Business Case: Improving usability of Drake Tax data entry screens to reduce Support call volume and increase revenue.
Product Definition: Drake Tax is the legacy professional tax preparation software offered by Drake.
Project Goal & Outcome : With a user base of approximately 70,000 users, a 2% reduction in Support call volume could result in significant cost savings. Improved data input screens, such as what I am presenting below, had just this type of impact.
Constraints: No design language or system. PM's had limited experience working with a design resource.
These incremental improvements were also part of a larger modernization effort. Drake Tax was orginally written in Power Basic and was being re-written in C#. In collaboration with my Development colleagues, I was able to deliver meaningful, impactful improvements: reducing user confusion, streamlining workflows, and ensuring the new system aligned seamlessly with the ongoing modernization effort.
In the series of screens below, I first present the "legacy" screen with call-outs for aspects that I felt needed to be addressed. Then, I present the re-designed screens. These re-designs were often "validated" in a short "hallway test" of a Figma prototype with a Drake colleague. Some feedback is better than none...
When working with PM's who've never worked with a designer, getting to the root of a user-centered topic requires digging. Dig with purpose.
Too many versions presented during a review can result in churn. Iterate with the team, but nail down the direction and guide the conversation accordingly.
The product images shared below show the "before" and "after" versions of one such dialog.
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