21 June 2004
Designing an interface for on-line vehicle licensing services
New Zealand's vehicle owners can now re-license their motor vehicle online, and joint IT partners in this project,
Unisys and Intergen, expect many users will easily switch to the online format because of its smart user interface.
Unisys Outsourcing Manager Bill Hawke says "This facility is significant in that it is the first LTSA e-Government
on-line, real-time transaction processing system allowing payment by credit card. The system which operates on a
back-end Unisys ClearPath mainframe provides security so that only the credit card holder and the credit card company
have access to the credit card details. Neither LTSA nor Unisys have visibility to these details."
Intergen's Managing Director, Tony Stewart adds that "To ensure the online service was a success, we had to design an
interface that well over one million vehicle owners could use, regardless of their online abilities and computer
technologies.
"This required us to review the data collection process to ensure we collected motor vehicle information from users in a
rational and easy way, while balancing this against the ability of the backend to collect and process that information.
"This process was complicated by the fact that people are more impatient when filling out online forms than paper-based
forms. Often, the greater the number of steps, the more likely they are to exit the site before completion," said Mr
Stewart.
"To overcome these issues and design a smart way to obtain information from motor vehicle owners, we first identified
the key information LTSA requires to process applications. We then divided the information into common groups and
designed an interface to guide users through the information collection process with as few steps as possible.
"We're proud to have worked with LTSA to design a smart alternative to the paper-based application process that saves
motor vehicle owners time and effort."
Unisys and Intergen have been working with the LTSA to develop other additions to the LTSA vehicle licensing website,
which will go live in the next few months.
Ends.