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Tax Preparer Protocol
Task Order 11, Phase 2: User Testing
Tax Preparer Protocol
EITC Task Order 11, Phase 2
User-Centered Testing of www.irs./eitc
OMB No.: 1545-1349
EITC Website Usability Interviews with Tax Preparers
Session Recruitment Screener
Hello, may I speak to [TAX PREPARER NAME]? My name is [INTERVIEWER NAME], and I am
calling from Westat, a private research company in Rockville, Maryland. We are conducting a
research study for the Internal Revenue Service (IRS).
The IRS is interested in learning what it’s like for professional tax preparers when they search
for information about the Earned Income Tax Credit (“EITC”, also known as “EIC”) on the
IRS.gov website. [If needed: The Earned Income Tax Credit offsets federal taxes on earned
wages for working families and low income individuals.] We are asking professional tax
preparers to help us test the IRS.gov website so we can learn what looking for information
about EITC on the site is like for you, and learn ways that IRS may improve access to
information about EITC on their website.
You are being invited to participate because you prepared returns for taxpayers who claimed
the Earned Income Tax Credit in the past. We are inviting professional tax preparers to come to
our Rockville, Maryland office to work with the IRS.gov website during the week of January
[DATE]. This should take about an hour and a half from start to finish. To thank you for your
participation, we will provide you with $200 cash.
Your participation in this activity is voluntary. Participation will not affect your taxes or your tax
status, or that of your firm. Identifying information about you will not be shared with the IRS.
[IF NEEDED: If you like, I can give you an address where you can send comments about the
time and burden for this research study. The address is Internal Revenue Service
Tax Products Coordinating Committee
SE:W:CAR:MP:T:T:SP
1111 Constitution Ave., NW
Washington, DC 20224.]
[IF NEEDED: If you have any questions about the study or need more information, you may
email Mary.J.O'[email protected]].
Would you be willing to participate?
IF YES:
Thank you very much. I need to obtain a few pieces of information from
you. [GO TO PAGE 2]
IF NO:
[THANK AND END.]
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TaxPrep Screener
Version 12-01-08
OMB No.: 1545-1349
NAME:
ADDRESS:
WORK
PHONE:
CELL
PHONE:
EMAIL:
HOW MANY TAX PREPARERS ARE IN YOUR OFFICE? (Check one.)
1-5
21-30
6-10
31-40
11-20
41-50
More than 50
IS YOUR OFFICE PART OF A LARGER CHAIN OR FIRM? (Check one.)
Yes (SELECT NO MORE THAN 2 FOR ENTIRE USER GROUP)
[IF YES] Which one? _____________________________________________
No
DOES YOUR OFFICE MAINLY PREPARE RETURNS AS PART OF A VOLUNTEER
EFFORT, OR ON BEHALF OF A NONPROFIT ORGANIZATION?
Yes
No
Not sure
IN THE PAST YEAR, DID YOU PREPARE A RETURN FOR ANY TAXPAYER CLAIMING
EITC?
Yes
No >>[SKIP TO 7] Not sure>> [SKIP TO 7]
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APPROXIMATELY HOW MANY EITC CLAIMS DID YOU SUBMIT LAST YEAR?
LESS THAN 50
BETWEEN 100 & 200
BETWEEN 50 & 100
BETWEEN 200 & 300
MORE THAN 300
HAVE YOU EVER USED THE INTERNET TO SEARCH FOR ANY KIND OF INFORMATION?
(Check one.)
Yes
No>>THANK & TERMINATE
Not sure >>THANK & TERMINATE
We would like to invite you to come to our Rockville office to help test the IRS.gov website.
During the session we will ask you to use the website to search for EITC-related tax information
and to help us evaluate how the EITC portion of the website functions. The session should take
about an hour and a half, and to thank you for your participation, we will provide a cash
honorarium of $200.
DID THIS TAX PREPARER ACCEPT OR DECLINE THE INVITATION TO PARTICIPATE IN THE
USABILITY SESSION? (Check one.)
