GoodProspects User Testing Feedback

Agenda User Test Results Recommendations

User Test Results

Methodology We use an online testing tool, Usertesting.com, to record participants’ screens and voices as they explore the site and are guided through a list of tasks.

User Testing Protocol We selected 6 users who recently filed their taxes and would like guidance on how to spend their tax return 3 with High School Diploma/GED 3 with Bachelor’s Degree Users were asked Their initial impressions of the homepage mockup What they think each page of the mockup is for Do they understand everything in the mockup? What they would do after completing the worksheet

General Feedback When using this site on their own, all users would choose to walk through the tool step by step 2 users had past expenses, 4 users did not 4 users would print this worksheet, 2 users would themselves the worksheet Average rating of the mockup: 8/10

Positive Feedback Overall, each step was very clear and easy to understand All users understood the site provides tools to help with filing your taxes, and to help plan how to spend your tax refund help plan how to spend your tax refund Everyone noticed all 3 tools and could locate the Tax Refund Planning Tool with minimal effort Users understood that “Walk Me Through Step By Step” helps give them additional information than just clicking on “Take Me To The Tool” Step By Step gives you ideas on how to spend your refund The Tool helps you make choices right away, good for someone who has done the step by step version before Some users liked having the option to choose All users noticed the buttons in the sidebar 5 users explicitly pointed out the link to estimate your refund, and thought it was helpful All users thought the text in every step was very cleartext in every step was very clear All users could easily distinguish between the Past, Present, and Future sectionseasily distinguish between the Past, Present, and Future Users understood you enter amounts you want to budget into the boxes Most users understood that the worksheet included accordions that provided additional informationaccordions that provided additional information

Negative Feedback Overall, users had difficulty understanding what the tool was before they used it Some users were confused at first at the difference between “Walk Me Through Step By Step” and “Take Me To The Tool”confused at first at the difference Two users had difficulty talking through what they thought the difference was Some users wanted to file their taxes directly on the site, or have the site take them somewhere to directly plan their refund, like a bank websitehave the site take them somewhere One user was confused by what kind of assistance the Tax Refund Planning Tool was offering, not sure if the tool was right for themwhat kind of assistance 2 users had difficulty understanding the worksheet Anticipated Budget concept was confusing (possibly due to minimal interactivity with the mockup) One user was not sure how much to allocate One user did not feel confident in completing this tool, but he had never filed his own taxes before

Recommendations

Consolidate buttons Consider removing the button allowing users to go straight to the tool. All users chose to walk through the tool step by step, and they all thought the steps were very clear. To reduce confusion and help the user focus on how to budget their refund, have all users walk through the extra 2 screens to help provide them with more context on how to use the worksheet.

Rename title for “Tax Help Tools” Tax Help Tools did not mean a lot to users, many of them were still confused about what these tools were. Consider changing the title to something more friendly and familiar, such as “Next Steps” or “What Should I Do Next?”

Descriptions for sidebar buttons The mockup had Latin text for 2 of the buttons in the sidebar (for the EITC and VITA tools), and users did not understand what these tools were for. For all 3 buttons, provide a description of what the tool is.

Additional language in Budgeted Refund box This box that lists your anticipated and budgeted refund may be confusing without having context. Provide additional language explaining what these values are, perhaps by adding a help icon or linking the text to a help prompt

Changing Percentages Explain to users that the percentages for allocating your tax refund are recommendations, so they know they don’t have to stick to the suggested ratio to spend their refund. Consider explaining why you don’t want to allocate 100% of your refund to past expenses, or explain a case where it is appropriate to allocate a higher percentage to one area

Examples of refund allocation Users may not know what to do with this worksheet when they first see it. Consider providing a sample worksheet explaining why different amounts were allocated to different groups. The first time a user fills out this worksheet may be stressful and intimidating, so help them as much as possible and provide detailed examples of how they can best use this tool.

Appendix A: User Test Feedback

Test Questions Introduction: You recently filed your taxes and you would like guidance on how to spend your tax return. 1.Look around the File My Taxes page and talk about what you think the site is about: what can you do here, what's it for, what strikes you about it? 2.Scroll to find the Tax Refund Planning Tool, and navigate to that page. 3.Read this page and explain what you think each button will do. DO NOT click on either button yet. 4.Which button would you click on? Why? (Do not click on either button) 5.Click on the button "Walk me through step by step" 6.Do you understand everything on this page? Why or why not? 7.Click on the box with the "$." This will fill out a sample amount for your anticipated refund. Then click on the arrow, "Enter refund," to go to the next step. 8.Do you understand everything on this page? Why or why not? 9.You may click either "Yes" or "No" 10.Talk through what you think this page is showing you. What information is provided? Do you understand what to do with this information? 11.Is there anything unclear about what to do on this page? Please explain why or why not. 12.What would you do after filling out this page?

