FTA Technology Conference Customer Research: What E-tax Utility Does Your Taxpayer Really Want?

Presentation Overview Defining Needs Which taxes would filers choose first to file electronically? Which e-tax is most advantageous to the tax authority? How to reconcile the two perspectives Designing the Service In-house vs. partnering with third party partner Observe the three keys to successful design Case Study - Designing For the End-user Objectives of Usability Testing Nationtax Online Overview of Testing Process Findings

Defining Needs Which taxes would filers choose first to file electronically? Uncover the Pain - Discover what taxes are most burdensome to filers –QuestionnairesQuestionnaires –Focus Groups –Phone Surveys Which e-tax is most advantageous to the tax authority Define the metrics for success –Processing costs –Volume and/or speed of payments –High paper to electronic filing conversion rate How to reconcile the two perspectives Give serious weight to the concerns and needs of the filers Determine how filers will help you achieve your goals Choose business taxes that offer a win-win for you and the filers

Designing the Service Third Party Partner Creation Advantage –Dedicated IT resources –Speed of implementation –Ongoing enhancements –Best practices perspective –Cross state filing In-House Creation Advantage –Control of all IT resources –Full accountability –Enhancement flexibility –No perceived conflict of interest Which option best serves your filers?

Designing the Service Site Load Time Fast is first Test multiple browsers Test against the standard Site Design Flash vs. Substance Get to the point Test with the end-user Site Navigation Less clicks = quicker sell Look to the leaders Test with the end-user 3 Keys to Successful Design Leverage Your Power

Designing for the End-user Objectives of Usability Testing Nationtax Online Evaluate the overall look, feel and consistency of the user interface design, layout and organization. Assess the clarity of terminology used throughout Nationtax. Evaluate the navigability of the site to help eliminate visitor confusion and increase user productivity. Determine areas of the interface that can be improved and provide recommendations to increase the ease of use, ease of learning, and overall consistency.

Designing for the End-user Overview of Testing Process User requirements: 5 small business owners 5 small business tax filers All users file Sales and/or 941 taxes internally Features Tested: Take a Demo File Florida Sales tax Find and review security information Find and review company information Find and review current company news Length of each Test: 1.5 hours

Designing for the End-user Before Usability Testing: Home Page

Designing for the End-user Finding: –Contained too much text. –No direction or clear starting point. –Provided too many differently named links that all lead to the same page. –The combination of these three issues made the Homepage very unclear to the users. Nationtax Home Page Clip 1

Designing for the End-user After Usability Testing: Home Page

Designing for the End-user Before After

Designing for the End-user Finding: –Users made the assumption that the Demo would consist of multimedia or would allow for interaction to simulate the filing process. –They were disappointed when the Demo only displayed a series of screens representing the tax filing process. Demo Services Clip 3

Designing for the End-user After Usability Testing: Demo Services Multimedia Demo Added Interactive Services Demos In Production

State Tax Questionnaire Back

Less Clicks = Quicker Sell Back

Fast is first Back

Fast is first Back

Leverage Your Power Back “From what you hear in the news, you’d think everyone was bartering on eBay, shopping on Amazon.com, or trading on Schwab. But in fact, less than 5% of the online pop. buys books, trades stocks, or takes part in online auctions on a typical day. More people visit govern- ment web sites than each of these categories. ”