Section J - Section L.10 Attachment Current State of the Portals and Help Desk Environment.rtf

Help Desk Environment ■ Version 5.0

Attachment 1 ii January 15, 2010 file_0.emf file_1.wmf

Internal Revenue Service

Portal Acquisition Request for Proposals

Current State of the Portals and Help Desk Environment

Version 5.0

October 7, 2009

Attachment 1 i January 15, 2010

Table of Contents

List of Tables

List of Figures

Attachment 1 2 January 15, 2010

Introduction The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) is planning to award a new managed services contract to build and transition the existing IRS portals to a new state that meets the business needs of the IRS.

Document Purpose and Organization The IRS has chartered the Portal Acquisition Project to administer the acquisition processes necessary to award the new managed services contracts for IRS.gov, the Registered User Portal (RUP), and the Employee User Portal (EUP). This document is intended to provide potential contract bidders with current state background information necessary to understand the scope, complexity, scale, and growth expectations of IRS’ three major Websites.

The Current State document is divided into six major sections:

Section 1: Introduction Section 2: IRS.gov Current State Description Section 3: Registered User Portal and Employee User Portal Current State Description Section 4: IRS.gov Website Help Desk Current State Description Section 5: Associated Systems Current State Descriptions Section 6: Current System Volumes and Volume Forecasts Each of the current state description sections is organized as a table structure with the following elements as shown in Table 1.1.

Table 1.1 Current State Description Elements Table Element Table Element Definition System Name The system’s formal designation in Request for Proposal (RFP) documents.

Target Audience The group or groups the system is intended to serve.

Content and Services The information, functions, and resources available on the system.

Technical Platform A general description of the technology components that comprise the system.

System Integrations A general description of the interfaces and connections between the system and other systems.

Location The current system locations.

Managed Service Provider (MSP) The current Managed Service Provider.

A Website service model description is also provided to delineate current Managed Service Provider/IRS accountabilities across major service areas. The information is presented as a table with the following elements as shown in Table 1.2.

Table 1.2 Website Service Model Description Elements Table Element Table Element Definition Lifecycle Service/Process A major system lifecycle function based on Information Technology Infrastructure Library (ITIL) version 3 framework. Note: Selected ITIL services/processes are omitted if they are not currently operational.

MSP

Managed Service Provider. An ‘X’ in this column indicates primary service ownership lies with the MSP. The IRS may play a supportive service role.

IRS

Internal Revenue Service. An ‘X’ in this column indicates primary service ownership lies with the IRS. The MSP may play a supportive service role.

Joint An ‘X’ in this column indicates the IRS and the MSP share service ownership.

This document concludes with four appendices:

Appendix A: IRS.gov Applications - provides information on all applications that are available on the IRS.gov Website.

Appendix B: RUP - Login Authenticated (LA), RUP - Self Authenticated (SA), and EUP Applications – provides information on all applications that are available on the RUP and EUP Websites, respectively.

Background and Overview of Current State The mission of the IRS is to provide America’s taxpayers top-quality services by helping them understand and meet their tax responsibilities and enforcing the law with integrity and fairness to all. In 2008, IRS Websites served over 2.2 billion page views to more than 350 million site visitors. Collectively, IRS’ three principal Websites, IRS.gov (Public User Portal or PUP), Registered User Portal (RUP), and Employee User Portal (EUP), played a central role in advancing taxpayer issue resolution, providing timely guidance and outreach, and improving service interactions for all taxpayers. As such, the portals represent an increasingly critical part of the “electronic face of the Service” especially as the IRS surpasses the 70% electronic filing milestone in 2009 and moves towards its 80% electronic filing target. Table 1.3 provides a general description of each major IRS Website.

Table 1.3 IRS Website Descriptions IRS Website Description IRS.gov Internet portal that allows unrestricted public access to non-sensitive materials and applications including forms, instructions, news, and tax calculators. No authentication is required for access to any materials on IRS.gov.

Registered User Portal (RUP) External IRS portal that allows registered individuals and third party users (registration and login authentication required) and other individual taxpayers or their representatives (self authentication with shared secrets required) to access selected tax processing and other-sensitive systems, applications, and data. User interactions are encrypted from the user’s workstation or system, to the portal across the Internet or via direct circuits. The RUP also supports IRS secure extranet connections to registered and authorized external entities, such as the exchange of bulk files between the IRS and large corporations.

