Refresh of our Windows desktop tax preparation software for Windows 7. This included an overall visual and experience refresh, redesign of global navigation elements, and designing the Windows debut of 'Flags'.
Customer first. Our Windows customers have been with us for 10 years on average. They're fiercely loyal, intimately familiar with how the product works, and emphatically don't want 'change'. So, when we rewrote the interface in Windows Presentation Foundation (WPF) for Windows 7, we were careful and considerate.
Focus on refinement. We untangled clumsy task flows, made under-utilized features like 'Ask a Tax Expert' more accessible, and polished the look and feel to a high sheen. We also leveraged the new animation capabilities of WPF to add context to important events in tax preparation, like file transfer and calculations.
Very usable. The side bar collects several forms of user assistance. Even though we more than doubled the feature set, our analytics proved we made them all more accessible and widely used than before.
Native look and feel. We used native Windows 7 widgets and design patterns, so it was immediately obvious and intuitive to use.
New 'Flags'. The new Flags feature allows a customer to bookmark specific areas to return to later. It exceeded projections for adoption rate and net promoter score.
Improved 'Ask a Tax Expert'. A customer can connect directly to an expert to answer complicated questions. This feature saw a 280% increase in year-over-year revenue.
Massive improvement. This was a combined effort across multiple teams on the Windows platform, and included a transition to a WPF forms codebase, code refactoring, and increased stability. We finished it off with a fresh, clean look and feel.