Accepted
Declined participation. >>Describe reason he or she declined:
DATE & TIME:
[January XX, 2009/TIME]
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TaxPrep Screener
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OMB No.: 1545-1349
Website Evaluation of irs.gov/eitc
Script for Tax Preparer Interviews
NOTE: Instructions to the moderator appear in blue font.
I.
Introduction and consent
Thank you for taking the time to help us out today. I’m ________________ and I work here at
Westat, a research company that does work for a lot of different government agencies on a
wide variety of topics. What we’re doing here today is helping the Internal Revenue Service
(IRS) learn how to improve their website.
Today I will ask you to use the IRS’s website to find information about the Earned Income Tax
Credit (EITC). Since you are a professional tax preparer, you probably already know that EITC
is a tax credit designed for individuals and families who work but don’t earn a lot of money.
Taxpayers who file for it on their tax return could end up paying less tax, or even getting a
refund.
Today I want to learn what it is like for you as a tax professional to look for information about
EITC on the IRS web site. The goal of this project is to make sure that professional tax
preparers using the IRS web site will be able to find information they need about EITC easily so
they can assist their clients with filing for the credit. I’ll be asking you to use the irs.gov
website to find different kinds of information that are posted for tax professionals and to share
your reactions with me. Your feedback will help the IRS make the best changes to improve the
website. This session will last approximately 90 minutes.
That is a one-way mirror [point to mirror]. One of my Westat colleagues is back there taking
notes while you and I work in this room.
[If IRS is observing session, read:] Observers from the IRS are also here today to observe and
see for themselves how people use the site.
Your participation in this research project is voluntary, and you have the right to skip any
question or stop at any time. Your decision to participate will have no effect on your tax status
and identifying information about you will not be shared with the IRS.
With your permission, we would like to videotape today’s session. The video will focus on your
on-screen activities and what you and I talk about during the session. We will not videotape
your face, because we want to protect the privacy of your participation today.
This consent form covers several important points about your participation. Please read it and
I’ll answer any questions you may have. [Ensure participant is agreeing to participate, have
him/her sign one copy of Tax Preparer Consent form and keep one copy for himself/herself.]
Before we get started, I’d like you to fill out this brief questionnaire. Please let me know if you
have any questions as you fill it out. [Hand the Tax Preparer Pre-test Questionnaire to the
participant to complete before continuing.]
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TaxPrep Script
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II. Website testing
I’m going to ask you to find some information that the IRS has posted on the irs.gov website
for tax professionals using this computer. Please work through these tasks as you would if you
were at work or at home, at a speed that’s comfortable for you. Remember that we’re testing
the site, we’re not testing you.
You might have some questions as you work. Please go ahead and ask them, because I’m
interested in learning from you what isn’t clear or easy to understand. However, sometimes I
may not be able to answer your questions, because I need to see how you use the site on your
own. We’ll have some time at the end so I’ll ask for your feedback about your experiences
using this site.
Do you have any questions at this point? [Answer any questions the participant has.]
As you’re working through the set of tasks I give you, please say out loud what you are
thinking, and tell me what you are looking at and clicking on as you do it. To give you an
example of what I mean, if we were having you test a website like Amazon.com you might tell
me what you’re doing by saying something like, “I’m scrolling down the page to see what kinds
of DVDs they have. Why won’t it let me search by the title of the DVD on this page?”
I will be most interested in hearing what you expect to see when you click on something, and
what you like and don’t like about the site. Occasionally, after you've said or done something, I
may ask you to tell me more, so that I can better understand how you interpret and act on the
information you see.
Are you ready to start? Do you have any questions? [Answer any remaining questions the
participant has.]
[The computer should be booted up and set to the irs.gov home page, but make sure the
monitor is clicked off before asking Q1.]
Q1.
Let’s pretend that you wanted to look for information online about EITC from your place
of business. Tell me what you would do (what actions would you take) to try to find
information about EITC on the Internet.
