Andrea Schneider, Internal Revenue Service , @AZSchneiderinMD Lauren Gilchrist, Pivotal Labs, @gilchrist Although the IRS can process your refund quickly, it does not have a reputation for quick internal change; it still uses many applications from the Kennedy administration. But Andrea Schneider, Senior Manager of Product Management in Online Services, is helping the IRS launch a MVP early in next year’s filing season that will allow taxpayers to access basic tax information online, including their balance, tax records, and payment histories, as well as make a payment. She, along with Lauren Gilchrist, Product Manager at Pivotal Labs, who is partnering with the IRS to build the MVP, will discuss their biggest challenges along the way and share advice for experimenting and iterating inside large bureaucracies.

1. Minimum Viable Taxes
How to launch an MVP in the IRS
Andrea Schneider @AZSchneiderinMD
Lauren Gilchrist @lgilchrist

2. It all began with a business
problem...

3. IRS gets too many phone
calls from taxpayers who
owe a balance asking
“what do I owe?”

4. Maybe we can solve this
problem with software...

5. But, building software in
the IRS is hard.

6. Could agile make building
software easier?

7. Agile isn’t a silver bullet.
We still need to build the
right software.

8. Government really needs
to build the right
software.

9. Could lean make us build
the right software?

10. Lean concepts:
1. List your assumptions
2. Understand your customers
3. Get something into the world
4. Adjust based on evidence

11. Taxpayers want to know
their basic tax history
1. LIST YOUR ASSUMPTIONS

12. Is that true? Let’s ask real
taxpayers.
2. UNDERSTAND YOUR CUSTOMERS

13. 3. GET SOMETHING INTO THE WORLD

14. Taxpayers want to know
their basic tax history
Taxpayers want to know
what they owe the IRS
4. ADJUST BASED ON EVIDENCE

15. 4. ADJUST BASED ON EVIDENCE
Before After

16. Lean made us confident
we were building the
right software.

17. What does lean
government software
development look like?

18. 1. Test with real people
2. Use data wisely
3. Embrace constraints

19. It can be hard to find
representative users.
1. TEST WITH REAL PEOPLE

20. Employees are not a
substitute for users.
1. TEST WITH REAL PEOPLE

21. Test before launching (or
even building!)
1. TEST WITH REAL PEOPLE

22. Evidence doesn’t need to
be statistically significant
2. USE DATA WISELY

23. Balance qualitative &
quantitative evidence.
2. USE DATA WISELY

24. Be a scientist, not an
expert.
2. USE DATA WISELY

25. Accessibility is important.
3. EMBRACE CONSTRAINTS

26. Compliance is important.
3. EMBRACE CONSTRAINTS

27. MVP looks different for
the government.
3. EMBRACE CONSTRAINTS

28. What does lean
government software
development look like?

29. 1. Test with real people
2. Use data wisely
3. Embrace constraints

30. Lean is really hard.
Lean is really worth it.

31. If the IRS can embrace
lean, you can too.

32. Questions?

33. Thank you!
Andrea Schneider @AZSchneiderinMD
Lauren Gilchrist @lgilchrist
Lovingly illustrated by Linda Joy @ljoy