Employee User Portal (EUP) Internal IRS portal that allows IRS employee users to access IRS data and systems, such as tax administration processing systems, financial information systems, and other data and applications, including mission critical applications. Registration and authentication are required for access to sensitive and mission critical applications. All user interactions with those systems are encrypted from workstation to portal across the IRS internal network.

Although the three current portal environments share some common characteristics, they are largely independent in their respective designs, function, and operation. Figure 1.1 depicts the current production environment for IRS.gov, RUP and EUP. The three portals are in front of the double firewall 3a/3b. The servers depicted behind firewall 3a/3b are for information technology (IT) infrastructure shared services (ISS), which provide functionality such as authentication/ authorization and RUP and EUP log archiving. Figure 1.1 does not provide all the details due to the sensitive nature of the information. Detailed information will be provided to the interested bidders in a reading room under a controlled environment.

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Figure 1.1 The Current Production Environment for IRS.gov, RUP and EUP (and includes the POFD and ICW)

Attachment 1 6 January 15, 2010

IRS.gov Current State Description The IRS.gov current state is summarized in Table 2.1.

Table 2.1 IRS.gov Current State Description System Element System Element Description System Name IRS.gov Target Audience United States of America taxpayers Content and Services Unrestricted public access to non-sensitive materials and applications including forms, instructions, news, locators, and tax calculators.

100,000 pages of static content.

No data entry capabilities are available on IRS.gov.

Tax return data and sensitive but unclassified (SBU) data is unavailable on IRS.gov.

A login identity or password is not required to access IRS.gov content and services.

A complete list of IRS.gov applications is provided in Appendix A, IRS.gov Applications.

Technical Platform Infrastructure Components Web Servers

Application Servers Database Servers Network and Security Devices Other Servers (e.g., Program Management) IT Infrastructure Technologies Network File System

Solaris Operating System Oracle BEA WebLogic Application Server Oracle Database iPlanet Web Server

Content Management System (Vignette) Search Engine (Verity Ultraseek) Caching Solution (Akamai) Development and Testing Environments Front End Internet Wide Area Network (WAN) connectivity System Integrations Dedicated secure File Transfer Protocol (FTP) and batch services for data import and export.

Location Site 1: Sterling, Virginia (Qwest Hosting Facility) Site 2: Denver, Colorado (Qwest Hosting Facility) Managed Service Provider Accenture Base Hours of Operation Available 24x-7 The IRS.gov Service Lifecycle Accountabilities are shown in Table 2.2.

Table 2.2 IRS.gov Service Lifecycle Accountabilities Lifecycle Service/Process

MSP

IRS

Joint Service Strategy Process

X

Portfolio Management

Demand Management

Financial Management

Service Level Management

Supplier Management

Availability Management

Capacity Management

Information Security Management

IT Service Continuity Management

Transition Planning and Support

Change Management

Release and Deployment Management

Configuration Management

Validation and Testing

Event Management

Incident Management

Request Fulfillment

Problem Management

Service Desk

Technical Management

IT Operations Management

Application Management

Service Reporting

Registered User Portal and Employee User Portal Current State Description The Registered User Portal (RUP) and the Employee User Portal (EUP) provide a secure Web portal access to IRS applications for external users and IRS employees, respectively. The RUP supports two types of external users: registered users who have gone through a registration process and have a user ID and password, and self authenticating users who are not registered. The EUP is similar in configuration to the RUP and provides authorized employees secure access to selected backend IRS applications including the Integrated Financial System (IFS), Modernized Electronic File (Modernized E-File or MeF), and e-Services.

Figure 3.1 shows high level user interactions of the RUP-LA (login- authenticated), EUP, and RUP-SA (self-authenticated) with the backend applications. The figure also shows existing Development and Integration Testing Environment (DITE). The major components called-out in Figure 3.1 are described below:

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Figure 3.1 High-Level User Interactions of the RUP- LA, EUP, and the RUP-SA with the Back End Applications The RUP-LA (Login Authenticated) is intended for use by tax practitioners such as H&R Block™ and Intuit™. Tax practitioners access the Web portal by applying for login credentials via the e-Service application.