Probe :
Would you link to it from a corporate website or intranet?
Probe :
Use a search engine? (Google, Yahoo, others) [Note which
engines P mentions]
If search engine, ask: What are some of the key words
you would type in the Search box to help you find this
information?
Probe :
Other actions?
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TaxPrep Script
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OMB No.: 1545-1349
[Turn the monitor on to display the irs.gov home page on the screen.]
Now we’ll begin working with the computer. We’ll start at the home page for the IRS website.
[Make sure that the participant has a copy of the Tax Preparer User Tasks.]
Here is the task I would like you to start with. Please read the task out loud so I can follow
along with you.
Moderator should follow along with own copy of the Tax Preparer User Tasks.
For each task, note the paths/webpages that the user selects to reach targeted information
and the questions they ask along the way.
Note areas where user seems to get hung up or lost and the actions they take to get back
to where they want to be.
For each task, if participant was not able to complete the task or breaks off, have her/him
try to get back to the IRS.gov Home page on their own. If participant is unable to return to
that page, note this and set the screen to the home page by using the HOUSE ICON.
III.
Post-test and questions from observers
After all tasks have been completed or time limit reached, hand the Tax Preparer Post-test
Questionnaire to the participant to complete before proceeding to the debriefing questions.
Check with your observers during this time to see if they have any other questions.
IV. Debriefing and wrap up
Okay, I’d like to ask you some specific questions about what it was like for you to use this
website. [Administer the Tax Preparer Debriefing Protocol, tailoring to participant’s experience
as necessary. Monitor time against remaining session activities.]
[Remember to give the cash incentive and get the participant’s signature on the incentive
receipt.]
Thank you very much for your help today. We appreciate your input!
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TaxPrep Script
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OMB No.: 1545-1349
WEBSITE EVALUATION OF IRS.GOV/EITC
Consent for Participation and Session Recording
We are asking you to help us with a project that we are conducting for the Internal Revenue Service
(IRS). Today’s activity involves testing parts of the IRS.gov website to learn about how people look
for information about the Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC) on the site. We will use the information
you give us today to provide recommendations to the IRS for improving the website. We will be
asking you to look for different kinds of information on the website and to provide your opinions about
how it works. The session will take approximately 90 minutes.
Your participation in this research project is voluntary, and you have the right to stop at any time or to
refuse to answer any question. The things you say may be put in a written summary of this
discussion, but you will never be identified by name, and there will be no way to identify who said
what.
Also, we would like to videotape the session. Sometimes it is helpful to review a portion of a tape as
we make recommendations to the IRS for revisions. The videotaping will focus on your verbal
feedback and on-screen activities. Your face will not appear on the tape to protect the privacy of your
participation and eliminate the potential for identification.
If you agree to participate, please read and sign below.
I,
_______________________________________________________________,
(Print your name here)
consent to the video recording of this session, which is being conducted by Westat to support
the IRS evaluation of the Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC) webpages on irs.gov.
I acknowledge that my participation in this session is voluntary, and that I will receive $200 for
participating today. I understand that the recordings will be used only by the research staff to
accurately capture the experiences I had while working with the website, and that my name will
not appear in the summary report.
I am aware that my participation in this website evaluation will have no effect on my personal
tax status or my status as a professional tax preparer, that identifying information about me
will not be shared with the IRS, and that all of the information I share today is protected under
the Privacy Act.
____________________________________________________
Participant’s Signature/Date
If you have any comments regarding the time estimates associated with this study or suggestions on making this process simpler, please
write to the, Internal Revenue Service, Tax Products Coordinating Committee, SE:W:CAR:MP:T:T:SP, 1111 Constitution Ave. NW,
Washington, DC 20224. The OMB reference number for this project is 1545-1349.
