Justification

Request for Approval under the “Generic Clearance for the Collection of Routine Customer Feedback” (OMB Control Number: 1505-0231)

TITLE OF INFORMATION COLLECTION: Website and Mobile Application Usability Focus Groups FY19

PURPOSE:

This request is for the United States Mint to conduct research with United States Mint customers and non-customers about their opinions concerning usability of the United States Mint’s Website and United States Mint mobile application. This collection was fielded in FY17 under OMB control number 1525-0012.

The purpose of this research is to:

• Obtain users’ feedback on the United States Mint website and United States Mint mobile application.

  • Impressions of look and feel?

  • Easy to use? Easy to navigate?

  • Information organized logically?

  • Efficient site structure (too many clicks)?

  • Content written for web and easy to scan?

  • Terminology and labeling familiar and intuitive to users?

• Measure the users’ abilities to perform specific tasks on the website including satisfaction ratings in completing those tasks.

• Identify difficulties in using the website

• Are users able to successfully complete the top tasks?

• Can users efficiently complete tasks and are not lost on the website?

• Does it take users longer to find information than it should?

• Can users purchase products without difficulties?

• Do users get frustrated using the site?

Provide recommendations in order to improve the website for consumers.

Part of the United States Mint’s mission is to produce and make collectible coin products available directly to the American public. Executive Order No. 12862 (September 1993), titled “Setting Customer Service Standards,” establishes a mandate for the government to improve and adhere to best practices when providing customer service directly to the American people, such as by conducting research to determine satisfaction with existing services and to ensure the kind and quality of services offered are aligned with those the public wants (Section 1b). To effectively accomplish these goals, the United States Mint utilizes a combination of accepted research methods that shed light on the awareness, satisfaction and preferences among the public as they relate to collectible coin products and services. The United States Mint Website and Mobile Application Usability Focus Groups is one of these instruments.

Conducting market research in advance of introducing new products and services, or before making changes to existing products and services, is vital to ensuring those decisions are as likely as possible to enhance customer satisfaction and maximize organizational efficiency. The United States Mint knows from experience that making new product and service decisions in the absence of a reliable information collection is likely to lead to undesirable outcomes in terms of customer satisfaction and organizational performance. The United States Mint is placing renewed emphasis on advance testing of new product concepts and changes to existing products to inform our decision making and improve customer and operational outcomes.

The consequence of not performing this research is the United States Mint’s diminished ability to maintain product related service levels that satisfy customers.

DESCRIPTION OF RESPONDENTS: All of the interviews will be conducted with a mix of United States Mint customers and non-customers and will have a mix of demographic characteristics, including age, gender, education, ethnicity, internet experience, and geographic location.

TYPE OF COLLECTION: (Check one)

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

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

[ X] 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: Manoj Pillai

202-354-7255

[email protected]

Leslie Schwager

202-354-7291

[email protected]

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, will any information that is collected be included in records that are subject to the Privacy Act of 1974? [ ] Yes [ X ] No

3. If Yes, has an up-to-date System of Records Notice (SORN) been published? [ ] Yes [ ] No

Gifts or Payments:

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

BURDEN HOURS

The collection of information will involve up to 72 web usability interviews. A total of 72 respondents will participate in the focus groups. These focus group interviews are expected to last 60 minutes. Total estimated burden hours are:

Category of Respondent	No. of Respondents	Participation Time	Burden
Customers and Non-Customers	72	60 minutes	72 hours
Totals	72	60 minutes	72 hrs

FEDERAL COST: The estimated annual cost to the Federal government is $108,000.

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 total of no more than 72 web usability interviews will be conducted during the next 12 months. A small portion of the interviews will be conducted remotely (16), and the remainder of the interviews (56) will be conducted in-person in multiple cities.

Participants will be composed of those who will use the desktop version of the United States Mint website as well as those who will be asked to view the website on a mobile device, including iPhone and Android users. All of the interviews will be conducted with a mix of United States Mint customers and non-customers and will have a mix of demographic characteristics, including age, gender, education, ethnicity, internet experience, and geographic location.

The purpose of usability testing is to learn how visitors to the United States Mint website browse products and to evaluate users’ satisfaction with the website. The usability test will be used to gather data on how users interact with the website in order to measure current performance and satisfaction of the website, and to help inform improvements that can further enhance the usability of the website.

Usability interviews are facilitated by a professional moderator and different techniques are used to elicit feedback. A discussion guide/test plan will be utilized and serves as an outline that is prepared in advance and covers the topics and issues to be explored. The plan is designed with the overall research questions in mind and is constructed to ensure that topics covered in the usability interviews relate to these research objectives. Each session will last approximately 60 minutes.

Administration of the Instrument

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

] Web-based or other forms of Social Media

] Telephone

[ X] In-person

[ ] Mail

[ X] Other, Explain—Remotely

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

Please make sure that all instruments, instructions, and scripts are submitted with the request.

Instructions for completing Request for Approval under the “Generic Clearance for the Collection of Routine Customer Feedback”

TITLE OF INFORMATION COLLECTION: Provide the name of the collection that is the subject of the request. (e.g. Comment card for soliciting feedback on xxxx)

PURPOSE: Provide a brief description of the purpose of this collection and how it will be used. If this is part of a larger study or effort, please include this in your explanation.

DESCRIPTION OF RESPONDENTS: Provide a brief description of the targeted group or groups for this collection of information. These groups must have experience with the program.

TYPE OF COLLECTION: Check one box. If you are requesting approval of other instruments under the generic, you must complete a form for each instrument.

CERTIFICATION: Please read the certification carefully. If you incorrectly certify, the collection will be returned as improperly submitted or it will be disapproved.

Personally Identifiable Information: Provide answers to the questions. Note: Agencies should only collect PII to the extent necessary, and they should only retain PII for the period of time that is necessary to achieve a specific objective.

Gifts or Payments: If you answer yes to the question, please describe the incentive and provide a justification for the amount.

BURDEN HOURS:

Category of Respondents: Identify who you expect the respondents to be in terms of the following categories: (1) Individuals or Households;(2) Private Sector; (3) State, local, or tribal governments; or (4) Federal Government. Only one type of respondent can be selected per row.

No. of Respondents: Provide an estimate of the Number of respondents.

Participation Time: Provide an estimate of the amount of time required for a respondent to participate (e.g. fill out a survey or participate in a focus group)

Burden: Provide the Annual burden hours: Multiply the Number of responses and the participation time and divide by 60.

FEDERAL COST: Provide an estimate of the annual cost to the Federal government.

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. Please provide a description of how you plan to identify your potential group of respondents and how you will select them. If the answer is yes, to the first question, you may provide the sampling plan in an attachment.

Administration of the Instrument: Identify how the information will be collected. More than one box may be checked. Indicate whether there will be interviewers (e.g. for surveys) or facilitators (e.g., for focus groups) used.

Submit all instruments, instructions, and scripts are submitted with the request.

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