CMS wants to hear from you! We are currently recruiting volunteers for the next phase of the Secure Website modernization: 2021 User Acceptance Testing. If you are a current RDS participant with an active Secure Website account, you actively use the Reconciliation process within the Secure Website, and are interested in participating, please review the material below and email CMS’ RDS Center by Monday, August 9, 2021 to express your interest in volunteering for the initiative.
CMS’ RDS Center Email Address: RDS@cms.hhs.gov
Background and Instructions
Since the inception of the Retiree Drug Subsidy (RDS) Program in December 2003, the RDS Secure Website has been the most important interface between the Plan Sponsor community and the RDS Program. In order to give Plan Sponsors the best possible user experience, CMS' RDS Center has been engaged in an initiative to update and modernize the Secure Website.
In 2019, CMS' RDS Center conducted Listening Sessions with volunteer RDS Plan Sponsors and their Vendors. You shared feedback with us about your Plan Sponsor organizations and how you use the RDS Secure Website. You told us about your organizations’ priorities and your experiences as users—which software components are most important to you, what you like about the software, and what we can do to improve the Secure Website so Plan Sponsors get the most out of the RDS program.
In 2020, CMS' RDS Center recruited volunteers to participate in the first round of Usability Testing Sessions to obtain feedback on our early designs. We incorporated feedback from those sessions into our development activities.
In June 2021, CMS’ RDS Center held a Listening Session Webinar where we demonstrated updated Application flows and asked polling questions of the Plan Sponsor and Vendor participants to gauge their impressions of our continued development work in modernizing the RDS Secure Website.
Now, we’d like to recruit more volunteers for our next round of Usability Testing Sessions to obtain feedback on the updated designs for Reconciliation and the Dashboard home page. Your feedback has been, and continues to be, essential to this modernization effort.
Reminder: The Modernization project is still underway, so the screens and flows participants see during our various user events may change based on Plan Sponsor and Vendor feedback and continuing development activities.
What to Expect
CMS is currently recruiting volunteers for the next phase of the Secure Website modernization: 2021 User Acceptance Testing. During User Acceptance Testing, CMS’ RDS Center will demonstrate live development pages of several modernized Secure Website components using remote screen sharing. Only one volunteer will participate in each User Acceptance Testing Session. With the help of a CMS Facilitator, the volunteer will navigate through a series of Secure Website application pages while completing a defined set of typical RDS business tasks. Volunteers will have the opportunity to ask questions, share opinions, and provide feedback on their experience using the development pages. Additional CMS’ staff may attend User Acceptance Testing Sessions as note takers/scribes or observers. Each session will typically last about one hour, but could last longer with your approval.
Participation in User Acceptance Testing is voluntary. Responses will be strictly confidential; participants will remain anonymous, and no data collected during User Acceptance Testing will be directly attributable individually or to a Plan Sponsor organization.
Ready to Help?
If you are a current RDS participant with an active Secure Website account, you actively use the Reconciliation process within the Secure Website, and you are interested in participating, please email CMS’ RDS Center by Monday, August 9, 2021 to express your interest in volunteering for the initiative.
Participants will be randomly selected from the respondents. Participation in a previous Usability Testing Session from 2020 does not preclude volunteers from being selected for the 2021 Usability Testing Sessions. If you are selected, CMS' RDS Center will email additional information about scheduling your User Acceptance Testing Session. A consent form must be signed and returned before the session. Participants will not be compensated.
CMS’ RDS Center Email Address: RDS@cms.hhs.gov
If you have additional questions, please contact CMS' RDS Center. We look forward to hearing from you!