IRS (Internal Revenue Service)
Enhancing Taxpayer Experience: Redesigning In-App for taxpayer’s Online Account Notifications
PROBLEM
Taxpayers using the IRS Online Account (OLA) find the current notification system overwhelming, unclear, and lacking personalization, making it difficult to take timely and informed actions.
GOAL
Redesign the in-app notifications system to improve visibility, clarity, and control—helping taxpayers stay informed and prepared through a more user-centered experience.
MY ROLE
UX Designer
Designed ideation, prototyping, and incorporated feedback from usability testing. Collaborated on research synthesis and worked closely with stakeholders and developers to deliver the final design solution.
Tools
Sketch, InVision, Miro
Duration
July – September 2024
DISCOVERY & RESEARCH
Research goals:
Method:
Moderated interviews with 9 taxpayers
Each participant walked through their typical behavior on OLA and responded to new design ideas.
Key research questions:
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How do users think about and prioritize notifications?
Where do they expect to find them?
What actions do they expect when clicking a notification?
What level of detail and control do users want in managing notifications?
Key insights:
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Users expect three types of notifications: actionable tasks, confirmation of completed tasks, and informational updates.
They prioritize notifications by due dates and required effort.
Most expect to click a notification and be brought directly to the related task or page.
Participants desire centralized access and the ability to manage or archive past notifications.
Some confusion arose around visual elements like badge numbers and icons.
DEFINE
Problem statement:
Taxpayers need a streamlined, visible, and intuitive notification experience that helps them understand and act on tasks promptly without cognitive overload.
Design opportunities:
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Improve visibility of notifications on the dashboard.
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Clarify notification types and actions.
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Provide multi-access points (e.g., dashboard + menu).
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Clarify the meaning of UI elements (like badge numbers, bell icons).
- Offer control over notification persistence and management.
IDEATION & PROTOTYPING
Initial Concepts:
Created two A/B design variations for user testing:
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Design A:
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Full list of notifications on dashboard
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New messages appeared on top
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Minimal clutter
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Static badge label for messages
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Bell icon in top nav
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Badge number reflects quantity of new messages
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Notifications available in multiple areas
- Included “actions taken” updates
Design B:
CURRENT EXPERIENCE
Before redesigning the notification experience, we analyzed the existing IRS Online Account interface.
Findings:
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Notifications card blended in with everything else on the account home, making it difficult for users to notice or prioritize
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No clear hierarchy or categorization of messages.
- No dedicated space to manage or revisit past messages.
USABILITY TESTING (A/B TESTING)
Design A
Design B
Design A findings
- Preferred by most users
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Considered clean, scannable, and easy to locate new messages
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Confusion over badge label wording
- Some desire to “clear” notifications manually
Design B findings
- Liked seeing how many new messages they had
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Appreciated seeing notifications in multiple places
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Concerned about deleting messages permanently
- Some disliked ambiguity of icons (menu dot, bell)
Overall findings
- Dashboard visibility of notifications (Design A) was preferred
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Users were split on notification permanence—some expected read items to disappear, others wanted an archive
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Users expected a centralized inbox with all past messages
- Iconography consistency matters—visual cues like bell, badge, or menu should be clear and standard
FINAL DESIGN SOLUTION
IMPACT