✨ Reporting
Understanding User Behaviors and Preferences in Utilizing Reports
Role
Lead UX Researcher
Methodologies
Contextual Inquiries
SME Interviews
Tools
Dovetail, Figjam
Timeline
4 months
🕵🏼♀️ Overview
This study focused on understanding how users interact with reporting tools and uncovering challenges in their report creation and use. We gathered feedback from both users and internal experts to identify pain points and opportunities for improvement.
As a result, updates to terminology and documentation were made, which significantly improved the user experience. After these changes, many users reported spending less time on report tasks, and support inquiries about field meanings dropped, freeing up resources for other issues.
The insights from this study are helping to refine the reporting process and make it more efficient and user-friendly.
🔎 Research Objectives
🚀 Methodology + Participants
🗓️ Proposed Timeline
organize data ➡️ initial review ➡️ affinity mapping ➡️ id key themes
Evaluate User Behaviors and Preferences
Understand how users interact with their current reporting tools and their preferences for report creation and utilization.
Identify Challenges and Collect Feedback
Discover the obstacles users face in finding and using reports, and gather feedback to improve the overall user experience.
Offer Insights for a Smooth Transition
Provide actionable insights to improve the user experience and support a seamless migration to the new tool, slated to launch in the coming years.
Methodology
Contextual Inquiries
SME Interviews
Participants
6 enterprise tax software users
2 internal subject matter experts
🔬 Synthesis + Analysis
Image Credit: Dovetail
📍 Key Findings
January: Planning + Recruitment
Define objectives, develop research questions, and finalize methodology.
Create materials (e.g., interview guides, consent forms) and begin participant recruitment.
February: Recruitment Continued
Recruitment continued with an increased participant incentive
March: Data Collection
Finalized recruitment and scheduling
Conduct research sessions, starting to note any emerging themes or patterns.
April: Data Analysis + Read Out
Analyze data, synthesize findings, and identify key insights.
Create research report, present findings to stakeholders, and gather feedback.
01. Organize Raw Data
Compile notes and recordings: Review all session notes, transcripts, and recordings to ensure nothing is overlooked.
Centralize observations: Gather all data into one location (research repository).
02. Initial Review
Skim through data to get a sense of overall themes, standout moments, and critical pain points.
Highlight or tag key quotes, behaviors, and actions that align with the study's objectives.
03. Affinity Mapping
Break data into smaller observations (utilizing Canvas in Dovetail).
Group similar observations to identify patterns, trends, and emerging themes.
04. Identify Key Themes
Synthesize groups into broader themes, such as common workflows, pain points, unmet needs, or opportunities.
Validate themes by cross-checking with multiple participants' data to ensure consistency.
02. How much time do customers spend on reporting?
Ideally, time spent on reporting would break down as:
10% downloading reports
5% on report clean-up
85% on analysis and thought work
In practice, however, the time allocation looks more like:
20% downloading reports
60% on report clean-up
20% on analysis and thought work
“My colleagues and I have to stay in constant communication because we can’t run reports at the same time. It’s the most frustrating part of my job.”
02. Many users operate with multiple ERP systems, so optimizing data transfer and reporting tools for faster integration is essential to meet customer expectations and differentiate from competitors.
Many users operate with multiple ERP systems, often facing delays and workflow challenges during data extraction and reconciliation. Optimizing data transfer processes and reporting tools for efficiency can reduce these issues, enhance user workflows, and meet expectations for quick, reliable data handling.
“I really wish you guys would just work directly with Alteryx to make sure the systems integrate more smoothly. Right now, it feels like we’re constantly troubleshooting issues that could be solved if the two platforms communicated better.”
🎉 Impact
03. Why do customers spend so much time creating reports?
Common issues customers encounter with reporting:
ERP system blockages
Lengthy download times (up to 8 hours)
System limitations with large data sets
Extensive clean-up of unnecessary fields in Excel
Restrictions on concurrent report downloads
Manual data conversion, such as transforming text files into Excel
“I usually start running a report at the end of the day so it’s ready to go the next morning, but sometimes there’s like an issue between the software and our ERP, so it stalls out.”
03. Inconsistent naming conventions and limited customization hinder decision-making.
Users face challenges such as large data sets, inconsistent naming conventions, and limited field customization, which complicate reporting and data management. These barriers hinder users’ ability to interpret and utilize data effectively, impacting decision-making and analysis.
“Handling large data sets is difficult enough, but the way fields are labeled and the inability to customize them adds unnecessary complexity. It often feels like we’re spending more time organizing the data than using it to make decisions.”
70%
Support Reduction
Better documentation reduced the need for users to contact support for clarification on field meanings by 75%, freeing up resources for other issues.
Establishing baseline metrics and tracking impact over time was a game-changer in this study. Quick wins—like documentation updates—are great, but real, lasting change needed ongoing advocacy and dedicated resources. Aligning user needs with organizational goals helped turn insights into action, and collaborating with other teams uncovered shared objectives, expanding UX research’s influence. Plus, research isn’t meant to gather dust in a slide deck—sharing findings widely made the data more impactful and strengthened buy-in across the board.
01. Ensure Excel Compatibility for Reporting
Implement tools that allow users to create, save, and export custom reports with tailored field orders and contents, ensuring seamless compatibility with Excel for enhanced usability.
02. Enhance Usability with Automation
Introduce automation and scheduling capabilities for reports to streamline workflows, ensuring these features are intuitive and easily accessible.
03. Improve Data Interpretation
Offer a comprehensive guide to field definitions to help users better understand data references and enhance their ability to interpret report outputs.
01. Research Alignment Workshop Post Readout
Collaborated with stakeholders to prioritize research recommendations.
Focused on initiatives that balanced user impact and feasibility.
02. Quick Efficiency Enhancement
Documentation Initiative:
Created downloadable field-meaning documentation, accessible via reporting screen and customer portal.
Ensured consistent terminology between internal teams and end-users.
03. Long-Term Roadmap Updates
Report Automation:
Added to the roadmap the ability to schedule report generation during non-working hours, directly addressing time-saving concerns.
Excel Compatibility:
Recognized as a critical user need but deferred as a stretch goal for 2026 due to resource constraints.
30%
Time Savings
After the documentation update, 30% of users reported spending less time on report-related tasks.
01. Why do our customers use reports?
Compare data as part of routine processes
Troubleshoot issues
Support audits and ensure compliance
Maintain documentation for record-keeping
Fulfill requests from managers or other departments
“When issues arise or our numbers don’t add up, we rely on reports to quickly troubleshoot and pinpoint discrepancies in our data.”
💡 Insights
01. Users rely heavily on Excel for reporting, so all report outputs should be optimized for Excel compatibility.
The lack of Excel-friendly formats in reports forces users to spend excessive time on data preparation, resulting in inefficiencies and delays in their analysis processes. This limitation hinders their ability to quickly and accurately interpret data, leading to frustration and impacting decision-making efficiency.
“When I download a report, some numbers are not recognized as actual numbers. It’s frustrating and time-consuming because I can’t analyze or use the data until I fix it.”
📢 Opportunities + Recommendations
✈️ Next Steps
80%
Enhanced Usability
By addressing terminology discrepancies, 80% of users rated the updated documentation as "extremely helpful" in a post-use survey.
🪩 Reflections
Reporting is a key component of tax software, enabling tax professionals to track, analyze, and document changes to their configuration, financial data for compliance, and essential processes like monthly reconciliation. However, it is often time-consuming and difficult, leading users to create workarounds. Effective reporting simplifies these tasks, ensuring accurate and timely reports that help avoid penalties and minimize audit risks.