The EUP is located at the IRS’ Martinsburg, West Virginia data center and provides authorized employees secure access to selected backend IRS applications including the Integrated Financial System, Modernized Electronic Filing, and eServices.

The RUP-SA (Self Authenticated) is intended for use by taxpayers accessing the Web portal through a secure access authentication via shared privacy data such as a Social Security Number (SSN) or a requested refund amount. For example, IRS.gov’s “Where’s My Refund” link is serviced by the RUP-SA.

The Development and Integration Test Environment (DITE) secure development and test facility with associated tools and processes supports IRS’ modernization projects (i.e., projects that are part of the IRS Business System Modernization program) such as the Integrated Financial System, eServices, and Account Management Services. DITE is comprised of two major pre-production environments: the Virtual Development Environment (VDE), and the Enterprise Integration and Test Environment (EITE). DITE provides the IT infrastructure and support systems to develop, and test the Web interfaces for the modernized applications.

The VDE provides the development tools, processes, environments and repositories necessary to support the definition, architecture, specification, and development of all modernized applications.

The EITE provides the systems integration and testing needs of the modernization applications as well as the systems acceptance testing and final integration testing needs of the IRS. It also provides the environment in which modernization systems are assembled, integrated with other modernization and production systems, tested, accepted, and evaluated prior to their release for use in the production environment.

RUP Current State Description The Registered User Portal current state is summarized in Table 3.1.1.

Table 3.1.1 Registered User Portal Current State Description System Element System Element Description System Name Registered User Portal (RUP) Target Audience Tax practitioners, preparers, reporting agents, and other tax professionals.

Electronic filers of corporate, partnership, exempt organization, and excise tax returns.

Individual taxpayers seeking to check tax refund status or establish payment options.

Content and Services Individual taxpayers may check tax refund status or establish payment options after passing a challenge/response protocol based on shared secrets.

Tax professionals must register to receive an e-Services login identity and password.

Registered e-Services users are able to execute create, read, and update taxpayer transactions such as:

- e-File

- Taxpayer Identification Number Matching

- Electronic Account Resolution

- Transcript Delivery Authorized Modernized e-File (MeF) electronic filers may submit various electronic forms including Forms 1120, 7004, 1065, 990, 8868, 2290, 720, and 8849.

A complete list of RUP applications is provided in Appendix A, IRS.gov Applications.

Technical Platform Infrastructure Components Web Servers

Application Servers Database Servers Network and Security Devices Other Servers (e.g., System Management)

IT Infrastructure Technologies Network File System

Solaris and Windows Operating System IBM Websphere Application Server Oracle Database

Development and Integration Test Environment (DITE) Front End Internet WAN connectivity System Integrations Identity and Access Management Systems Enterprise Integration Broker (SOA/WebMethods) Message Oriented Middleware (MQSeries) IRS Logging Systems IRS Backend Systems IRS Enterprise Systems Monitoring using Tivoli and OPNET Location Site 1: Sterling, Virginia (IBM Hosting Facility) Site 2: Chicago, Illinois (IBM Hosting Facility) Managed Service Provider

IBM

Base Hours of Operation Available 24x7 with the exception of the scheduled intrusive build window.

Intrusive Build Window: Every Sunday from 01:00 to 07:00 AM. The portals are not available during this time.

Non-Intrusive Build Windows: Everyday if needed from 06:00 AM to 09:00 AM and from 09:00 PM to 11:59 PM. The portals are available during this time.

The RUP Service Lifecycle Accountabilities are shown in Table 3.1.2.

Table 3.1.2 Registered User Portal Service Lifecycle Accountabilities Lifecycle Service/Process

MSP

IRS

Joint Service Strategy Process

X

Portfolio Management

X

Demand Management

X

Financial Management

EUP Current State Description The Employee User Portal current state is summarized in Table 3.2.1.

