My Business Account Service Study

Prepared for the:
Public Affairs Branch
Canada Revenue Agency
FINAL REPORT
March 2008
POR# 320-07
Contract #46558-087279

Prepared by:
Phoenix Strategic Perspectives Inc

Le rapport complet en français sera fourni sur demande.

To request a full copy of this report, please contact Library and Archives Canada at:
613-996-5115 or 1-866-578-7777 or www.collectionscanada.ca

Media Enquiries:
Media Relations
Canada Revenue Agency
4th Floor 555 MacKenzie Avenue
Ottawa ON K1A 0L5
media.relations@cra-arc.gc.ca

Executive Summary

Phoenix SPI conducted qualitative research related to the CRA Web site’s My Business Account service. The research focused on the Main page and Welcome page of the service, and involved usability testing of the service’s Welcome page. The target audience was small and medium-sized businesses (SMEs) and third-party service providers (i.e. specialized businesses that assist SMEs in complying with their tax-related requirements). In total, 40 interviews were conducted across five locations: Toronto, Montreal (French), Halifax, Edmonton, and Vancouver. In each city, four interviews were conducted with each audience, for a total of 20 interviews with SME representatives (including 5 business owners) and 20 with service providers. The interviews were conducted January 23-31, 2008.

This research was qualitative in nature, not quantitative. As such, the results provide an indication of participants’ views about the issues explored, but cannot be generalized to the full population of SMEs or third-party service providers.

Main Page

Overall, the Main page of the My Business Account service received generally favourable feedback. Participants perceived the page to be clean, clearly laid out, and not overwhelming in design. The layout and clear navigation options were routinely identified as strengths of the page. Some attributed the prominence of the two navigation options – ‘Log in’ and ‘Register for a Government of Canada epass’ – to the coloured links, which are emphasized with boldface font and ‘arrow’ bullets. Not only did the presentation receive positive assessments, so too did the content. Most participants felt that the information on the Main page is generally clear and easy to understand.

Despite these favourable assessments, the research identified a number of areas that could use improvement. In terms of the presentation of the content, some participants thought the page looked busy and overcrowded. The top half, in particular, was singled out as looking cluttered and complex, with too much content to read. Several people, moreover, questioned the inclusion of the ‘What’s New’ box on the Main page, saying that it seemed unnecessary, while a few thought it is too prominent and could be better positioned elsewhere on the page.

Additionally, while most participants thought the information was clear and easy to understand, it was not at all obvious to employees and service providers that the two navigation links above the ‘What’s New’ box pertained only to business owners. It did not occur to most employees and service providers to look in the ‘What’s New’ box to find relevant information about navigating the service. When the link, ‘Represent a client’, was pointed out, service providers typically understood that this applied to them. Employees, on the other hand, were not at all likely to see themselves as fitting into this category. They see themselves logging into their firm’s business account, not as representing their firm with the CRA.

Turning to the alternative version of the Main page, there was widespread agreement that the inclusion of intermediate pages is a useful addition to the design. Unlike the current Main page, the alternative design more clearly streamed people by type of business audience – owners versus authorized representations. To explain why they liked this approach, many pointed to the perception that it makes navigation more efficient and that it is easier to access information and services quickly. This approach was described by these participants as ‘simpler’ and ‘easier to use’ compared to the current version. That said, this approach suffers from the same problem that the current version does – the navigation options, and in particular the labelling of these options, lacks clarity for many. It was not immediately evident to research participants which of the three options applied to their circumstances: ‘New to MyBA’, ‘A representative or employee’, or ‘An existing MyBA user’. In fact, some participants responded to the links only, ‘register yourself’, ‘Represent a client’ or ‘Log-in’ and did not notice or take the time to read the text that preceded the links.

When asked to select their preferred design approach for the Main page of the My Business Account service, there was no clear winner, with similar proportions selecting each version. Those who selected the current version of the Main page did so for a variety of reasons, including the fact that all the information can be found on one page (as opposed to the alternative approach, which uses intermediate pages), as well as their perceptions that the design is well laid out, aesthetically more appealing, and more professional in appearance. Those who preferred the alternative version tended to attribute this to its simple design. Compared to the current page, this page appeared to be less confusing and crowded. Other reasons offered for favouring the alternative design included that the page contains less information, can be read/scanned quickly, appears easier to navigate, and does not require scrolling.

