Making business tax simple
Her Majesty’s Revenue & Customs
Challenge
HMRC wanted to replace its legacy business tax account service with a new accessible service based on the needs of business users.
My role & team
As the lead product designer, I was responsible for the design process from concept to delivery. I was collaborating closely with product owners, the engineering team, and the business tax subject matters experts.
Process
Given the complexity of the service, different teams in different locations were given responsibility for specific areas. My responsibility was the Pay As You Earn for Employers (PAYE) area. I started by interviewing subject matter experts to understand the policies that define PAYE. In collaboration with a user researcher, we run a research study to understand a ‘day in the life’ of business users to uncover their day-to-day tasks and goals. We aimed to gain a broad understanding of how they manage their payroll and use the existing business account service.
In collaboration with a user researcher, we run a research study to understand a ‘day in the life’ of business users to uncover their day-to-day tasks and goals. We aimed to gain a broad understanding of how they manage their payroll and use the existing business account service.
I then created an HTML prototype of the service using Gov.uk front-end toolkit. Designs were further refined with feedback from users and the business.
Results
After the release of the newly redesigned service customers’ satisfaction score went up to 80% from 63%. Users praised the service for its simplicity, ease of use, richness of information and accuracy of data.
