Fearless
Business.NJ.gov partners with local agencies to make it easier for small businesses to succeed in New Jersey. They do this by centralizing data, information, and customer support with a personalized one-stop experience.
Within this initiative, I focused on implementation of NJ Motor Vehicle Commission permits. My most challenging (and therefore rewarding) example of this was the Commercial Driver's License (CDL).
👤 My roles
Content Designer, Manager, and Strategist
👥 Collaborated with
NJ Motor Vehicle Commission SMEs (2), Product managers (1), UX designers (1), Developers (1), NJ OOI leadership (2)
🗓️ Duration
Apr 2025–Aug 2025 (5 months)
This project highlights my ability to:
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Manage large, systems-level content and IA problems
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Provide Plain language regulatory translation
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Balance cross-agency alignment
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Design multi-variant information architecture
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Build scalable pathways within technical constraint
💥 Impact
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204,000+ accounts created
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65,000+ businesses formed in 2025 through business.nj.gov
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Users who relied on NJ OOI business starter kits launched 1 month faster
👩🏻💻 User problems
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Lack of understanding of how robust the full CDL process was, and what they could expect to have to deal with
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Lack of understanding which CDL and Endorsement they need
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Possibility of skipping this much-needed step due to permit screens not being mapped to all relevant industries
🏢 Business problems
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Lack of robust outline for what users can expect from the full process from start to finish
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Lack of help guiding users to figuring out which CDL and Endorsement they need
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Current CDL task screen is missing essential information the user needs to know before applying
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Current CDL task screen is not mapped to all relevant industries that require it
✅ Solutions and process
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Repaired legal and mapping gaps
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Eliminated incorrect CDL guidance
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Created a scalable content pattern for complex permits
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Significantly reduced cognitive load around CDL type selection
Background
CDL confusion
According to our NJ MVC SMEs, their customers frequently struggled with the process of obtaining their Commercial Driver’s License (CDL).
This was due to:
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Complex regulatory requirements
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Difficulty distinguishing between 8 common CDL types, all of which had different tests and eligibility requirements
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Missing or incomplete guidance in the existing permit task screen on business.nj.gov
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Incomplete industry mapping of the permit, causing legal and UX risk
On the business side, this was leading to:
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Frustrated MVC clients
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Increased SME call volume
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Potential compliance gaps.
At NJ OOI, we wanted to avoid these when implementing the updated task screen for our own users.
The original CDL permit screen
Other issues
Further complicating my job as a content designer and strategist was:
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CDLs are classified by Class (A, B or C) and Endorsements (T, N, H, K, X, P, S). Some Classes are not compatible with some Endorsements, and vice-versa.
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Users need to know their exact CDL type before studying for skills and knowledge tests, since these differed depending on vehicle type
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There were age and physical requirements for some CDLs that we needed to make clear to users without overwhelming them with too much information.
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The existing screen was mapped to only 2 of 9 industries where vehicle use is a given. There were 62 industries in total that needed to be assessed for eligibility.
To sum it up, implementing this new permit experience was a systems-level problem that went beyond simple copy changes.
Even more complications
CDL Class descriptions via business.nj.gov specified why some Class and Endorsement combinations aren’t possible.
As such, we couldn’t simplify the experience by helping users identify their CDL type by Class and Endorsements needed.
Planning the solution
🎯 Strategic goal
I planned to provide an improved, scalable CDL permit task experience that:
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Reduced user confusion, both in the short and long term
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Ensured regulatory accuracy
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Corrected mapping issues, and also mapped to essential and non-essential industries to ensure we’re covering all of our bases
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Had intuitive, branching logic to put users down designated pathways for individual CDLs (in the case of transportation vehicles) or groups of CDLs (in the cause of hauling and towing vehicles)
Content strategy - v1
Process
Since this was a particularly complex project, I created a v1 CDL screen that aimed to fill knowledge gaps and be implemented easily and immediately in Netlify.
The goal here was primarily to add in missing components to the screen, such as:
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Passenger transport requirements
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8 CDL type definitions
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Skills test requirements
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Age and citizenship requirements
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Contact information
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Form name
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GenAI prompts to assist in mapping the permit to roadmap, essential, and non-essential industries
Industry mapping - Roadmap
Industries designated as “Roadmap” require the CDL as a core part of their business.
They show up automatically on the user’s list of permits to get before opening their site in New Jersey.
Industry mapping - Essential
Permit tasks designated as “Essential” are added to the user’s roadmap based on whether they answer “Yes” or “No” to a relevant question. These industries had a 50/50 chance of requiring the CDL for operation.
This question shows up during onboarding after the user selects their industry.
Industry mapping - Non-essential
Permit tasks designated as “Non-essential,” similar to Essential, are added to the user’s roadmap based on whether they answer “Yes” or “No” to a relevant question.
These industries have a fairly low chance of requiring the permit, but it’s still possible.
Due to the lowered necessity, the Non-essential question shows up in the user’s profile after they’ve created their account, as opposed to their onboarding flow.
Content strategy - v2
Process
Next, I worked with our UX designer and dev on a v2 CDL screen that further broke down all CDLs into categories, defined by logic-branching questionnaires.
This strategy aimed to keep the regulatory updates and added information from v1, but also:
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Included logic-based questionnaires to put users on specific pathways to individual CDL types (as much as possible), thereby simplifying cognitive load
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Further simplifies the application requirement and eligibility criteria to account for individual CDL types and categories
For example, Class A, Class B, and Class A with “T” Endorsement CDLs don’t require users to complete an Entry Level Driver Training (ELDT) before applying, since none of these involve the transportation of hazardous materials
New categories for CDLs
Since legal requirements around Class and Endorsement combinations didn’t allow for individual pathways for each of the 8 CDL types, I decided to break them down into 2 categories, both of which had a further 2 subcategories of CDLs.
Category A - Hauling and towing
Category B - Passenger transport
CDL visual flow - Before (v1)
CDL visual flow - After (v2)
New screens and questionnaire
This new CDL experience would require:
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2 questionnaire screens
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1 screen for hauling and towing vehicles
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1 screen for passenger transport vehicles)
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4 permit task screens, dependent upon the user’s response to the questionnaire
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2 screens for hauling and towing (trailer and combo or cargo and tank)
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2 screens for passenger transport (school bus or passenger vehicle)
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The 4 permit task screens would also further simplify the user experience in getting a CDL by specifying more nuanced application requirements, such as specific skills tests required for hauling and towing vehicles that passenger vehicles did not need.
Industry mapping for v2
The backend process for ensuring correct industry mapping was complicated. A visual example of how this looked before and after (v2) is below.
Industry mapping - Roadmap (v2)
Industry mapping - Essential (v2)
Industry mapping - Non-essential (v2)
CDL v1 vs. v2 - Summary
🎯 V1 - Goals
Established foundational accuracy by ensuring all necessary information was implemented
🎯 V2 - Goals
Dddressed cognitive load and scannability, allowing users to more readily navigate to their specific CDL needs
The final product
Passenger transport demo
At this time, the hauling and towing experience has not been implemented by the devs over at NJ OOI. The Passenger transport, however, can be seen below.
You can also see a demo of how the experience looked before v1 and v2 were applied to the CDL permitting experience.
CDL task flow - Before
CDL task flow - After
Reflections
Formal usability testing between v1 and v2
If I were to reexamine this project, this is something that I would ensure. Ultimately, timelines did not allow for it. We were relying mostly on what our NJ MVC SMEs told us about common questions and complaints regarding the CDL.
Contextual info
I would also include visuals for each CDL type, allowing users to better understand what vehicles require what CDL. Again, timelines did not allow for this.