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Background
Many people enjoy doing things online. But paying taxes –
online or otherwise – is not something that most people
look forward to.
In California, it falls upon the Franchise Tax Board (FTB)
to make tax filing as easy as possible. Each year, FTB
processes over 15 million state returns, generating $40
billion in revenue.
Over 32 million people visit FTB's website each year for tax
information and forms (more than 24 million forms are
downloaded anually). If people can't find what they"re
looking for online, they often phone the call center, which
handles 2.3 million inquiries yearly.
The Challenges
- The website must be usable for a wide range of people
- Most people are infrequent users (except tax
professionals)
- Users are intimidated by tax jargon
- The website cannot be changed during tax season
FTB suspected that much of its site was underutilized –
either because people couldn't find information or didn't
know what to look for. FTB was especially eager to increase
the usage of CalFile, its online filing feature.
At the start of a major redesign, HFI performed an
expert review and conducted usability testing on both the
existing website and a new prototype. By getting usability
analysis and recommendations early in the redesign process,
FTB minimized the cost of implementing changes.
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"HFI's expert team took our site to the
next level of usability. We completely
redesigned our public portal. Prototypes
of our new design were so well received
by California's State CIO and other
California state agencies that our
approach has become the new model to consider
following for redesigns.
Given the significant increase in site usability, I view this
investment as money well spent that provides a tangible
return and significant impact for California citizens and
our business partners."
Russ Reece
Portal Business Manager,
California Franchise Tax Board |
Findings & Recommendations
The results of both the expert review and usability test
underscored FTB's concerns:
- Content was hard to understand, especially for novice
users (test subjects failed tasks 49% of the time)
- Navigation was difficult to predict and learn
(76% weren't sure they were even on the FTB site)
- Participants did not understand online filing options
(63% couldn't figure out if they were eligible to CalFile)
Content: Online content must be more streamlined than
traditional printed pamphlets. If users have a simple question,
they get frustrated having to download and skim an
entire brochure.
FTB had a particular challenge with jargon. Terms like
"tax amnesty," "innocent spouse," or "9000/9000R" left
users bewildered, especially as menu links.
HFI's recommendations:
- Prioritize content based on frequency of use
(or importance, such as CalFile)
- Use pictures to improve comprehension
- Place content under a logical label/category
- Use Web-specific copy to support quick decision making
Navigation: Users found the home page cluttered and
overwhelming. They tended to notice only the "audiencespecific"
entry points (circled in red on "before" screenshot
below) and failed to explore other relevant menus.
HFI's recommendations:
- Reduce the number of menus
- Create a consistent menu system on every page
- Provide "you-are-here" feedback
- Organize information by topic rather than audience
(since the needs of each audience overlap)
FTP before
FTB after
Branding & Consistency: All California government
websites used the same header, look and feel. As a result,
many users weren't sure if they were on the FTB site or
another California government site altogether. Making
matters worse, many pages on the FTB site had no branding
whatsoever ("orphaned pages").
HFI's recommendation: Design a standard "wrapper" to
clearly indicate that the user is on the FTB site.
Next Steps
FTB sees usability as a way to demonstrate that they are
responding to public needs, especially with such a visible
redesign. FTB executives are now eager to institutionalize
usability. To this end, the FTB Web team took HFI's
training program to earn their Certified Usability Analyst™ credentials.
"Everyone who attended HFI's executive presentation
was impressed and blown away by their
knowledge and professionalism. HFI offered
critique without being critical... it was a real
eye-opener. Dr. Eric Schaffer's book, Institutionalization
of Usability: A Step-by-Step Guide,
had a lot to do with getting the ball rolling."
—Diana Faramarzi,
Web Usability Specialist,
California Franchise Tax Board |