Table 3.2.1 Employee User Portal Current State Description System Element System Element Description System Name Employee User Portal (EUP) Target Audience IRS Employees Content and Services Provides authorized IRS employees secure access to IRS tax administration systems, financial information systems, and other applications, including Modernized e-File (MeF), e-Services, and Integrated Financial System (IFS).

A complete list of EUP applications is provided in Appendix A, IRS.gov Applications.

Technical Platform Infrastructure Components Web Servers

Application Servers Database Servers Network and Security Devices

IT Infrastructure Technologies Network File System

Solaris and Windows Operating System IBM Websphere Application Server Oracle Database Microsoft IIS Web Server Microsoft ASP/COM Application Server

Microsoft SQL Server

Development and Integration Test Environment (DITE) Front End Internet WAN connectivity System Integrations* Identity and Access Management Systems Enterprise Integration Broker (SOA/WebMethods) Message Oriented Middleware (MQSeries) IRS Logging Systems IRS Backend Systems IRS Enterprise Systems Monitoring Citrix MetaFrame/Secure Gateway Location Site 1: Martinsburg, West Virginia (IRS Data Center) Managed Service Provider

IBM

Base Hours of Operation Available 24x7 with the exception of the scheduled intrusive build window.

Intrusive Build Window: Every Sunday from 01:00 to 07:00 AM. The portals are not available during this time.

Non-Intrusive Build Windows: Everyday if needed from 06:00 AM to 09:00 AM and from 09:00 PM to 11:59 PM. The portals are available during this time.

The EUP Service Lifecycle Accountabilities are shown in Table 3.2.2.

Table 3.2.2 Employee User Portal Service Lifecycle Accountabilities Lifecycle Service/Process

MSP

IRS

Joint Service Strategy Process

X

Portfolio Management

X

Demand Management

X

Financial Management

IRS.gov Website Help Desk Current State Description The IRS.gov Website Help Desk current state is summarized in Table 4.1.1.

Table 4.1.1 Summarizes Help Desk Current State Description System Element System Element Description System Name IRS.gov Website Help Desk Target Audience United States of America taxpayers Content and Services The IRS.gov Website Help Desk serves taxpayers as a “first aid station” for IRS.gov Website questions such as navigation of IRS content and forms retrieval. The IRS.gov Website Help Desk is a complementary service to the IRS toll-free tax assistance line and, therefore, does not respond to tax questions, personal inquiries, or Economic Stimulus queries.

Technical Platform Infrastructure Components Automated Call Distribution (ACD)

Chat (Live Person) E-Mail (Live Person)

Call Recording (Witness) System Integrations Provides ability to transfer callers to another IRS call center only when transferred from the IVR. After the call is picked up by a Customer Service Representative (CSR), a cold transfer is no longer possible.

Provides ability to receive incoming call transfers from another IRS call center.

Location Site 1: Waterloo, Iowa Base Hours of Operation (Adjusted accordingly when April 15 falls on a weekend) On Tax Season: January 1 – April 15 January 1 – January 31

8:00 AM – 8:00 PM (EST) Monday – Friday

February 1 – April 15

8:00 AM – 12:00 AM (EST) Monday – Friday

8:00 AM – 8:00 PM (EST) Two Saturdays and One Sunday prior to April 15.

Off Tax Season: April 16 – December 31

After Hours Service:

Calls coming in after business hours may leave a voice mail with their name and phone number. An IRS CSR will return the call within 24 business hours.

Managed Service Provider Accenture Base Hours of Operation Available 24x7

Associated Systems Current State Descriptions There are two associated systems applications related with IRS.gov that are hosted independently from it. They are: 1) IRS Careers Web and 2) Political Organization Filing and Disclosure.

IRS Careers Web The IRS Careers Web (ICW) application is a sub-domain of IRS.gov, but is hosted independently of IRS.gov. It does not use a content management system nor does it allow remote or distributed authoring. The IRS Careers Web’s current state is summarized in Table 5.1.1. Note: ICW shares IRS.gov Service Lifecycle Accountabilities shown in Table 2.2.

Table 5.1.1 IRS Careers Web Current State Description System Element System Element Description System Name IRS Careers Web (http://jobs.irs.gov/home.html) Target Audience IRS Job Applicants Content and Services Unrestricted public access to non-sensitive materials and applications including About IRS, Life at IRS, Careers at IRS, Job Search, Apply for Jobs, Pay and Benefits, and Publication Library.

