fileasy.com
Assumptions
For sake of project Target audience: men and women, between 25-55 yrs. Characteristics: • Web savvy and users of the smart phone. They know how to use a camera, upload documents on the web. • The solution is a digital one - desktop application, a web interface or a multichannel one - web-mobile, or just mobile
01 Research
Research Objectives
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To gain empathy
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Gain Insights into the complex relationship between the tax payer, the chartered accountant the ecosystem of tax returns
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To understand the current digital options used by both parties to serve the purpose of filing returns
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To uncover emotional, behavioural and unexpected responses /desires of the tax payer and chartered accountant that would allow for empathic design of a system for tasks laden with severe dislike.
• What are the feelings, prejudices,
mental models associated with the digital system, the ecosystem of the filing of returns?
01 Research
Research Methods - Desk Top Research
01 Research
Research Methods - Interviews Key Points: Umesh uses Winman as a system to input client and document data details. “It’s a good system for information storage and clients’ information can be categorised well. The time of filing returns is chaotic. Umesh uses post-its to keep track of his clients during the months. Umesh is unhappy when his employers have to waste time on a pile of papers that are uncategorised. Umesh is doubtful about an online system between him and his client, but he says, “If you can do something it will be good.
In-Depth Interview Name: Umesh Bhat, CEO of Umesh & Co. Chartered Accountants Profession: Chartered Accountant.
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“Clients don’t really care for the money they will get back. They only want to see the IT Returns Filed receipt. Otherwise you know they will have a penalty to pay.” Key Quote:
01 Research
Research Methods - Interviews Nilofer dislikes the system of having to save hard copies of IT records. I like an online system only for that! “I don't need to know what CTR forms mean!” She feels unsupportive, insecure and alienated by the CA and her experience with an online filing site. Hates being asked too many questions.
In-Depth Interview Name: Nilofer Profession: Architect & Teacher.
She talks to her CA once in 6 months and believes it’s important for her finance help. The other times she dodges his calls.
Key Quote: “I tried the H&R Block to try shifting
onto the online system. It’s worst than your CA. Not only does it ask for papers that you have never heard of but you cannot even find help at that point to know what it means! The call, email help is something I want at that time!
01 Research
Research Methods - Interviews Reva leads a busy life travelling most of the time across continents and cities. I can Wat’s App all my documents to the CA but he wont’ accept them on it!
Person chose to be anonymous
In-Depth Interview Name: Reva Modi Profession: Project Manager at an IT firm.
“I don’t even know half the times what the requirements are by these CA mean. I don’t want to figure which paper is what and whether it’s deductible! If im the specialist then why is he there!”
Key Quote: “Ill go online to provide my documents but it better be a straight up, fast!”
01 Research
Research Methods - Interviews & Empathy Probe Niraj is almost an EXTREME USE CASE. Highly organised, maintains a diary for all his records, categorizes them, has learnt over time about what he can get deducted. He is driven by the power of saving money.
Short Interview, Active Empathy
“ A website that tells me first that it will promise me to help me save money is a conman! My CA can tell me, the Govt can, not an interface.”
Name: Niraj Bhatt
He would write and mark document categories each time he visited his CA.
Profession: Editor for an online newspaper.
Niraj has tried to file his returns on his own on the Govt. site and H&R Block site. “H&R asks too many questions that you see are irrelevant!
01 Research
Research Methods Due to paucity of time I have not been able to deploy different methods of research. Research would take place across different age groups, cultures and classes. Ideally I would have done the following: Empathy Probes and Prototyping to understand the psychology of people across the ecosystem, the digital system. By taking WHAT IF scenarios of a concept the idea is to uncover different needs.
Analogous Contextual Inquiry to get inspiration from a different system at work for values, nuances, interactions and behaviours that can be combined here.
Extreme Use Cases
Deeper Contextual Inquiry.
01 Research
Needs - Tax Payer Tangible Needs a digital system that takes can manage exchange of documents with minimal face to face interactions. An experience that slowly scales up necessary asks for tax payers Can digitise and store their documents A system that reduces the core pain point of SORTING and disguises it in the experience.
Emotional Needs to feel that they are being taken care of during the process of filing returns
Wants to feel like their expectations are being understood Wants respect for their time
01 Research
Needs - Umesh, Chartered Accountant Tangible An organised way to keep track of clients in real time so that he can prioritise, manage and organise resources efficiently. A system that subtly nudges tax payers to respond on time. A reduction in the cost of hiring resources to sort papers during the time of filing of returns.
Emotional Feel more in control over his rising costs during the process.
Experience less stress in a more orderly environment.
01 Research
Rich Persona - Umesh Habits He keeps a written record of individuals he thinks have done great work. Umesh is man of regularity.
Every Tues and Fri he researches CA practises around the world
Goals To begin going to badminton lessons soon To organise his business in a way that he only needs to oversee critical aspects
01 Research
Rich Persona - Umesh Likes
Dislikes
Online Behaviour
He appreciates technology but takes time to understand new ways
He is an online shopper and will not go out unless needed.
He dislikes to push people into changing their behaviour
Very up-to-date with online tools and will adopt or try something only if he sees it has a high quotient of efficiency
He likes to learn new things in his work and languages
He is all about prompt service.
