DMV agent pain point as well, but would be difficult to implement through the app, due to noise background at DMV office and the live voice-based AI translation technology is not mature enough yet.

Of the remaining, both are good solutions, but the way I see [b] builds on top of [a], hence I would focus on [a]

Explaining a little more on [a]

Entry point: this would be the primary interface the user would interact with the App when they open up, they can select the language of interaction to be their native language.

How it Works: They type the question such as service requested, the chatbot based on NLP, understands the question and responds with relevant document set and tips on DMV procedure in the chosen language

Critical action: Based on the output, the user would be nudged to confirm they have the required documents and to book an appointment or save this list for reference in the future when they goto DMV.

Me: Any questions on the solution

Interviewer: Good, could you let me know, how you would measure the success?

Me: Sure. For this product, the most important metric is % of people who entered the flow, i.e. % people who used the chatbot and ended up either saving the document list or booked the appointment. Another related metric is % people who choose a non-English language as the chatbot interaction as it relates to our core pain point.

Let me also touch downside of this metric, as I said this single metric does not tell the full picture, although it indicates engagement, if the users who revisit the app are not leveraging the chatbot again, then it is not provided enough value. Also, it does not track the other side - if it made DMV agents more productive or did it increase the number of people completing their service successfully in their first visit

Also, it is not clear what is driving this metric, meaning if the metric is low, why is that so. I would augment it with metrics to understand the drop-off rate from chatbot after initiation, the time taken for the chatbot to respond, etc.

Let me summarize:

Product: a mobile app for DMV; Mission: Timely service and client satisfaction; Goal: Engagement; User segment: Non-English reading/speaking residents; Pain point: Preparing for the visit with the right set of documents; Solution: Chatbot with NLP in their native language; Metric: % users who entered the flow either saved the document list or went on to book an appointment.; Also we discussed some counter metrics

It is only starting point we just picked one user segment, a couple of pain points, and one solution. I can see how this mobile app would be used by almost all residents visiting the DMV and the value it can provide in delivering timely services with high user satisfaction

Achim Fehlker · Answer 2 · 2020-03-25T20:40:03+0000

Outline Approach

I will start with asking clarifying questions to ensure I have a solid understanding as it relates to the problem statement and design goals.

Second, I will brainstorm a list of user groups and pick one to focus on, ID their user needs, then prioritize them

Lastly, I will brainstorm solutions to address the design goal and the needs of the user group I am designing the product for, ID metrics to track success, and summarize the solution.

Clarify Scope for the Product Design Challenge

I understand that you would like for me to design an app for the DMV. I will decide later and after I have picked a user group and understand use case for that user group better or to focus the product design on if to build a mobile app, MEW, or a Facebook app.

I will assume to minimizing the time spent at the DMV to be measured as average time per DMV visit. Will that work?

User Groups

Various user groups are:

DMV Visitors: people that contact the DMV to complete a task related to their cars or driving (e.g. renewing license, changing car ownership, etc). Their primary need is to minimize overall time spent on DMV related tasks such as renewing registration, drivers license, etc., minimize time at the DMV, get their documents as quickly as possible, etc.
DMV agents: they represent the DMV and help citizens complete their tasks. Their primary need is to have as pleasant a work environment as possible and as productive as possible.
DMV Management: They manage the agents and other DMV employees. Their primary need is for the DMV to run efficiently as possible to reduce overall cost, while providing great customer service.

I will chose DMV Visitors because they are the largest group and designing for them can make the biggest impact on the design goal, which is to reduce time per visit at the DMV.

List User Needs for My Persona for the User Journey

It is difficult to make and keep track of appointments
When visiting the DMV they need to take a number to reserve a spot in the queue to speak with a DMV agent if they don’t have an appointment and wait for an extended period of time.
When it is their turn to speak with an agent, visitors need to provide documents to identify themselves and submit an application form, then they are told that they should have filled out the application prior to their visit – they step out of line for that get back into line after done with filling out appl.
Visitors sometimes realize at the time of their visit that they are missing some documents and that they would need to come back another day to present the missing documents.
Visitors often cannot renew their drivers license without coming into the DMV.
Visitors wait for a long time to receive the documents they came in for from the DMV (e.g. drivers license).

