January 31, 2018

Contact:

MNIT Communications

All high-priority defects will be fixed by July 2018, with additional functionality developed through December 2019

SAINT PAUL, MN – The Minnesota Department of Public Safety (DPS) and Minnesota IT Services (MNIT) today released a project roadmap  for the State of Minnesota License and Registration System (MNLARS). /mnit/assets/MNLARS%20Roadmap%20Executive%20Summary_tcm38-325463.pdfView the executive summary of the roadmap. The project roadmap is a complete strategy to aggressively address system shortcomings in MNLARS and build out system features that will support a modernized delivery method for Driver and Vehicle Services in the future. Its full execution will require additional funding and legislative support.

“This roadmap reflects the top priorities and conversations that our technical team had with stakeholders, as well as a core understanding of underlying structural fixes necessary to be fully functional,” said MNIT Chief Enterprise Architect Joan Redwing. “We will continue to work on the back-end to stabilize MNLARS, but we’re focused on addressing the issues that directly impact Minnesotans first.”

DPS and MNIT launched MNLARS in July 2017 to replace a 30-year-old legacy system to process vehicle title and registration transactions, but the system has encountered technical complications since that time.

“The Department of Public Safety is committed to continuing work with our technical and business partners in order to make MNLARS a system that works reliably for everyone,” said DPS Commissioner Mona Dohman. “We owe it to the users of this system and the people of Minnesota to focus our efforts on the path forward.”

The MNLARS project roadmap is the direct result of more than eight meetings across the state of Minnesota, covering over 1,600 miles, based on suggestions from more than 100 stakeholders. The roadmap was produced in partnership with deputy registrars, auto dealers, financial institutions, legislators, and other stakeholders who use this system for their work each day.

In conjunction with these stakeholder meetings, MNIT completed a deep technical assessment of the MNLARS system and an inventory of all remaining system defects and gaps in functionality.

Top priorities put forth in the roadmap include:

• Fixing Bugs and Glitches. Resolving system defects and time-consuming workarounds that are leading to delays and inconveniences for Minnesotans.
  • Example: Building automated tools to ensure the consistent calculation of complex or seasonally-used transactions.
    
    
• Filling Gaps in Functionality. Completing partially delivered features.
  • Ability to transfer specialty plates, impounded plates, inventory management, and allow deputy registrars to edit transactions. Ability to bulk-update addresses for fleet vehicles.
    
    
• Empowering Users. Adding features that will allow system users to make changes and fix mistakes without starting over or having to contact DPS. Adding the ability to print in-process work, transactions, and duplicate titles.
  • Adding functionality to MNLARS that existed in the old system, like transferring specialty plates. Adding the ability to edit the cart, scan, and see specific details of all transactions.
    
    
• Delivering Faster Title Turnaround. Providing the technology tools needed to speed up processing of vehicle titles.
  • Continuing to decrease the number of backlogged titles. Managing title processing system errors more efficiently.
    
    
• Modernizing Business Processes. Working collaboratively with local deputy registrar offices to build new features in the system that support a more modern mode of business operations for driver and vehicle services.
  • Building ability to add or delete multiple transactions in the cart, without checking out.
    
    
• Improving Customer Service. Adding 63 DVS call center staff and five training positions in FY19. The additional call center staff will help DVS improve customer service by responding to emails promptly, reducing wait times and answering the 65,000+ calls it receives each week. It will also ensure the state is ready to answer questions from Minnesotans leading up to REAL ID availability in October 2018. The five trainers will work with Driver License Agents on the new driver’s license system and REAL ID requirements.
  • Phone calls from the public and stakeholders increased during the MNLARS rollout, peaking at 110,000 during the week of September 10. Email response times were as high as six weeks due to the influx of consumer questions and issues.
    
    
• Stabilizing and Optimizing System Performance. Ensuring that each piece of the system is operating efficiently and working optimally to support heavy use.
  • System slowdowns during daytime when system is under heavy use.
    
    
• Improving User Experience. Making the system more user friendly and tailored to the needs of local deputy registrar offices.
  • Modifying the way the system looks and feels to more closely align with deputy registrar needs. Enhancing screen colors and formatting based on user feedback. 
    

The MNLARS roadmap will additionally undergo rigorous external review by an industry leader, in keeping with IT best practices. The State of Minnesota is currently completing a request for proposals, and the results of that assessment will be made public when it is complete.

For details, /mnit/assets/MNLARS%20Roadmap%20Expanded_tcm38-325464.pdfview the expanded version of the roadmap (downloadable PDF).

Legislative Support Needed to Implement Roadmap

The need for each fix and improvement indicated on the roadmap is clear, but current resources will only support a small volume of that work for the remainder of the biennium. Without additional funding, deputy registrars and other system users will continue to contend with cumbersome workarounds, system errors, and gaps in system functionality for the foreseeable future.

The roadmap will cost an additional $43 million which the Legislature must appropriate to complete MNLARS defect fixes and add necessary features by December 2019. An estimated $37 million in additional funding is needed to make critical system improvements and enhancements. $6 million is needed for customer service capacity increases at DPS in the current biennium. This investment would provide the hardware, software, and human resources necessary to support an aggressive delivery roadmap with concurrent work streams – the approach that is needed to address multiple stakeholder priorities simultaneously, and to manage large volumes of customer service demand through the rollout of REAL ID.

For details, /mnit/assets/MNLARS%20Funding%20Sheet_tcm38-325467.pdfview the downloadable PDF of the budget request.

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About Minnesota IT Services

Minnesota IT Services, led by the state’s Chief Information Officer, is the Information Technology agency for Minnesota’s executive branch, providing enterprise and local IT services to over 70 agencies, boards and commissions. MNIT employs more than 2,000 people across 90 physical locations. Together, the agency builds, maintains, and secures the state’s IT infrastructure, applications, projects and services. MNIT sets IT strategy, direction, policies and standards for enterprise IT leadership and planning. The agency also serves Minnesotans by connecting all 87 counties, 300 cities, and 200 public higher education campuses across the state on the MNET network. Through public-private partnerships, the MNIT team proactively protects the state’s information systems and the private data of 5.5 million Minnesotans.

About the Minnesota Department of Public Safety

The Minnesota Department of Public Safety is a large and complex agency dedicated to prevention, preparedness, response, recovery, enforcement and education. The agency’s 15 divisions serve Minnesotans with programs in law enforcement, fire code development, fire investigation and safety inspection, forensic science, crime and fraud prevention, crime victims’ services, homeland security and emergency management, emergency communications network management, traffic and motorcycle safety, driver licensing and vehicle registration, alcohol and gambling enforcement, pipeline safety and rule enforcement, and public safety education.