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OMB No.: 1545-1349
IRS.gov Website Usability Evaluation
Tax Preparer Pre-Test Questionnaire
We would like to learn a little more about you. We will not use your name with this information. If you do not
want to answer a question, you can skip it and move to the next item. All of your answers will be kept private. DO
NOT WRITE YOUR NAME ON ANY PART OF THIS FORM. Please let us know if you have any questions.
1. Are you...? (Please check one.)
Male
Female
2. What is your current age? (Please check one.)
19 or younger
50 - 59
20 - 29
60 - 69
30 - 39
70 or more
40 - 49
3. What is the highest level of school that you have completed? (Please check one.)
th
11 grade or less
Some college
12 years of school, no diploma
College degree
GED
Post-graduate work/degree
High school graduate (diploma)
Other (specify): ________________________
4. How many tax preparers are there in your company or business? ________
5. Approximately how many EITC (Earned Income Tax Credit) claims would you say that you submitted in
TY 2007? ___________
6. How long have you been using a computer? (Please check one.)
Less than 6 months
6 months to 1 year
1 to 2 years
2 or more years
[Please continue on the other side.]
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7. How long have you been using the Internet? (Please check one.)
Less than 6 months
6 months to 1 year
1 to 2 years
2 or more years
8. On a typical day in the past month, how many hours do you use the Internet for work-related and/or
personal reasons? __________
9. Have you ever used the Internet to search for information about taxes? (Please check one.)
No STOP HERE.
Yes CONTINUE TO QUESTION 10.
10. About how many times have you ever searched for information about taxes on the Internet?
(Please check one.)
1 time
2 to 5 times
More than 5 times
11. Briefly, please tell us about the kinds of information about taxes you have looked for on the Internet.
_____________________________________________________________________________________
12. Which websites have you used to search for information about taxes?
_____________________________________________________________________________________
13. Have you ever used a government web site, such as www.irs.gov, to look for information about taxes?
No STOP HERE.
Yes Which website(s)? __________________________________________________
THANKS FOR YOUR HELP!
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Website Evaluation of irs.gov/eitc
Tax Preparer Task Scenarios
Participant Instructions:
Begin each task by starting from the irs.gov home page.
Read the task out loud so the interviewer can follow along with you.
Tell the interviewer what you’re doing while you’re looking for the information on the website. (For
example: “I’m scrolling down the page to see what it says at the bottom.”)
Task 1:
One of your clients told you that her 4-year old great nephew (that is, her brother’s
grandchild) lived with her off and on for about half of the year in 2008, and you suspect that
this child could be claimed as a “qualifying child” for EITC. Use the irs.gov web site to find
information that tells you how to determine whether your client could potentially claim her
great nephew as a qualifying child for EITC.
Task 2:
Your client is a Marine who received nontaxable combat pay in 2008 while serving in
Afghanistan. She asks you whether she is eligible for EITC. You ask her a series of questions
and determine that she meets eligibility criteria for EITC. However, the amount of EITC that
she is entitled to depends upon whether or not you include her combat pay in her income.
Find information on the irs.gov web site that tells you how to determine the amount of EITC
your client may be entitled to in this instance.
Task 3.
Another professional tax preparer asks you, “How do the IRS examiners decide which tax
preparers they are going to visit as part of that EITC due diligence compliance program?”
Use the irs.gov web site to find the answer.
Task 4.
Your client receives disability retirement income, and he asks you whether he is eligible to
claim EITC. You remember that one of the factors that determine his eligibility for the credit
is his age. Find information on the irs.gov web site that tells you how taxpayer age affects
EITC eligibility for people who receive disability retirement income.
Task 5.
The 2008 tax filing season for individuals is fast approaching and you would like to attend one
of the tax forums that the IRS sponsors every year to learn the latest policies and regulations.
Find a schedule of upcoming professional tax forums on the irs.gov website.
Task 6.
One of your clients started his own lawn mowing business in September 2008. He was eligible
to claim EITC as an individual on his 2007 taxes and he wonders if he is still eligible to claim
EITC now that he has his own business. Use the irs.gov website to find information about
how being self-employed affects EITC eligibility.