Prioritize the User Needs

User Pain Point	Level of Pain (H = 3, L = 1)	Frequency of Pain (H = 3, L = 1)	Total Score (LP + FP)
1. It is difficult to make and keep track of appointments	1	2	3
2. Take number, wait long for appointment	3	2	5

3. Need to fill out doc to ID and appl., did not know ahead	3	1	4
4. Missing docs at time appt.	3	2	5
5. Cannot renew DL online at times	2	1	3
6. Wait few weeks to receive new doc in via mail	2	2	4

Based on the scores above, I have chosen user needs / use pain points 2, 4, and 6.

Brainstorm & Evaluate Solution

Product Goal: “Design an app for DMV visitors to minimize the time spent at the DMV.”

Given that mobile phone usage has increased drastically in recent years to over 60% and given that we can cater and market a DMV strictly to the DMV office visit (rather than adding this functionality to the existing DMV website), we will assume a mobile app as a solution.

Top User Pain Points	Solution	CSAT / Design Goal Impact (H = 3, L = 1)	Impact on Biz / Revenue (H = 3, L = 1)	Impl. Cost (H = 3, L = 1)	Total Score
1. Long wait time DMV w/o an appointment	1.1 Allow users to reserve their space in line before the visit in the app – they will receive an in app notification when it is their turn 1.2 App will route users to next window via notification and in app navigation 1.3 Check into DMV by scanning a barcode rather than by seeing someone – this will alert DMV employees that you are present for your appointment 1.4 Bring DMV to the DMV customer via a house visit	3 2 2 3	2 1 2 1	3 1 3 3	8 4 7 7
2. Missing docs at time appt. (score 5)	2.1 Citizens who use the mobile app to make an appointment or reserve their space in line w/o appointment, do not have to fill out a checkin form out 2.2 Manage the entire application process in app incl. prefill info from app, inform that docs needed to bring, etc. via app self service	1 3	2 3	3 2	6 8
3. Wait few weeks to receive new doc in via mail (score 4)	3.1 Documents are delivered into the mobile app immediately after appointment, e.g. drivers license where a user can use the mobile app as ID, if that is not enough, user can ask for printed drivers license as well	3	3	2	8

Circle the components of the solution to build in above matrix, then summarize recommendation.

Summarize Recommendation

In summary, I designed an app for DMV visitors to minimize the time spent to obtain DMV documents. The user pain points or needs I prioritized to solve for were to address long wait times at the DMV w/o an appointment, DMV visitors realizing at the time of their visit that they are missing key documents and need to come back to DMV for that, and lastly that they needed to wait for weeks to get the documents from the DMV (e.g. drivers license). The proposed solution would be a mobile app in support of the customers DMV visit, incl. the following features as the initial MVP based on having the highest impact on CSAT, biz goals, and implementation cost:

1. Manage the entire application process in app incl. prefill info from app, inform that docs needed to bring, etc.

2. Allow users to reserve their space in line before the visit in the app – they will receive an in app notification when it is their turn

3. Deliver DMV documents to the mobile app immediately after the appointment, e.g. using mobile app as ID for drivers licen

This mobile app will reduce the time it takes for DMV customers to apply for documents, wait time at the DMV, while increasing DMV staff productivity and reducing the elapsed time for customers to receive their DMV document

Metrics to track effectiveness of the app:

Time customer / citizen spent at DMV – tracked by checking into DMV and out via scan at DMV office
Total time spent by citizen on DMV docs
Elapsed time for customers to receive documents (e.g. drivers license)
CSAT metric for citizen, e.g. Foresee survey / NPS score compare to baseline

Bijan · Answer 3 · 2018-08-12T19:12:44+0000

I would first ask the interviewer if they have a particular goal in mind in the design of the app or if I can chose mine. There are a few goals that I can think of:

– reduce number of calls made to DMV support line
– reduce number of visits made to DMV office
– reduce the average time spent per visit by citizens at the DMV

For the purpose of this interview, I’d ask the interviewer if it’s ok for me to focus on reducing the average time spent per visit at the DMV. Let’s assume they agree with my goal.

There are a few different persona’s that could benefit from a DMV app:
– DMV employee
– Government officer seeking information
– Citizen seeking service from the DMV

I’m going to ask the interviewer if it’s ok to focus on building an app for the citizen who would be using the DMV app. Let’s assume they agree.

