Human-Centered Design for the DMV
The DMV is the worst place.
Last week, I went to the DMV to renew my driver license. As you can probably imagine, I was not looking forward to it because I have been there before and I know that it sucks. I entered to find a small bay of touchscreens, but I didn’t really know if they were meant for me to interact with or not. I told the security guard by the door why I was there, and he helped me use the touchscreens to print a numbered ticket. The fact that there was a digital solution to aid visitors seemed promising. I thought that maybe they had finally made some changes to improve the DMV experience.
However, the rest of my visit was the same confusing experience as it had been in the past. I walked through an overly condensed crowd of chairs to find a seat in the middle of a row of 20 or so chairs. The rows were so close together, each person had to adjust the way they sat for anybody to walk down the row. If some thought was put into the arrangement of chairs, they could have easily been arranged in a way that allowed people to navigate more easily.
An elderly man sat next to me, and he told me that he was happy that they had digital displays showing which numbers were called. He went on to explain that he had lost most of his hearing, and the last time he went somewhere like the DMV, he didn’t hear when his number was called. Again, I began to believe that the DMV was making efforts to improve the experience of visitors. The digital displays cycled through screens that showed numbers that would be called soon, the numbers that were recently called, and some other category that was always empty. They ultimately proved to be a source of confusion to the man next to me. When his number appeared in the category of those that would be called soon, he believed it was his turn to approach the counter. I explained this to him, but he still seemed skeptical that I was correct. The digital displays were helpful, but the categories of numbers shown were not defined nearly well enough.
After my number had been called, and I had finished speaking with the obviously frustrated attendant, I was directed to another poorly positioned crowd of chairs; in which, I would wait for my name to be called to take a photo. The problem here was that the people calling out names were on the other side of the photo backdrops, so I could not see when they were preparing to call out another name. My hearing is not great, so to some extent, I rely on visual cues in situations like that. I felt a significant amount of anxiety as I imagined myself having the same experience that the elderly man from earlier explained. Luckily, I heard the photographer call my name, and was soon able to exit.
Visiting the DMV is a notoriously dreaded experience. I believe that if somebody could implement human-centered design practices to the DMV experience, it could easily become significantly less stressful. I believe the most significant downfall of the DMV is a lack of clear communication. Nobody seems to know exactly what they are supposed to do upon entering. A lot of people seem to be unaware of the documents they are supposed to present. The method of telling people it is their turn to approach the counter needs to be more clear.
I believe more clear communication would reduce the amount of confusion and frustration among visitors. In turn, I believe happier visitors would lead to less frustrated attendants. Additionally, better communication could make the process faster, also leading to happier people.
I recognize that the bureaucratic nature of government-driven services makes this kind of change difficult, but if I had the option, I would vote in favor of a better experience at the DMV.
