︎

Modernizing Dearborn's permit application process. 

  • UX Research & Design
  • Product Design

My Role:

  • UX Researcher & Designer

For:

  • Interaction Design
  • University of Michigan Ann Arbor
  • January - May 2022

Client and Project Goal

Under new governance, the City of Dearborn merged various departments in an effort to streamline and modernize their processes. As a part of this, the newly created Department of Economic Development, which is responsible for overseeing permit applications and inspections, aimed to streamline and modernize their permit application process. Our task was to develop a prototype for the Department’s new website, digitize the permit application process, and to identify and eliminate the bottlenecks and pain-points in the permit application process.

Research Goal

  1. To understand the processes of drafting, submitting, reviewing, and reworking permit applications;

  2. Identify stakeholder behavior, needs, wants, and motivations at each stage of each process;

  3. Identify bottlenecks and points-of-frustration, as well as their underlying causes within these processes.

Key Findings

  1. Delivering applications via drop-off is faster, but it is also costly, time intensive, and inefficient, delivery by mail is more efficient but requires wait time. Applicants would prefer an online approach to the permit application process as this would optimize both and avoid "paper shuffling".

  2. Because Dearborn's process is uniquely complicated and lacks a centralized place for information and updates, there are a lot of unnecessary rejections due lack of clarity of code interpretations, out-dated information, lack of information, and insufficient or out-dated forms.

  3. DAC is hard to reach. Only applicants that know who to contact in the DAC (and how) are able to get updated information, timely updates, feedback, and clarification, and even work with reviewers to prevent unnecessary rejections.

  4. Feedback for applications and inspections is not timely and is less clear and actionable than needed, and, at times, contradicts other feedback provided by the department.

  5. Feedback is only communicated to the "Permit Puller" (rather than all necessary stakeholders). This leads to communication breakdowns, unnecessary lag time, and even unnecessary rejections and resubmissions.

  6. Permit-pullers face difficulties in understanding inspection codes when scheduling inspections and understanding the feedback shared after inspections.

  7. Scheduling inspections requires a lot of back and forth between customers and contractors and inspectors and often results in communication breakdowns because it can only be done by the permit puller.

Research Methodology

We began our research by meeting with Dearborn’s Director of Economic Development to gain a better understanding of the context and goals of our project as well as the problem-space itself. We then solidified our understanding of the internal processes and permit-application review processes at the Dearborn Administrative Center (DAC) by conducting a contextual analysis of the permits team at the DAC, which included interviews (4 reviewers, 2 staff, 1 admin) and artifact analysis of example applications, forms, and the workspace. To get a full picture of the permitting process, we interviewed six contractors and property owners to understand the applicant’s experience when applying for permits.



Synthesis

We synthesized our findings by creating an affinity diagram where we compiled the information gathered and sorted it into groups based on similarity, which allowed us to identify patterns and extract key findings. Then, in order to contextualize our findings within the overall permitting workflow, we mapped and analyzed the entire permitting process, including both the applicants’ and the reviewers’ processes. To humanize our findings and set a concrete design audience, we created personas based on our research.




To help us to better empathize with the needs, goals, behaviors, and preferences of the applicants we created two personas.




Design Requirements

To focus our design efforts, we created a list of design requirements based on our findings and persona, as well as the needs of the City and its residents, the design must:

  1. Establish a channel to submit applications that is time and cost efficient, easy to navigate, and accommodates time-sensitive submissions;
  2. Provide a centralized place for information, updates, and forms for all things permits-related, as well as features that help applicants quickly and easily access the information they need throughout the application preparation and submission process;
  3. Establish clear and easy to access channels of communication between all relevant stakeholders and review/inspection staff;
  4. Establish dedicated channels for feedback on applications and inspections that is updated in a timely manner and accessible by all necessary stakeholders;
  5. Include an efficient means of coordinating and scheduling inspections;
  6. Be inherently adaptable to other languages, namely Arabic due to Dearborn’s large Arab population

Prototyping

Paper Prototype

Based on our findings, design requirements, and persona our team drafted various paper prototypes to find the best site and information architecture.

Lo-Fi Prototype 1

Through a round of user testing with application reviewers, we refined our design and developed a digital Lo-Fi prototype that consisted of an informational main website and a dedicated application portal. This allowed us to optimize information-findability, ease of online application submission and review, and backend database integration for reviewers.

Lo-Fi Prototype 2

We then ran another round of user testing, this time with contractors (the large majority of applicants), and further iterated our design with the following changes:

  • Improved visibility of application statuses and feedback
    • Emphasized permits that require action
    • A space where the user can see all their active permits at once
    • Emphasized the feedback section within permit application pages
  • Streamlined application preparation and submission
    • Created online forms that users could fill out, so they no longer needed to download, fill, and upload PDF versions of applications
  • Refined website content, structure, visual design
    • Reorganizing content to make information more intuitive
    • In-context links to the permit portal
      • Emphasis on the contact information
    • Portal and Website : Visual changes
      • Removing unambiguous terms
      • Improving typography and visual aids

Final Design Mid-Fi Handoff

Applying for permits and scheduling inspections has always been a convoluted and messy process, especially when:

  • There is no centralized place to go to for information on building codes, zoning regulation, permit costs, etc.;
  • The application forms and information on permits are often left outdated;
  • It’s difficult to reach the administrative offices to get updates, ask questions, or schedule inspections;
  • Updates aren’t properly communicated to the right people at the right time; and
  • Everything needs to be turned in by mail or in-person

Through its new website and dedicated permits portal, the City of Dearborn aims to alleviate these frustrations and make applying for permits as easy as ordering food delivery on your phone.

Centralized Information Hub

The new website features a comprehensive, centralized location for all permit-related information and paperwork. This ensures that residents and businesses have access to up-to-date details on development/construction regulation and permits.

Dedicated Permit Portal

The new dedicated portal offers users a central hub for all their permits and applications. Here, users can access all of their approved permits, submit applications for new permits, schedule inspections, get updates and feedback on applications or inspections, and communicate with reviewers all in one convenient place.


Featuring a step-by-step application process, users can quickly and easily apply for new permits.

Relevant information is linked at every step of the process to help applicants find the answer to any questions they might have without needing to ask for help.

Built-in features, such as the automatic address check that ensures the address listed is within city limits, helps prevent unnecessary rejections due to filing errors.

The portal also eliminates repetitive tasks when applying for multiple permits by letting applicants save and quick-fill information, such as addresses and contacts.

To ensure effective and efficient communication with everyone, applicants are now able to add all relevant project members allowing them to get updates and feedback and communicate with the reviewers.


byes~ thank you!