CS-12-338 SEMS Pilot Survey, CS-12-339 Web Browser Survey, CS-12-340 Cost Analysis, CS-12-341 Stay Exempt Survey, and CS-12-342

Attachment A: Email invitation to take the SEMS Pilot survey

The following will appear in the email solicitation for participation in the survey:

Please Take the Secure Enterprise Messaging System (SEMS) Pilot Participant Survey

You have been selected to take the SEMS pilot participant satisfaction survey. Until the SEMS pilot the IRS could not use email to communicate with taxpayers and practitioners. Your opinions about the SEMS pilot experience are important to us. We are looking for your feedback on your use of secure messaging during the pilot and your level of satisfaction with the SEMS pilot process.  Please take a moment to complete the attached evaluation. The evaluation should take less than 5 minutes to complete. 

Survey instructions:

You must have Adobe Reader installed on your PC to participate SEMS pilot participant satisfaction survey Adobe Reader is free software you can download from http://www.adobe.com/products/acrobat/readstep2.html.

1. Open the attached evaluation.

2. Fill out each question by entering an "x" in the box next to your selected response.

3. Once you have completed the survey, just click the send button. Adobe Reader should automatically generate an email with your completed survey back to the SEMS Survey team.

If Adobe Reader does not produce your survey response email for you, save and attach your completed event evaluation to an email addressed to [email protected].

If you have any questions regarding the survey please contact Reuben Robinson, SB/SE Research, at (215) 861-1268 or email him at [email protected] or Cait DeStefano, Operations Research Analyst, SB/SE Research, at (215) 861-3890 or email her at [email protected].

Thank you in advance for your participation,

The SEMS Survey Project Team

Attachment B: Email reminder to take the SEMS Pilot survey

The following will appear in the email reminder solicitation for participation in the survey:

~Reminder Notification~

Please Take the Secure Enterprise Messaging System (SEMS) Pilot Participant Survey

We are interested in your feedback on your experiences as a participant in the SEMS pilot and offer you this reminder to take the survey, if you have not already done so.

Survey instructions:

You must have Adobe Reader installed on your PC to participate SEMS pilot participant satisfaction survey. Adobe Reader is free software you can download from http://www.adobe.com/products/acrobat/readstep2.html.

1. Open the attached evaluation.

2. Fill out each question by entering an "x" in the box next to your selected response.

3. Once you have completed the survey, just click the send button. Adobe Reader should automatically generate an email with your completed survey back to the SEMS Survey team.

If Adobe Reader does not produce your survey response email for you, save and attach your completed event evaluation to an email addressed to [email protected].

If you have any questions regarding the survey please contact Reuben Robinson, SB/SE Research, at (215) 861-1268 or email him at [email protected] or Cait DeStefano, Operations Research Analyst, SB/SE Research, at (215) 861-3890 or email her at [email protected].

Thank you in advance for your participation,

The SEMS Survey Project Team

Attachment C: Survey Instrument

The Paperwork Reduction Act requires that the IRS display an OMB control number on all public information requests along with the address where you can send comments regarding the study. The OMB number for this study is 1545-1432.   If you have any comments regarding this study, please write to:

IRS, Tax Products Coordinating Committee,

SE:W:CAR:MP:T:T:SP, 1111 Constitution Avenue, NW,

Washington, DC  20224

Thank you for agreeing to participate in the web survey. We are looking for your feedback on your use of secure messaging during the pilot and your level of satisfaction with the SEMS pilot process. No personal identifying information will be gathered. All responses are anonymous to the extent allowed by law. The survey takes less than five minutes and your feedback will be used to improve the services IRS.gov provides.

Survey Instructions:

To complete this survey, enter an "x" in the box next to your selected response, or type your answer in the space provided. Once you have completed the survey, just click the send button.

Adobe Reader should automatically generate an email with your completed survey back to the Survey Team. If Adobe Reader does not produce your evaluation response email for you, save and attach your completed survey to an email addressed to the Survey Team at [Mailbox Address Inserted Here].

Thank you again for your participation. If you have any issues with the survey process please contact Cait DeStefano, (215) 861-3890.

Taxpayer/Practitioner (External) Questionnaire

Demographics

1. I am a(n)

   • Individual representing myself in a Form 1040 tax matter

• Business entity representing my own business

• Attorney, CPA, Enrolled Agent or other designee representing a taxpayer.

2. I communicated with the IRS using SEMS email

   • Often

   • Sometimes

   • Never

3. If you chose to opt out of the SEMS pilot, what was/were the primary reasons?

   • It did not seem to be secure

   • I did not want to disable the office disclaimer

   • My tax matter was resolved by the time my participation was requested

   • I did not want to purchase the certificate

Security

4. I was comfortable transmitting information electronically using SEMS email.

   • Definitely agree

   • Agree

   • Disagree

   • Definitely disagree

5. The information I received using SEMS email was secure.

   • Definitely agree

   • Agree

   • Disagree

   • Definitely disagree

6. The information I transmitted using SEMS email was secure.

   • Definitely agree

   • Agree

   • Disagree

   • Definitely disagree and transmitted was secure?

Satisfaction

7. I liked the ability to communicate with the IRS through secured messaging.

   • Definitely agree

   • Agree

   • Disagree

   • Definitely disagree

8. I would continue to use SEMS email to correspond with the IRS if the pilot was made permanent.

   • Definitely agree

   • Agree

   • Disagree

   • Definitely disagree

9. I would recommend the use of SEMS email to peers (friends, family, co-workers, fellow practitioners, etc).

   • Definitely agree

   • Agree

   • Disagree

   • Definitely disagree

Productivity

10. Using SEMS email saved me time compared to using the U.S. Postal Service, or the telephone.

    • Definitely agree

    • Agree

    • Disagree

    • Definitely disagree

11. Using SEMS email was cheaper than corresponding with the IRS via U.S Postal Service mail.

    • Definitely agree

    • Agree

    • Disagree

    • Definitely disagree

SEMS Pilot Process

12. The cost of the SEMS certificate was too expensive.

    • Definitely agree

    • Agree

    • Disagree

    • Definitely disagree

    • I do not know what it cost.

13. The process to set-up SEMS email for the pilot was easy to understand.

    • Definitely agree

    • Agree

    • Disagree

    • Definitely disagree

14. The Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) was easy to understand.

    • Definitely agree

    • Agree

    • Disagree

    • Definitely disagree

15. After reading the MOU, I understood my role in the SEMS program.

    • Definitely agree

    • Agree

    • Disagree

    • Definitely disagree