Next, I want to think about the use cases of a citizen who’s seeking service form the DMV:

– Visiting the DMV help desk to explain the reason for their visit and ask to see a DMV officer. They usually get a number at this point.
– Wait for their number to be called
– Visit an officer and provide documents to identify themselves
– Explain reason for visit and provide documents needed for the request (e.g. renewing driver’s license, registering a car, taking a driver’s license test, et)
– Pay for service with their credit card
– Wait for a few days / weeks to receive new documents / letters from DMV

There are other use cases. Here, I’ve highlighted some of the most important and time consuming ones. Here are a few ideas to reduce time spent per visit:

1. Book your visit in advance and present wait times at different hours
2. Provide real time information on where you are in the queue to visit a DMV officer
3. Enable user to select reason for visit from the app. Provide a list of required documents and ask the user to confirm that they will bring all the requested documents to the DMV.
4. Enable user to upload required documents in advance
5. Accept payment via phone in advance
6. Provide status updates on the request. Help user see if the card / license / registration document has been created / mailed / delivered.

I would now want to evaluate these ideas against each other based on impact on DMV, impact on the end user, and cost of implementation.

1. Medium impact on the DMV. This can help DMV encourage users to book appointments at slower times of the day. High impact on the user since it reduces their wait time and gets rid of the first step (getting a #). Implementation cost is medium as you will need to develop a process that connects inside office and mobile data to each other

2. Low impact on the DMV. Medium impact on the user as they can use the wait time to get something done (e.g. shopping) while waiting and still be back before it’s their turn. Low cost since the app just needs to connect to the queue data

3. Medium impact on the DMV since many people do their own research to ensure they do have the required documents. High impact on the user as it makes it easier for them to understand what’s needed. Low cost of implementation.

4. Low impact for the DMV since they might have concerns around fraud. Medium impact on the consumer since they now have to take out their phones and take pictures. High cost of implementation since the development of such service requires some special capabilities (e.g. eliminate blurry images, fraud detection, etc)

5. High impact for the DMV as it helps them reduce number of payment terminals needed at the DMV offices. It also helps them speed up the service. High impact for the consumer as they don’t have to take their wallet and pay in the office. Medium implementation cost to connect payment on the app to DMV’s financial system

6. Low impact for the DMV. Medium impact for the user (not critical information). Medium cost of implementation since DMV has to connect to its backend to get access to status of a request

Based on what’s discussed above, I suggest that we first prioritize building features 1, 3, and 5 as the initial features of the app. User can book their visit in advance and pick a time that suits them the most while knowing the traffic at the DMV office at the different times of the day. Feature 3 helps them ensure that they do possess all the information they need to complete the job they are visiting the DMV office for. It also helps DMV officer know immediately the reason for the visit And feature 5 ensures no time is wasted for payment in the DMV office.

[email protected] · Answer 4 · 2023-10-11T19:35:57+0000

Problem statement - Currently California DMV does not have mobile support and that is affecting users. Design user friendly and efficient mobile app that helps mobile app users finish their tasks in seamless manner and provide best user experience

Vision statement - to create cutting-edge DMV mobile app that revolutionize the way citizens engage with their state’s department of motor vehicles for all their driving related services.

Product Goal - DMV service plays crucial role in everyone lives, providing cross platform experience will help DMV users flexibility and will improve their efficiency. It will also improve DMV staff's productivity. My northstar would be engagement.

Before we dive deeper I want to clarify few things

Do we have specific goal or business objective defined for building this app

I have few goals that I can think of

Reduce customer queries at DMV office
Convenience - Reduce number of visits at DMV office
Improve efficiency by reducing the wait time at DMV
end to end integration - finish payment transaction for drivers services

For our exercise is it OK for me to focus on improving efficiency by reducing the wait time at the DMV

I will like to further understand who are our target user persona’s

Some of the persona's that I think of that will benefit from using the DMV mobile app

DMV visitors - people that visit DMV to complete a task related to their cars or driving (e.g. renewing license, changing car ownership, etc).
DMV employees - they represent the DMV and help citizens complete their tasks. Their primary need is to have as pleasant a work environment as possible and as productive as possible.
Driving schools - instructors and administators who need to schedule driving tests for their students.

For this exercise is it ok to focus on building an app for the DMV Visitors who would be using the DMV mobile app as I think this will be the bucket where majority of the users will fall.

DMV visitors can further be broken down into - vehicle owners, drivers - personal and commercial, parents.

As I put myself in DMV visitor shoes my major pain points are

Hard to book or make appointment as limited slot availability
No real time info on the wait time after getting your number
Online check-in
No method to upload documents and verification before meeting agent
Document verification is done at a later stage. This lowers the efficiency

There are other use cases. Here, I’ve highlighted some of the most important and time consuming ones that I have experienced myself along with others.

