Building Online Dealer Services

Until recently, there was only one way for staff at vehicle dealerships to complete paperwork for customer vehicle registrations. Fill in paperwork by hand and drop it off or wait in line at an Access Nova Scotia centre.

There was agreement from everyone involved, it made sense to simplify this process to reduce manual effort and red tape.

Taking on the challenge and working in new ways

Our delivery approach was a new way of working for many of the folks on the core project team. Together, we focused on putting users at the centre of our Discovery, Alpha, Beta and Live phases of the service. This way, we were sure we were building the right thing for the right reason.

How could we make this process easier and allow authorized vehicle dealerships in Nova Scotia to register vehicles they buy or sell?

Here’s an overview of what the design and delivery process looked like:

Discovery: February 2018

We interviewed 10 new and used vehicle dealers and 4 Registry of Motor Vehicles staff. From this research, we created a list of user needs and stories that helped us build the requirements of our first prototype of the service.

During the Discovery phase, we visited dealerships in the province and learned about their existing process. There was a lot of manual paperwork involved.

Alpha: May 2018

We designed a rough prototype of the service that let dealers submit their applications online, and then pick-up completed applications at an Access Nova Scotia centre, or mail them directly to their customers. We conducted usability research with 10 dealers from across Nova Scotia. The feedback dealers gave us at the Alpha phase was so valuable because it wasn’t “too late” to make big changes.

We designed the first prototype to look “sketchy” and not look perfect. The obvious “not done” look helped dealers feel more comfortable providing constructive feedback.

Beta: September 2018

We did another round of usability research with an early version of the website with 10 dealers. By the time we reached this phase, we were seeing fewer surprises from our users. The feedback we received felt more like “nice to haves” and far less critical.

Also during the Beta phase, we started to bring supporting teams, like our contact centre, operations support team, and cybersecurity together for training on how we would work together to support the live service.

While most dealers would use the service on a laptop or desktop computer, it was important that the service was fully mobile responsive.

In April 2019, the Government of Nova Scotia launched Online Dealer Services (ODS). This new digital service allows authorized vehicle dealerships in Nova Scotia to register vehicles they buy or sell.

Learn more about how things went when the service went live in Part 2: How we Launched Online Dealer Services