Task 7.
You’re getting ready for the 2008 tax filing season reading up on the latest information. You
remember that when a taxpayer provides you inconsistent or incomplete information, you are
required to ask for clarification before you determine whether the taxpayer can claim EITC.
Find the place on the irs.gov web site where you can read examples of inconsistent or
incomplete information that tax preparers should not accept from taxpayers without asking
for clarification.
Tax prep Tasks
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IRS.gov Website Usability Evaluation
Post-Test Questionnaire for Tax Preparers
Think about what it was like for you to use the www.irs.gov website today. Please use the check boxes
below to tell us how much you agree or disagree with each of the following statements.
DO NOT WRITE YOUR NAME ON ANY PART OF THIS FORM.
Strongly
Disagree
(Please check one box for each statement.)
1. The EITC pages posted for tax professionals on this website are
organized in a logical way.
2. I could tell what I needed to do with the website to complete the
tasks I worked on today.
3. I had difficulty finding information about EITC on the website.
4. I like using the IRS.gov website to find information about EITC.
5. The website helps me to find information about EITC easily.
6. I am not familiar with many of the terms used in the EITC pages on
this website.
7. If I came back to this website later, I would be able to find the
information that I found about EITC again pretty easily.
8. The screens on this website are cluttered and distracting.
9. New Internet users would find this website easy to use.
10. Experienced Internet users would find this website easy to use.
11. This website has useful information about EITC that I can use as a
tax professional.
12. I would recommend this website to other tax professionals.
13. I would recommend this website to taxpayers.
14. I consider www.irs.gov to be one of the better tax information
websites that I have visited. (Write N/A if you have never been on a
tax website before today.)
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Strongly
Agree
2
3
4
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IRS.gov Website Usability Evaluation
Debriefing Protocol for Tax Preparers
Note: Interviewer to ask these questions of the respondent. Instructions to Interviewer appear in
blue font.
A.
General Reactions/Opening
[Display www.irs.gov Home Page on screen as you ask questions in Sections A & B.]
1. Overall, what was it like for you to use this website?
What did you like most about using this website? Why?
What did you like least about using this website? Why?
2. Now that you’ve worked with this website, how much computer or Internet experience do you
think people who use it need to have?
B.
Tell me more about that…
Usability and Navigation
[Continue to display the irs.gov Home Page on screen as you ask the following questions.]
1. How easy or difficult is it to find information you need about EITC as a tax professional
starting from the IRS Home Page? Why?
2. What do you think about the way you moved or “navigated”, through the IRS website to
complete the tasks you worked on?
By “navigate” I mean the series of links that you had to click to reach the information.
o [If positive]: Why do you like [whatever participant mentions]?
o [If negative]: How would you prefer to navigate?
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3. What do you think about the amount of scrolling (moving the mouse down to see everything
on a page) you needed to do to see the information posted in some sections of the website?
[If positive]: Why do you like [whatever participant mentions]?
[If negative]: What would you change?
4. What do you think about the tabs listed at the top of the screen here? [Point out the tabs in
gray – Individuals, Businesses, etc - under the IRS header on the Home Page.]
Are any of these tabs labeled in a way where you weren’t sure what would happen when
you clicked them? If Yes, which ones?
5. Was there any time when you wanted to use the ‘Search’ function?
[If participant used it on their own while completing tasks, ask: “Tell me about the times you
decided to use the Search function.”]
[If yes]: Tell me more about when and why you needed to use Search.
[Direct Participant’s attention to Search function in upper right corner on screen]
What are some of the key words you would want to be able to enter into Search to find
information about EITC?
What kinds of information do you expect to come up when you use Search on this
website?
6. Was there ever a point when you felt “lost” while using the website?
If Yes: Tell me more about that.
7. How easy or difficult was it to get back to the IRS Home Page? Why?
[Click on the “Tax Professionals” tab at the top of the webpage to display the “Tax Information for
Tax Professionals” webpage.]
