City of Dearborn — Case Study

The Problem

Government forms that shouldn't be hard.

As mobile internet usage becomes increasingly common, users expect to complete tasks on their phones as easily as on a desktop. The City of Dearborn's forms and permits are integral parts of users' lives — but the system suffered from usability and navigation challenges that caused decreased productivity and eroded user trust.

A permit isn't just a form. It represents access to benefits, rights, and civic participation. When that process fails, it fails people who often have no alternative.

Design Question

How might we redesign the permit and form fill-in process to reduce the number of steps needed, ease locating the desired permits, and improve the usability of the form?

01 — Discovery

Six people. Every friction point surfaced.

6 individuals — ages 23 to 63 — were asked to find a specific permit on the mobile site, then fill it out and locate where to send it as if they were going to submit it. The cognitive walkthrough revealed frustrations that were immediate and consistent.

6

Cognitive walkthrough participants · ages 23–63

Participants were asked to locate a permit, fill it out, and find submission instructions — simulating a real-world use case on mobile. Every participant encountered friction at multiple points in the process.

"

It took me so long to find the right permit. You'd never know that there were more besides the two that you can see right away… having to zoom in and out repeatedly to find the right box to write in then fill out is really frustrating and time consuming.

— Participant 3

"

I can't find it… am I allowed to ask for help from you?

— Participant 4, to the interviewer

02 — Define

Three core gaps. All addressable.

A task analysis mapped the full permit process end-to-end with impairment and mobile constraints included — identifying where the experience broke down and why.

Task analysis diagram for City of Dearborn permit process

Task analysis — the full permit process broken down with friction points identified at each stage.

Core Gaps Identified

1

Horizontal scroll from gallery-style permit listing led to user confusion in locating the necessary permit on mobile.

2

Using a PDF rather than on-site fillable forms created longer completion times and increased frustration from poor PDF usability — only small portions of the permit card were clickable.

3

Trouble locating information on where to send the permit once completed — and no information was saved if the user exited the PDF without downloading.

Further Supported by Think Alouds

User think-aloud sessions confirmed each gap identified in the task analysis. Participants consistently struggled with the same three points — validating that these weren't edge cases, but fundamental usability failures in the current system.

The consistency across age groups (23–63) and tech-savviness levels indicated that the problems were system-level issues, not user errors.

User Personas

Persona 01

Kim Stevenson

22 · College student · Very tech-savvy

Goals

Fill out permits on her bus ride to class
Work in small increments — must save progress

Pain Points

Might not have all the information at once; wants to enter what she knows and come back

Persona 02

Ed Wilson

70 · Retired · Limited smartphone experience

Goals

Easily submit requests for changes on his street
Needs a user-friendly experience

Pain Points

Zooming in and out between apps is hard
Current PDF fill-in text is too small

Persona 03

Sarah Daniels

35 · Local business owner · Always on the go

Goals

Work from anywhere to fit her busy lifestyle
Efficiently manage permits for her business

Pain Points

Losing unsaved progress when balancing work, kids, and contractors

03 — Ideate

Before & After.

Each screen in the redesign directly addresses one of the three core gaps. The before/after comparison shows the scope of the change — same content, fundamentally different experience.

Before — Current system

Homepage

Permit list

Permit page

After — Redesign

Homepage

Permit list

Permit page

Testing Methods

Qualitative

Think-Aloud Interviews

6 think-aloud sessions
Sentiment analysis across both systems
Verbal protocols captured throughout task completion

Quantitative

Time-on-Task + CSAT

Time to locate permit (current vs. redesign)
Time to complete permit (current vs. redesign)
CSAT scoring across 7 dimensions
Randomized order to negate bias

04 — Validate

The redesign delivered.

Participants were significantly faster in locating and completing permits using the redesigned system. Order of testing was randomized across participants to negate bias.

Qualitative — Sentiment Analysis

Participants had an overall more positive experience filling out a permit using the redesigned portal system — confirmed by sentiment analysis across all sessions.

Time on Task — Locate Permit

Participants were significantly faster in locating the permit using the redesigned system — a 42.7% decrease in time-on-task.

Time on Task — Complete Permit

A statistically significant decrease in completion time — 65.3% faster using the redesigned system. Same randomized order used as the locate-permit task.

CSAT Scoring

CSAT results across all 7 dimensions — 6 of 7 showed statistically significant improvement.

7 CSAT dimensions measured

1Did you feel "stuck" at any point while using the site?
2Was it clear how to get back on track after an issue?
3Were instructions and field labels clear enough to avoid mistakes?
4Did the site keep you informed about what was happening?
5Were status messages (success/failure) easy to understand?
6Did loading indicators or progress bars help you understand what was happening?
7Overall, how satisfied were you with your experience?

All except Q1 showed statistically significant improvement — meaning we truly improved the user experience. The only remaining challenge: the progress bar. Users didn't report it aiding feedback of system status.

Reflection

Lessons learned.

Wins

118%

increase in user satisfaction

65.3%

decrease in time to complete permit

42.7%

decrease in time to locate permit

Ongoing Challenge

Of all satisfaction dimensions, the progress bar is the only feature users didn't report as aiding feedback of system status. A proposed fix: a brighter blue or branded accent color to increase visibility and meaning.

This is a reminder that every micro-interaction matters — even a progress indicator that "works" technically can fail the user if it doesn't communicate clearly.

This project reminded me that good UX in government services is about dignity and inclusion. A form 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.

This experience deepened my belief that UX design is not just about interfaces, but about building trust in institutions.