Key Findings from the Secondary Research

• Lack of proper in-site infrastructure
• Unnecessary scattering of information
• Unclear information
• Unfriendly system
• Longer in-between time

Following are the observed reasons for depending on the mediator to complete the task:

• No complete knowledge about the process and place.
• People want to complete the task with less time and strain.
• Frustration created in many cases. (Case 1 From Report)

To know the users and the exact problem faced by the users while applying for online application of Driving License a task-based user test was conducted for existing portals with 5 users. User test was divided into two stages. First user test was conducted without a video guide and the second test was conducted a video guide. Video guide was about the process of Driving License.

The method of contextual inquiry was employed to conduct the user study. The enquiry aimed to generate insights about the type of process followed by the user and the problem faced while applying for the Driving License. A semi-structured interview was conducted for different types of users. For example, Students would be asked a slightly different set of questions than the working group. 2 private staff were also interviewed since they work extensively with Wadala RTO officers. 4 RTO officers from Wadala RTO were interviewed to enquire about the RTO system. The interviews were recorded and a transcript was created during the contextual enquiry.

• There is a lack of awareness of online application portals.
• People are unaware of license Fees, documents and process.
• People get Influenced by their friends to take help from Driving school and Agents.

There are three types of people:

• Type A people are busy with their life that they don’t want to stress themselves so they go to the mediator.
• Type B people go to online government portal but get confused by scattered information and lack of information.
• Type C people are unaware of the online portals, so they take help from someone.
• Applicants are more familiar with smartphones than desktops.

Ideation

The app provides an offline tracking feature whereby the user can enter/check out their status/progress throughout the procedure. Instruction for each step is provided for both online or offline processes. Further video tutorial is provided on how to fill the form. Also for additional help, a list of FAQs will be given for every step.

Iterating further on the design idea, the offline feature is replaced by an online tracking feature which enables the web app to track user progress automatically without having him/her to enter manually. Also, it would give the live status. The instruction to all steps has been continued as same. Another major iteration added is the feature to apply online and fill application forms directly from the app. Also, FAQ’s have been filtered in a way that only the ones that are currently relevant at a point will be provided to save the user from unnecessary hassle of sorting. From the key findings and Including all the features working low fidelity prototype was created.

Information Architecture

From the key findings of primary and secondary research above Information Architecture is created.

Design Decision

It was seen that for communication and online surfing a mobile phone was used on a larger scale, while a desktop was used by very less number of people so my 1st preference was to create Mobile-based Web Application. In a nutshell, the following were the key insights discovered after the User study and evaluation.

• Users do not need all information all the time.
• The process should follow the instructions, users need to know the flow of things.
• Type C people are unaware of the online portals, so they take help from someone.
• Mobile phones are used as a medium to reach many users as a web app.

Design Detailes

Heuristic Evaluation

A heuristic evaluation was conducted with a group of 3 interaction design students. The aim was to find any usability faults in the information architecture. It was concluded from the received feedback that the idea was not a foolproof one, even though it was intriguing. The heuristic evaluation led to the following insights:

• Too many options on the landing screen. No categorization of sorts.
• Taxonomies are not well defined in the application. It can make the user get lost in too much data.
• Too many hierarchies which can cause the user to get confused in the whole structure.
• The instructions, form elements are too verbal.
• It doesn’t have the option to save/remember user’s application number.
• It doesn’t have the option to save the previous tasks like filling application forms if the app got closed accidentally.
• It has many application forms which don't have the option to fetch information from the user profile. Also, there is no user profile customization option.

Card Sorting

A card sorting was done with 5 interaction design students. The aim was to find any usability faults in the information architecture.

Information Architecture

From the key findings of heuristic evaluation and card sorting above refined Information Architecture is created.

Final Design Detailes

Scenarios

Scenario 1 - Online Application:
I was filling the form through the online portal and progressing through the steps. After filling several steps later realized that the internet connection had been lost. When I connected again I realize that I lost all the previous progress and now will have to fill the entire form from the beginning. Another time after covering quite a few steps I was not able to understand the current step that I was on. Without understanding that step I could not move further. Therefore I had to quit the entire process. After understanding that particular step later, when I went back, I had to start all over again.

Solution for Scenario 1:
During the online form filling procedure when the net connection went off in between, the bars of the app went black and white which gave me the indication for the same. After I got connected with the network again I didn't lose my entire data as the whole app filling procedure was divided into chunks and each chunk got saved as I progressed through them. Also, the next time when I got confused with a certain step and had to quit the app, all the previous steps were saved and I could continue anytime

Scenario 2 - At RTO:
After filling the form online I went to the RTO office but got confused with the further steps. Not only that I was not sure where to approach for a particular process. When I finally reached a counter, I realized that I forgot some of the documents that were required for validation and had to go back to retrieve them. By the time I came back, the office was already closed.

Solution for Scenario 2:
I reached the RTO office after completing the pre-processes through the mobile web app. Before leaving, the app notified me of what all documents to take for a particular process of verification. Through the FAQs section of the app, I got all my doubts cleared already on how to proceed. The app also provided me with clear instructions on how to proceed sequentially. This saved most of my time and I could complete the process hassle-free.

Evaluation

The purpose of evaluation for the project is to understand the usability and findability.

Objective of evaluation:

Evaluation Protocol :
Simplicity/ Feasibility of the web app should be tested by giving a think-aloud performance test to the user. The participants would have to use the web application while continuously thinking out loud, or verbalizing their thoughts as they move through the interface or perform the given tasks. A performance test will find whether the user can complete the task and how much time they took to complete it. The test will include the following tasks.