8. How easy or difficult is it to find the kinds of information about EITC that you need as a tax
professional starting from this webpage (the Tax Information for Tax Professionals page)?
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C.
Screen Presentation
[Keep display on the “Tax Information for Tax Professionals” webpage (click Tax Professionals tab).]
1. What do you think about the way the screen looks?
Colors?
Font size and type?
Topic arrangement?
Graphics?
o [If positive]: Why do you like [whatever participant mentions]?
o [If negative]: How would you suggest changing the look of the screen?
2. What do you think about the links, labels, and terms about EITC that are used here and
throughout the website?
D.
Were any terms, labels or links unclear?
o
Which ones?
o
What would you suggest instead?
User Strategies
[Keep the “Tax Information for Tax Professionals” webpage on screen (Tax Professionals tab). Only
ask #1 if participant had trouble starting one or more tasks. Otherwise begin with #2.]
1. Where there any tasks where you weren’t immediately sure how to start? If YES, how did you
figure out what to do?
2. Which of the information search tasks that you worked on were especially difficult to
complete? Why?
3. Which was the easiest task to complete? Why?
4. Do the screens provide all the information you need as you are using the site? If not, what
else do you need?
5. How did you know if you did something that was a mistake (e.g. clicked wrong link by
mistake)?
What steps did you take to correct any errors you thought you made?
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E.
Content and Relevance
[Display the “Tax Information for Tax Professionals” webpage on screen.]
1. What do you think about the topics listed on the left menu bar (Under Tax Professional Topics
and IRS Resources)?
Which ones are of most interest to you? Why? [Explore those used; determine level of
interest in these topics.]
What additional information about EITC would you like to see on the site?
2. How useful do you think this website would be to a tax preparer who is new to processing
EITC claims and is looking to learn more about it?
What do you think should be added or changed to make the website more user friendly for
tax professionals looking for information about EITC for the first time?
[Display www.irs.gov/eitc page on screen as you ask Question 4.]
3. This is the EITC “Home Page” on irs.gov.
professional.
Tell me how useful this webpage is to you as a tax
Is there anything that you would add or change for it to be more useful to you as a tax
professional?
4. What special features should be added or changed to the EITC pages on the IRS website to
make it more useful to you?
To what degree do you want the site to be interactive (e.g., chat rooms, blogs)?
o
IF INTERESTED: What kinds of things would you use these features for?
Would you find it helpful to be able to access media files (e.g., streaming video files) on
the site? For example, the video might show an expert explaining EITC.
o
IF YES: Give me an example of a time when you might use such a file.
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5. [For tax professionals who have used other tax websites per response to Item 12 on Pre-test
Q]: How does this site compare to other tax-related web sites you’ve used?
F.
What features, functions, or content have you liked about other sites that you think should
be incorporated on the IRS site?
Use of Information
1. How would you use information you find about EITC on the irs.gov website as you provide tax
preparation services? (e.g., paid or volunteer services)
o
o
o
Hand it out to taxpayers who ask you for information about EITC?
Use it to help make decisions about filing for EITC for a client?
Keep it as a professional reference?
2. Would you recommend the EITC pages on the irs.gov website to other tax professionals? Why
or why not?
3. Would you recommend the EITC pages on the irs.gov website to taxpayers/your clients? Why
or why not?
4. Do you think you would actually use irs.gov to find information about EITC?
Why or why not?
G.
Closing
1. Overall, how would you rate your experience using the irs.gov website to find information
about EITC? Would you say…? [Circle participant’s response.]
Very negative
Somewhat
negative
Neither negative
nor positive
Somewhat
positive
Very positive
2. Is there anything else you’d like to share with me about this website that we haven’t already
talked about?
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| File Type | application/pdf |
| Author | Teresa Koenig |
| File Modified | 0000-00-00 |
| File Created | 0000-00-00 |