After looking at all the pain points I think “Online check-in and way to upload documents and verification before meeting agents or visiting DMV offices” will be a big problem for DMV visitors and that I think this will be critical to solve as it is the main problem and once solved will be impactful for both visitors and DMV agents. As it will help improve efficiency by reducing time which was our main objective.

Is it Ok for our purpose that we go with Online check-in and take it further on how we can solve this for DMV visitors?

Some of the solutions that I think of that will help with online check in and also improve the efficiency are:-

Mobile QR code check in - eliminates manual input from user which helps save time and also reduces errors.
Queue management - Real time personalized wait updates. This will help visitor to track the progress and how much time to their appt.
Push notifications - notify user when it is about time with details on where to go. This will nudge the user that the agent is ready for them and will help navigate where to go.
Appointment exchange - if I am running late and if someone wants to take early give option to exchange the appt. This helps with flexibility and missed appointments.

As I further evaluate the solutions and determine the impact vs priority

Mobile QR code check in - High Impact, Low complexity. QR code technology already exists; it is just a matter of integrating into our platform.
Queue management - Medium impact, Medium complexity
Push notifications - low impact, low complexity
Appointment swap - Medium impact, Medium complexity

We looked at the problem of designing a mobile app for DMV. We further narrowed down on the scope, user personas and went through customer pain points and prioritized them based on impact and frequency. After that I went into solution mode and identified solutions and classified them into impact vs complexity and what are the solutions we want to focus on for our initial release and what can we work on in future.

Based on all those analyses my recommendation will be to build Mobile QR code check in. This is high impact with low complexity as it will help users for quick check in without adding all the manual information. This will also eliminate errors during check in and will improve the efficiency which was our primary goal.

For future integration I would prioritize - queue management, push notifications, appointment swap.

Some metrics that I want to monitor for success of Online check-in capability would be:-

1) Adoption - # of users downloaded mobile app

2) Engagement - Active users, # of online check in, time to check in, time spent on app, user demographics using app,

3) Retention - CSAT score

solders15 · Answer 5 · 2018-08-12T19:11:57+0000

First thing to understand is whether the interviewer has any goals for the app.
– Assume the interviewer says that the goal is to improve throughput of the physical DMV.
This would imply the app’s goal is to allow users to move services online if they can be so done.

Implementation platform – Android, iOS and Windows (I would implement in that order, but the order can be changed based on user research)

Pain points of the customer – Time at the DMV, Time to get an appointment, Distance to DMV, Appointment doesn’t match schedule – may need to cancel etc, forget to register, or pay fees etc.

1. From the user journeys understand the services offered by the DMV – license renewal, address change, driving test, state ID (?), vehicle registration, smog check, pay fines, print out forms, voter registration, book a physical appointment at the DMV.
2. Decide the services that can potentially be done online and move them online – license renewal, address change, print out forms, voter registration (?)
3. Simple app that clearly lists features as a table on the landing page and opens up appropriate forms and payment options. (For this I would keep the user journey in visiting the DMV in mind)
4. Authenticate the user using a combination of license number, SSN, address etc initially. Setup an account for the user with username password (including biometrics) for return visits, with appropriate mechanism to retrieve login information if the user forgets it.
5. Fill out all the relevant details in the form for submission and make sure that the user verifies that the instructions are accurate.
6. User fills in details required that are not already filled in and accurate. Part of this is use of available camera to upload new photos if needed.
7. Payment via secured server – Credit/debit card/ Check
8. Clear feedback to user about any missing/incorrect information.
9. Feedback to the user that the transaction was successful, with potential dates of completion of the service (e.g. when the user can expect to receive a card) to the user.
10. Send a copy of the transaction to the user’s email as well as offer to save a copy of the transaction on the user’s device.

Above features will be the basic needs or the MVP of the product.

For delighters (in Kano language), I will add the following features:
1. For physical appointments – tracking of queue length at each DMV in the user’s vicinity (scoped by distance)
2. Offer to shift appointment to a different DMV if the overall objective of the user is to save time.
3. Addons to the app that will allow the user to print out cards/registration plates if the user has appropriate infrastructure.
4. Reminders from the DMV to finish any lagging
5. Real-time video sessions to contest cases.

Risks – Concern about privacy. Users may not trust government to store personal information.