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Broadening access to your web portal through usability improvements Susan Powell Director of Web Content New York State Department of Taxation and Finance 2013 Albuquerque, New Mexico FTA Conference
Topics
§ Usability/user-centered design
§ Web site redesign process
§ Redesigning Sales Tax Web File
§ Success factors
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User-centered design
§ Understand what customers need (from their point of view)
§ Recognize that we know too much about taxes
§ Balance customer needs against agency goals and priorities (from the agency’s point of view)
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User-centered design
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User-centered design
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User-centered design
§ Research-driven process focused on the end user • identify end users • needs • limitations • business objectives/top tasks • how they think the site should work
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User-centered design
§ Iterative process
• collect user data - interviews, surveys, focus groups, web statistics, search
terms
• prioritize top tasks & make them highly visible • develop prototypes (paper, clickable) • conduct usability tests, measure, refine, repeat
- scenarios, card sorts - 6-8 testers per user group
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Importance of user-centered design*
§ IT may say UCD takes too long; executive staff may think it costs too much
§ $1 trillion spent annually on IT
§ 15% of projects are abandoned due to inadequacy
§ 3 of top 12 reasons why projects fail relate to user experience
§ Programmers spend time on rework that’s avoidable 50% of the time
§ 100 times more expensive to fix an error post-development
8 Sources: “Why So.ware Fails”, IEEE.org, The ROI of User Experience with Dr. Susan Weinschenk (www.youtube.com)
Our web site redesign
§ Context • Site size: 6,500 pages, 20,000 PDFs, 60+ online services • Strong executive support , web governance • Total page views: 2012 - 98.6 m 2007 – 66.6 m.
§ Expert review of site
• Deliverables: recommend how to improve user experience, navigation, page design
• Aha moments: - create tax-based pages that integrate site elements - persistent/global navigation - navigation should reveal site structure
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Our web site redesign
§ Branding exercise • Identity card/sorting task • Themes guided color selection & visual concept direction • Yes: credible, business-like, understandable, time-saving • No: fun, busy, stimulating, energetic, entertaining
§ Benchmarking
§ Understand the user
§ Develop prototypes, conduct usability tests & iterate
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New home page Increased banner size; Statue of Liberty for branding.
Gave top tasks top billing.
Online services, popular topics, resolve issue links prominent.
Mega footer appears on all site pages.
Mega menus
Added mega menus for easier and faster navigation.
Sales Tax Web File: Usability
§ Redesign based on feedback from over 5,000 taxpayer surveys, 40 taxpayer interviews, front line staff input
§ Multiple iterations of a prototype
§ Usability testing and other direct input from taxpayers and tax professionals
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Sales Tax Web File: Results
§ Processing errors: 5.4% in 2011 & 2.5% in 2013
§ 40% decrease in complaints
§ Return processing savings: $250,000 projected recurring annual savings
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UCD implementation success factors
§ Executive support
§ Commitment to put the user first
§ Clear governance & roles
§ Build internal expertise
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