FSA Generic Clearance for Usability Testing

Request for Approval under the “Generic Clearance for the Collection of Routine Customer Feedback” (OMB Control Number: 0560-0286)

TITLE OF INFORMATION COLLECTION: FPAC- Farmers.gov Online Customer Portal for Usability Testing.

PURPOSE: The information collected will be used to inform the design and development of the USDA-Farm Production and Conservation (FPAC) “farmers.gov” online customer portal. Farmers.gov design requires ongoing customer feedback to ensure its development meets the needs of the customer accessing USDA-FPAC agencies’ programs and services.

DESCRIPTION OF RESPONDENTS: Respondents will be a small group of FPAC-agency customers that represent the breadth of customer types, farming operations and regions, and situations.

TYPE OF COLLECTION: (Check one)

[ ] Customer Comment Card/Complaint Form [ ] Customer Satisfaction Survey

[X] Usability Testing (e.g., Website or Software [ ] Small Discussion Group

[ ] Focus Group [ ] Other:

CERTIFICATION:

I certify the following to be true:

1. The collection is voluntary.

2. The collection is low-burden for respondents and low-cost for the Federal Government.

3. The collection is non-controversial and does not raise issues of concern to other federal agencies.

4. The results are not intended to be disseminated to the public.

5. Information gathered will not be used for the purpose of substantially informing influential policy decisions.

6. The collection is targeted to the solicitation of opinions from respondents who have experience with the program or may have experience with the program in the future.

Name: Steve Peterson, Associate Administrator, USDA-Farm Service Agency

To assist review, please provide answers to the following question:

Personally Identifiable Information:

1. Is personally identifiable information (PII) collected? [ ] Yes [X] No

2. If Yes, is the information that will be collected included in records that are subject to the Privacy Act of 1974? [ ] Yes [ ] No N/A

3. If Applicable, has a System or Records Notice been published? [ ] Yes [ ] No N/A

Gifts or Payments:

Is an incentive (e.g., money or reimbursement of expenses, token of appreciation) provided to participants? [ ] Yes [X] No

BURDEN HOURS

Category of Respondent	No. of Respondents	Participation Time	Burden
Usability Testing (User Acceptance Testing)	210	1.352 hour	284 hours
Totals	210		284 hours

FEDERAL COST: The estimated annual cost to the Federal government is zero; cost associated with gathering customer feedback is incorporated into the overall cost of development of farmers.gov and is not a separate expenditure.

If you are conducting a focus group, survey, or plan to employ statistical methods, please provide answers to the following questions:

The selection of your targeted respondents

1. Do you have a customer list or something similar that defines the universe of potential respondents and do you have a sampling plan for selecting from this universe? [X] Yes [ ] No

If the answer is yes, please provide a description of both below (or attach the sampling plan)? If the answer is no, please provide a description of how you plan to identify your potential group of respondents and how you will select them?

A small cadre of 20 to 30 active FSA customers (up to 210 customers who may be a producer, a rancher, or a farmer) is being established through a call for volunteers via FSA’s Deputy Administrator for Field Operations (DAFO) to FSA County Offices.

The selected participants will provide a broad representation of the Farm Production and Conservation (FPAC) customer base. Usability testing will be primarily conducted by User Acceptance Testing (UAT) of specific user interface designs through individual customer interviews by design team members. UAT sessions will occur on 10-week intervals with five cadre members participating in each round of UAT. Participants will rotate throughout the year and not participate in more than two or three UAT sessions. Additional feedback may be gathered from this cadre through focus group sessions, small discussion groups, and/or individual customer interviews.

Administration of the Instrument

1. How will you collect the information? (Check all that apply)

[X] Web-based or other forms of Social Media

[X] Telephone

[X] In-person (on a limited basis)

[ ] Mail

[ ] Other, Explain

2. Will interviewers or facilitators be used? [X] Yes [ ] No

3