Problem Statement
This pattern extends the activity feed. It can be used to update a user about a multi-step process
How this would be beneficial? in the large context
We have defined ‘Status Updates’ as a feature to present users with further updates in the Events, to make sure they keep track of updates and are able to progress chasing. Status updates aim at supporting users in understanding what are the most recent updates to their queries (e.g. a repayments status, the progress of a claim, …).
The pattern we have designed provides a consistent and pre-tested solution to common design problems where Service Owners are aiming at “presenting to users further updates to previous relevant changes of circumstances that have an impact on their tax”, making interfaces easier to learn and use. This will lead to faster development cycles and a more trustworthy user experience.
The pattern aims at providing:
Familiarity and predictability
Reduced learning curve for users
Faster design and development, and easier maintenance
Consistency across taxes and benefits ecosystem (also by using the ‘Tax regime’ + ‘Tax year’ framework, that helps users refer to the right domain) / inside the ‘Account’ experience
Research
This pattern has been tested with 29 participants across 5 rounds of user research. This included participants with neurodiversity, visual impairments and English as their second language.
The research showed that users understood:
An activity had been updated by looking at the status update label
The date when an activity had been updated
The different statuses an activity has had when viewing the activity timeline
More research is needed with users of assistive technology.
Suggested Guidance
An activity can be updated by using status updates - so instead of a 'noisy' activity feed with multiple updates to the same thing, these are collapsed into the activity itself.
The activity view page then uses the HMRC timeline component to communicate the related sets of updates to the activity.
These can be used for anything that gets updated, or goes through a series of stages:
Register for Self Assessment
(register > verify your identity > etc)
Self Assessment repayments
(request received > processing > paid)
Problem Statement
This pattern extends the activity feed. It can be used to update a user about a multi-step process
How this would be beneficial? in the large context
We have defined ‘Status Updates’ as a feature to present users with further updates in the Events, to make sure they keep track of updates and are able to progress chasing. Status updates aim at supporting users in understanding what are the most recent updates to their queries (e.g. a repayments status, the progress of a claim, …).
The pattern we have designed provides a consistent and pre-tested solution to common design problems where Service Owners are aiming at “presenting to users further updates to previous relevant changes of circumstances that have an impact on their tax”, making interfaces easier to learn and use. This will lead to faster development cycles and a more trustworthy user experience.
The pattern aims at providing:
Familiarity and predictability
Reduced learning curve for users
Faster design and development, and easier maintenance
Consistency across taxes and benefits ecosystem (also by using the ‘Tax regime’ + ‘Tax year’ framework, that helps users refer to the right domain) / inside the ‘Account’ experience
Research
This pattern has been tested with 29 participants across 5 rounds of user research. This included participants with neurodiversity, visual impairments and English as their second language.
The research showed that users understood:
An activity had been updated by looking at the status update label
The date when an activity had been updated
The different statuses an activity has had when viewing the activity timeline
More research is needed with users of assistive technology.
Suggested Guidance
An activity can be updated by using status updates - so instead of a 'noisy' activity feed with multiple updates to the same thing, these are collapsed into the activity itself.
The activity view page then uses the HMRC timeline component to communicate the related sets of updates to the activity.
These can be used for anything that gets updated, or goes through a series of stages:
Register for Self Assessment
(register > verify your identity > etc)
Self Assessment repayments
(request received > processing > paid)