Component Library Usability Study

Component Library Usability Study

Call for participants – pilot study

Participants Needed for IRS.gov Usability Research

Bedford and McLean Campus

We are looking for participants for a pilot usability test of IRS.gov. As a participant, you will be asked to perform typical activities on the website and answer a few questions about them.

This is an approximately 20-minute time commitment in September and October 2018.

Eligible participants:

• Are a MITRE employee

• Are a U.S. citizen

• Do not primarily work on tasks for an IRS sponsor

• Are not a MITRE Human Factors Engineer

If interested, please email [email protected] with the subject line "IRS.gov Usability Interest."

What’s the research?

This study aims to pilot large scale, quantitative usability testing for improving key design components of IRS.gov. The research team will pilot two usability studies to ensure the questions and tasks are understood by participants. Your participation contributes to work making IRS.gov more usable!

Call for participants – IRS.gov

Help Improve IRS.gov

Participate in a usability study to improve the design of IRS.gov

Learn More [link to Welcome Message]

Welcome Message

Page 1

Thank you for your interest in participating in an evaluation of IRS.gov.

You will be asked to answer 6 voluntary questions about yourself, complete up to 5 tasks, and provide your opinion on completing each task. Your participation will take approximately 10 to 15 minutes.

Our goal is to see how easy or difficult you find the IRS.gov to use. We want to know how easy we have made it for people to use the site. There are no right or wrong answers.

Link to Usability Study

Page 2

Thank you for joining this usability study.

You will be asked to answer 6 voluntary questions about yourself, complete up to 5 tasks, and provide your opinion on completing each task.

Your participation will take approximately 10 to 15 minutes.

The Paperwork Reduction Act

The Paperwork Reduction Act requires that the IRS display an OMB control number on all public information requests. The OMB Control Number for this study is 1545-2256. Also, if you have any comments regarding the time estimates associated with this study or suggestions on making this process simpler, please write to:

Internal Revenue Service

Tax Products Coordinating Committee

SE:W:CAR:MP:T:T:SP

1111 Constitution Ave. NW

Washington, DC 20224

Participant Questionnaire

1) What is your gender?

• Male

• Female

• Other

• Prefer not to say

2) What category describes your current age?

• 17 years and under

• 18 to 24 years

• 25 to 34 years

• 35 to 44 years

• 45 to 54 years

• 55 to 64 years

• 65 to 74 years

• 75 to 84 years

• 85 years and over

• Prefer not to say

3) How do you primarily access the internet?

• Cell Phone/Smart Phone

• Tablet

• Desktop/Laptop Computer

4) How often do you use the Internet?

• Daily

• Weekly

• Monthly

• Less than once a month

• Almost never

5) Have you ever, or do you currently work for any of the following?

• Tax Services Industry (e.g., Enrolled Agent, Certified Public Accountant, Tax Attorney or other tax professional)

• Department of the Treasury

• Internal Revenue Service (IRS)

• I have not worked for any of the above

6) How often do you visit IRS.gov?

• Daily

• Weekly

• Monthly

• Less than once a month

• Almost never

Procedure and Tasks

The usability test will be administered by an unmoderated usability testing service. After completing the participant questionnaire, a participant will see the user task and its associated URL in one of two conditions (accordion or plaint text, flat or shaded button). Each URL will be a HTML-only prototype version of IRS.gov. Links on the page will only link to other prototype pages. No links to IRS.gov or other website pages will be included. The web pages will be clearly marked as a notional prototype.

Test	Page Title	URL	User Task
Accordion	Credits & Deductions for Individuals	https://www.irs.gov/credits-deductions-for-individuals	Learn about the tax rules that apply when you sell your residence.
Accordion	The Identity Protection PIN (IP PIN)	https://www.irs.gov/identity-theft-fraud-scams/the-identity-protection-pin-ip-pin	You got an Identity Protection PIN to prevent someone else from fraudulently filing your tax return, but you have since forgotten what your pin is. Find information about what you should do next.
Accordion	Additional Information on Payment Plans	https://www.irs.gov/payments/payment-plans-installment-agreements	You recently set up a payment plan to pay what you owe on your taxes. Find where to view your transactions along with the current amount you owe.
Button	Refunds	https://www.irs.gov/refunds	Information about your social security benefits never came in the mail. Find how to get another form.
Button	Interactive Tax Assistant (ITA)	https://www.irs.gov/help/ita	Find information on how to get tax benefits based on how much money you make.
Button	IRS Withholding Calculator	https://www.irs.gov/individuals/irs-withholding-calculator	Access the online tool to help you figure out the right amount of tax that should be withheld from your paycheck.
Filler	Transcript Types and Ways to Order Them	https://www.irs.gov/individuals/tax-return-transcript-types-and-ways-to-order-them	Find information how to order a tax transcript by mail.
Filler	Forms, Instructions and Publications	https://www.irs.gov/forms-instructions	As a small business owner, find the form for withholding income taxes for employees.

Post-Task Questionnaire (Single Ease Question)

Overall, how difficult or easy was the task to complete? Use the seven-point rating scale format below.

1. Very difficult

4. Neutral

7. Very easy

Reference: https://measuringu.com/seq10/

Thank You Message

Thank you for participating in a usability study of IRS.gov. Your participation contributes to making IRS.gov more usable!