Demographics Age: 18+ Annual household income: Less than $40k Country: United States Web expertise: Average Education: High School Diploma/GED or Bachelor’s Degree

User 1 Age: 37 Gender: Female Education: High School Diploma or GED 1.What frustrated you most about the site? The first page looked boring and did not clearly indicate the actual use of this site 2.If you had a magic wand, how would you improve this site? Add some color of course in an organized way 3.What did you like about the site? the tax refund tool is actually extremely clear and easy to use 4.How likely are you to recommend this site to a friend or colleague (0=Not at all likely, and 10=Very Likely)? 7 Full user test video

User 2 Age: 49 Gender: Female Education: High School Diploma or GED 1.What frustrated you most about the site? There were a lot of boxes, it was a little overwhelming so many things to look at. 2.If you had a magic wand, how would you improve this site? More colors that are calming and neutral but portray happiness, because anything to do with taxes is scary, even spending the money you get back. The greys look ominous. Taxes are ominous. More pics with happy scenes. Better dividers. That way you know what section your in, ie: figuring out your tax, spending your tax and working your taxes. 3.What did you like about the site? It makes me think beyond just blowing the wad of money I expect to get back. Helping me to help me. Each click of what I was asked to do went smoothly. 4.How likely are you to recommend this site to a friend or colleague (0=Not at all likely, and 10=Very Likely)? 9 Full user test video

User 3 Age: 57 Gender: Female Education: High School Diploma or GED 1.What frustrated you most about the site? In the beginning I really didn't understand what kind of tool I was dealing with. Not really knowing what to expect made me feel a bit uneasy at first. It made me question whether or not I would want to use the tool. 2.If you had a magic wand, how would you improve this site? I would add a simple explanation about the tools purpose to bring ease and comfort to the user. And I would clarify the terms on the gray box in the right column on the last step. the "budgeted" and "remaining" amounts are not readily clear. They are great terms once you get it. But, a mouse over title explanation or something would be really helpful. 3.What did you like about the site? It is simple to use. Brings things to mind that might not be thought of other wise. Makes you feel like you are making informed wise choices. It is very friendly and understandable. What a great tool. 4.How likely are you to recommend this site to a friend or colleague (0=Not at all likely, and 10=Very Likely)? 10 Full user test video

User 4 Age: 46 Gender: Female Education: Bachelor’s Degree 1.What frustrated you most about the site? Page didn't automatically load and I wasn't sure I was in the right place but I was. Not sure why it looked like a pdf. 2.If you had a magic wand, how would you improve this site? Get rid of the Latin...it's confusing. Make it look more like a webpage. 3.What did you like about the site? The thought of help with your tax return. Great idea. 4.How likely are you to recommend this site to a friend or colleague (0=Not at all likely, and 10=Very Likely)? 7 Full user test video

User 5 Age: 22 Gender: Male Education: Bachelor’s Degree 1.What frustrated you most about the site? Certain sections of this site were in Latin so I did not understand what they were saying. 2.If you had a magic wand, how would you improve this site? I would change the Latin words to English. I would also put better descriptions on the 3rd step so that I could better gauge what to put in each dollar amount. 3.What did you like about the site? I liked that it was easy to navigate once I got started and gave me an estimated refund tool to estimate my refund amount. 4.How likely are you to recommend this site to a friend or colleague (0=Not at all likely, and 10=Very Likely)? 5 Full user test video

User 6 Age: 25 Gender: Female Education: Bachelor’s Degree 1.What frustrated you most about the site? Nothing was really frustrating. I found the website to by clear and I understand exactly what I needed to do. The only thing that was confusing was the different language on the side of the page. I looked as if the website had 2 language to offer. Just making sure that there is English and the other language available so we are able to know what each items are. 2.If you had a magic wand, how would you improve this site? As I said before making sure the language is consistent for each link on the page. Also, allowing the consumer to have control over the percentages if they wish their money to go into one area more than another. It would be nice to had an option to break the items in each category into percentages themselves. Or another idea would be having an examples of how to use their refund wisely. This would help people who would like to change their spending habits but need a little more help with the decision making process. 3.What did you like about the site? It was easy and clear. I like that it allow the helpful link to on different pages so I did have to go back if I needed help. I really like the planning tool. And I think it would help people manage their refund wisely. 4.How likely are you to recommend this site to a friend or colleague (0=Not at all likely, and 10=Very Likely)? 10 Full user test video