City of Dearborn Navigation
and Permit Redesign
A redesign of the City of Dearborn, Michigan's navigation and permit fill-in process to enhance location of required forms, decrease completion time, and improve user satisfaction.
118% User Satisfaction
3.5 months
Team of 5
Project Overview
As mobile Internet usage becomes increasingly common, users expect to be able to complete tasks on their phones as easily as they do on a desktop. The City of Dearborn's forms and permits are integral parts of users' usage, but suffered from usability and navigation challenges that caused decreased productivity and lack of user trust.
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We aimed to:
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Redesign the way lists were laid out to increase information visualization
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Develop an easy way to save progress and submit forms and permits
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Increase user-friendliness when completing an online form or permit
Key Challenge
The existing interface design had confusing navigation and a poor mobile version, which was preventing users from efficiently finding and completing required permits, thus decreasing user satisfaction and negatively effecting business.
Project Details
Role
UX Researcher & Designer
Timeline
January - April 2025
Responsibilities
Research, wireframing, analysis, usability testing, VADER sentiment analysis​
Tools
Figma
Research & Discovery
User Interviews
Through the use of user interviews and preliminary testing, we were able to identify where in the permit fill-in and location process, users were having challenges.
Task Analyses
Using task analyses, I identified ways to reduce the number of steps needed to complete the permits - thus reducing time taken and cognitive load.
Think-Aloud
By having users talk through each step, the team and I found common themes in user challenges, helping us identify why users were having these challenges.
Key Research Insights
User pain points
Users experience challenges in locating their desired permits due to the horizontal scroll of the permit carousel - a feature that does not match users' mental models of scroll styles
Forms and permits open as an editable PDF in a new window. This window switching can cause confusion. Additionally, the zooming in and out required to select the correct textboxes can cause delays and incorrect inputs.
When required to save the filled in PDF to later email and submit, user found that if they accidentally clicked out of the form, their progress was not saved. Furthermore, switching between windows and email, required documents may have been forgotten to get attached.
Opportunities to improve
By discovering that users were unfamiliar with horizontal scroll or carousel layouts, we saw an opportunity to enhance the navigation.
Poor input capabilities presented the opportunity to design a more user-friendly way to enter user information and fill out permits.
Realizing that information was not saved if users accidentally clicked off the form, we saw the chance to design a place on the website that privately stored user information so they could easier work on the permits whenever.
User Personas
Kim Peterson
Helpful young professional
Demographics
22, college student living in an on-campus house, very tech-savvy
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Goals
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​wants to be able to fill out permits/forms on her bus ride to class
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needs something that she work on in small increments, must save her work
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Frustrations
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​might not have all the information right then, so she wants to be able to enter what she knows now and come back when she has the rest
Ed Wilson
Retired, fun grandfather
Demographics
70, retired, watches his grandchildren and realizes the street may need a stop sign, bad with technology
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Goals
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​wants to be able to easily submit requests for changes on his street
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needs to be user-friendly
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Frustrations
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​Having to zoom in and out and switch between apps is hard with his lack of smartphone experience
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Current PDF fill-in is too small
Sarah Daniels
Local business woman
Demographics
35, new mother, owns a local business, always on the go
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Goals
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​needs to be able to work from anywhere with her busy lifestyle
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wants to be able to efficiently work permits for her business
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Frustrations
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​lack of saving her progress on a permit is frustrating when she needs to balance work, kids, and contractors
Design Process
1. Information Architecture
Restructured the mobile layout to remove confusing horizontal scrolling
Implemented long list style - more familiar to users
Time to find permit decreased by ~43%
Increase in user satisfaction
Usability Testing
Built interactive prototype and conducted usability tests
10 usability tests
3 Think-Alouds with VADER sentiment analyses
2. Wireframing/Sketching
Created paper wireframes for rapid idea generation
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helped identify key features such as progress bar and "permit portal" to save work
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focused on mobile approach
Solutions
Improved access to important links
Removing horizontal scroll for easier navigation
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Enhanced form fill-in
Results & Impact
118%
Increase in User Satisfaction
65.3%
Faster Permit Completion Time
42.7%
Faster to Locate Permit
Key Achievements
Site impact
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Navigation was redesigned to improve users' ability to find their permits.
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A permit portal was created to allow users to start a permit and come back as needed.
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A online form was implemented to save time from switching apps and make inputting information easier for users.
User impact
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VADER sentiment analysis showed a 118% increase in user satisfaction.
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Usability testing revealed a 65% decrease in time required to complete permits.
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Usability testing showed users found their permits 42.7% faster.
Reflection/Lessons Learned
What Worked
Providing long list helped improve users time to locating their permits
Taking the time to run Think-Alouds helped us understand why users were having challenges, so we could design for their needs
Having the form on the site made editing and saving information much faster and easier for users
What Didn't
Of the user satisfaction, the progress bar is the only feature that user didn't report aiding feedback of system status. I propose a brighter blue or branding adding an accent color.
We initially started with a lot of pre-planned ideas. The think-aloud and user testing helped us focus on the user needs.
Reflection
This project reminded me that good UX in government services is about dignity and inclusion. A form or may seem small, but it represents access to benefits, permits and rights. The biggest shift in my practice was learning how to balance regulatory constraints with human-centered design. Instead of accepting compliance as a barrier, I reframed it as a design parameter - creativity with constraints made the solution stronger.
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This experience deepened my belief that UX design is not just about interfaces, but about building trust in institutions.
Laura Weisz
UX Researcher & Designer passionate about accessible. engaging, user-friendly digital experiences that make a meaningful impact on people's lives.
Navigation
2025 Laura Weisz
Contact Info
Email: laurakweisz@gmail.com
Location: USA