01 Research
Rich Persona - Nilu
Habits Nilu is an avid surfer and a experimenter at heart. She will try new things but those based on her lifestyle. She is patient with people, technology and systems but will immediately lose interest if it makes her feel stupid or intimidated. He schedule keeps her busy and hence she will now spend time doing only the things that require less effort, less mental fatigue.
Goals To manage her daily tasks and other necessary activities with minimal self presence.
01 Research
Rich Persona - Nilu Likes / Dislikes
Online Behaviour
She dislikes rudeness in any form, she dislikes promises getting delayed or not delivered. She thinks that he online system non deliverance is intolerable.
She is wary of sharing personal information online and will do so only if she has proof of some responsibility.
She likes to experiment with new digital / online ideas that allow her to learn new behaviour or make her travel less.
Very up-to-date with online tools and will adopt or try something only if he sees it has a high quotient of efficiency
01 Research
Experience Map of H&R Block - Nilu
01 Research
Rich Persona - Nilu
The map helped me see clearly the pain points on an existing online system have been for Nilu and drew up opportunity pointers for my system. I was able to define the problem and therefore the DESIGN CHALLENGE
02 Concept
Design Challenge
How might we design a digital system that seamlessly integrates and classifies information and documents between the tax payer and chartered accountant, making the tax payer feel good about the filing process and make the chartered accountant less burdened.
02 Concept
Solution
fileasy.com is a digital system that seamlessly integrates and classifies information and documents between the tax payer and chartered accountant, making the tax payer feel good about the filing process and make the chartered accountant less burdened.
02 Concept
Design Principles Emotional & Empathy
Tangible
Nudging: To make users migrate to new behaviour, new thinking the system should be offer layered and soft push in a subtle way. Give gentle reminders.
It should be an efficient system such that time spent on it by the user should feel much less than it would actually be.
Supportive: It should always offer contextual help without having to go to Query or Call functions.
Seamlesslessness: The functional and emotional look, feel should feel the same when you migrate from the web to a mobile platform iOS or Android or a tablet.
Humane: Language, tone, guiding should be polite, non threatening, jargon-free, friendly making them feel at ease.
Multichannel: IT should allow the users (TP and CA) to exchange, notify, upload, exchange information and documents between devices and platforms, seamlessly.
02 Concept
Design Principles Emotional & Empathy
Tangible
Responsive: It should be a system that tracks, learns and offers intuitive and flexible ways for both sides to interact with the system and each other.
Flexible: It will allow users on both sides to customise performance and interaction functions by offering to manipulate yes, no, correct incorrect functions.
The visual design should be simple, elegant and give fast access to most used functions and most needed functions. Learning: It should be able to compute, evaluate and respond to the user with enriched interactions, functionality and raise value.
Keep your users informed and in control by providing informative and timely feedback tailored to the current situation Fast, direct.
03 Scenarios
For the sake of the project I have kept the focus to design for one case: Umesh CA and Nilu, his client, tax payer. I decided to first prototype the experience of a system translating Nilu’s insights, and needs into a digital wireframe. This prototype is meant to test: Functionality Humane quotient of the experience Content
03 Scenarios
Use Case Scenario Nilofer is already a signed user to fileasy.com As a signed user, the system and the CA have her previous year’s filing details and her gross salary of 2014. She has returned after a few days in order to provide her documents to her CA, Umesh.
Note: Do refer to the first experience prototype as a PDF
04 Co-Creation / Prototyping
Use Case Scenario 1- Testing with Nilofer
04 Co-Creation / Prototyping
Use Case Scenario 1- Testing with Nilofer
04 Co-Creation / Prototyping
Use Case Scenario 1- Testing with Nilofer
04 Co-Creation / Prototyping
Testing, Feedback & Insights Feedback “Im overwhelmed when I see the first button as Form 16.
Insights Information hierarchy of functional buttons should be more empathically organised. least ‘industrial’ name first.
“I like the homepage a lot! It’s direct, straight up and tell me exactly where I can go. I know what I want to do and it kinda knows it. It feels like the system is already talking to you post some information gathering hence then tell me about tax deductions that I will start with here.
Work on text and probably visually showing the same.
04 Co-Creation / Prototyping
Testing, Feedback & Insights Feedback I feel that Im being given new information as I go in but I dont’ like it. The Incomes page: I want to know about all that comes in Income.
I like the visual wizard-like function. however, on the main page of the Upload, here, I want to know first a bit about each of the documents that I am to share. IT gives me more comfort.
Insights Incomes should be the top navigation bar, will be common to all users, only differ in the types.
04 Co-Creation / Prototyping
Testing, Feedback & Insights Feedback
The page is a bit crowded.
I Don’t know button, does it mean that I want to know what form 16 means?
Insights Re work on the features on each page. Visual wireframe of the page.
Rename the I dont know button that will reflect the function accurately.
04 Co-Creation / Prototyping
Testing, Feedback & Insights
Based on these insights I worked on the iteration to make the experience that can be now better adapted to others as well.
Note: Do refer to the Iteration 1.0 as a PDF.
05 Forward Direction
The next stage would involve prototyping with the files app to develop seamless ways that allow to share information between the two platforms.
In Parallel, develop prototypes for interactions with the current experience system.
The method going forward would be that of iteration and prototyping and testing with the CA and Tax Payer to keep refining interactions, visual designs, technology components.