Welcome Page

Virtually everyone offered positive assessments of the layout of the My Business Account Welcome page. Many representatives of SMEs and service providers explained their reaction by describing the layout of the page as ‘simple’, ‘clear’, ‘basic’, and ‘straightforward’. In addition, there was unanimity that the structure or organization of the information makes it easy to use and navigate the service. The labels of the various categories and services were generally seen to be intuitive and easy to understand, and the grouping of information under the headings was viewed as logical. For the most part, it was clear to participants what kind of information can be accessed through the links.

Focusing on usability, moreover, the Welcome page tested well in terms of ease of use. Most of the exercises were not difficult for participants to complete, although there is some room for improvement to make several activities more user-friendly. In particular, some business owners had trouble locating the link to access the ‘authorize or manage representatives’ information. Notably, it appears that participants tend not to use the left-hand menu. Instead, they focus on the links in the centre of the page. As well, the process of registering as a representative could be made simpler for employees and service providers. Many participants thought the process was unnecessarily complicated and long, and that the labelling of navigation options was not well done. Few participants thought it was clear that they had to register themselves as a representative in order to advance from the main menu.

When asked to assess the two alternative layouts proposed for the Welcome page, few representatives of SMEs and service providers reacted positively to either design. The scroll bars and drop down menus were not considered to be user-friendly navigation tools. In fact, participants overwhelmingly preferred the current Welcome page to the alternative layouts. There was a near consensus that this layout is the best in terms of making it as quick and easy as possible for users of the My Business Account service to find the information or material they need. The options were viewed to be well laid out and easily scannable. Even when a ‘more complete’ version of the current Welcome page was shown to participants, one that had many more links/options and so required the user to scroll down on the page to view all available options, the preference for the current Welcome page was essentially unchanged.

Conclusions and Implications

The Main and Welcome pages of the My Business Account service tested well in terms of layout and design, and in the case of the Welcome page, usability. For the most part, the Main page is quick and easy to use to access information. While there was no clear winner between the current and alternative versions of the Main page, the findings suggest that the inclusion of intermediate pages is a useful addition to the design, and that participants prefer a clean, simple design. However, regardless of the approach used, an important issue in need of attention is the labelling of the navigation options: many participants did not realize that the main two, prominent hyperlinks on the Main page apply only to business owners, not to service providers or employees.

The research also provides the CRA with clear direction for moving forward with the design and layout of the Welcome page. Of the three versions of the Welcome page that were tested, participants expressed a clear preference for the current version. The findings from the usability testing, moreover, suggest that the Welcome page largely meets the needs and expectations of its target audience. Most of the exercises were not difficult for participants to complete, although there is room for improvement to make some activities more use-friendly. The CRA will want to consider the suggestions offered by participants for improving the current Welcome page, as well as the pages associated with the various activities/tasks that were assessed.

In addition, we offer the following recommendations on the design, layout and usability of the Main and Welcome pages of the My Business Account service:

• Ensure that all labels are clear and succinct, especially those that pertain to navigation. A few labels, in particular, require improvement. On the Main page, different language is needed for the label that facilitates employee access to the service. ‘Represent a client’ does not have meaning for them (i.e. they do not see this as applying to them). Moreover, it was not clear that the two prominent navigation links on this page are for business owners only. On the Welcome page, most representatives of SMEs and service providers did not think the label ‘Global Services’ worked well.
• Do not put important navigation options in feature boxes set apart from the main text. It did not occur to most participants to look in the ‘What’s New’ box to find relevant information about (or links for) navigating the service.
• Participants do not like to scroll to access Web page content. Any layout and design changes that can be made to reduce or eliminate the need to scroll to access the content would be welcomed.

Finally, in terms of additional services for the My Business Account service, participants identified one type of service more often than any other that they would like to see added – the ability to submit GST/HST returns and make payments online for GST/HST, payroll, T5 and others. It was clear that there was a desire among a few participants to be able to make GST/HST payments directly to the CRA without having to go through a financial institution or other third party. The CRA will want to investigate the feasibility of offering these services in order to maximize the extent to which the My Business Account service addresses the needs of its business clients.

Date modified:

2008-07-30