Project Scope

"Using an iterative and user centered design process redesign the 1040 United States Individual Income Tax Return form."

This blogger is intended to document Lisa and Jill's process for Professor Jon Kolko's Information Architecture class at the Savannah College of Art and Design. Through out the blog there will be writings, diagrams, and images showing the process of understanding and synthesis of gathered information. The result will be my final redesign of the 1040 US Individual Income Tax Return document, based on my findings.

Goals:

• Efficiently Organize information
• Present the information to the user in an easy to use manner
• Understandable
• Pleasing to fill out

Restructuring Tasks:

Restructure existing 1040 content on the page(s)

• Decide on the important information
• Figure out which information is rarely used to see if it is really needed on the sheet
• K.I.S.S. (keep is simple stupid!)

Use of basic visual design principalsls, in order to make the information clearer and easier to understand:

• Typography
• Bolding, underling, numbering, lettering, indentations
• Spatial Relationships
• Proximity of information
• Hierarchy of information
• Grouping of information
• Coloring (gray tones)

Instructional Material:

• Assisting the user in comprehension of the 1040 form.
• Define any necessary and unfamiliar terms on the form
• Assist the user from the beginning? Include a "How To Use this Document" instruction manual?
• This is a negative and a positive. Yes, it would be very informative for the user to be educated about the document before they even start. But, it could also be overwhelming to the user. Why should one have to read a page of instructions for something thatt is 2-4 pages long? Should the structure of the final designed form deliverable be easy enough to follow with out directions? Or as the designer should we make an educated assumption (after tons of user testing of course) that the user is a complete idiot and guide them in every way possible?
• Clear, concise, succinct
  

Research:

• TALK TO THE EXPERTS
• Define unfamiliar terminology (all of it!)
• Contextual Research at H&R block, and other similar companies
• Phone interview scheduled with a Virginia Account, Beth, Monday January 30, 2006
• Read, analyze the 2005 1040 Instructions Booklet provided by the IRS
• Voice Recordings for future transcriptions
• Photo documentation
• Think Aloud Study while people fill out the 1040 form
• Watch for confusion
• Breakdowns
• Misunderstandings

Analysis:

• Transcribe interviews
• Find Breakdowns, where the information failed to communicate to the user
• Concept/Process Flow Mapping of information
• Simplifying/ extracting information
• Any other mapping techniques that may aid in my comprehension