Approximately 500 HTML flat files.

All pages are static content.

Technical Platform Application Server WebTrends Federal Information Security Management Act (FISMA) classified as an external application to the IRS Solaris Operating System System Integrations FTP Transfer files to Accenture Location Site 1: Sterling, Virginia Managed Service Provider Accenture Base Hours of Operation Available 24x7 Political Organization Filing and Disclosure The Political Organization Filing and Disclosure (POFD) application resides within IRS.gov but runs on its own stand-alone platform (formerly known as eForms). The POFD is the Public User Portal (PUP) application used during political campaigns to track donations, and thus, has high visibility and exposure. It is critical that the IRS maintains this legislative mandate application in a ready production state. POFD’s current state is summarized in Table 5.2.1. Note: POFD shares IRS.gov Service Lifecycle Accountabilities shown in Table 2.2.

Table 5.2.1 Political Organization Filing and Disclosure Current State Description System Element System Element Description System Name Political Organization Filing and Disclosure Application Target Audience Political Organizations Content and Services Information relevant to Political Organizations disclosure and filing requirements.

Requires a user name and password to access application services.

Application services include user guides, disclosure search, form downloads, and form filings.

All pages are static content.

Technical Platform Infrastructure Components Web Servers

Application Servers Database Servers Network and Security Devices IT Infrastructure Technologies Solaris Operating System

Oracle Server and Client SUN Java System Web Server WebLogics Server Advantage System Integrations Secure File Transfer to IRS systems.

Location Site 1: Sterling, Virginia Managed Service Provider Accenture Base Hours of Operation Available 24x7

Current System Volumes and Volume Forecasts A number of critical measures such as the number of visits to the IRS.gov Website, and/or third party and business employee transactions, are increasing steadily every year. This section provides information about the usage of the three IRS portals (IRS.gov, RUP, EUP), its associated systems, and the Website Help Desk.

IRS.gov Volumes and Volume Forecasts

The peak usage of IRS.gov historically occurs around April 15 of each year. The IRS.gov usage statistics below shows projected annual growth of IRS.gov usage, and the number of downloads, Visits, and Pages Viewed for the past two and three filing seasons.

Table 6.1.1 IRS.gov Volumes and Forecasts Critical Measures Filing Season

1/1/2007 – 4/30/2007 1/1/2008 – 4/30/2008 1/1/2009 – 4/30/2009 Projected Annual Growth Number of Downloads from the IRS.gov Website 95,859,501 107,116,703 107,407,791 25% Number of Page Views from the IRS.gov Website 889,559,070 1,157,875,561 1,105,698,804 25% Number of Visits to the IRS.gov Website 137,967,971 180,157,476 194,597,184 30%

Table 6.1.2 shows the IRS.gov Monthly Page Views and Visits.

Table 6.1.2 IRS.gov Monthly Page Views and Visits.

Date Page Views Average Page Views Per Visit Visits Jan 2008 235,209,457 7.04 33,416,340 Feb 2008 285,069,662 5.91 48,262,176 Mar 2008 273,123,531 6.35 43,007,725 Apr 2008 364,472,911 6.57 55,471,235 May 2008 384,924,971 6.24 61,704,807 Jun 2008 199,357,916 6.19 32,219,702 Jul 2008 114,191,394 6.26 18,248,936 Aug 2008 68,264,713 5.83 11,707,850 Sep 2008 66,838,058 5.75 11,632,831 Oct 2008 80,854,836 5.97 13,545,386 Nov 2008 69,127,704 5.88 11,754,772 Dec 2008 83,540,254 6.8 12,293,337 Jan 2009 271,369,591 6.7 40,496,071 Feb 2009 337,672,047 5.22 64,708,741 Mar 2009 249,147,107 5.31 46,919,817 Apr 2009 247,510,059 5.83 42,472,555 May 2009 77,840,185 5.25 14,834,679 Jun 2009 69,524,783 5.38 12,913,319

Figure 6.1.1 Shows the IRS.gov Monthly Number of Downloads.

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Figure 6.1.1 IRS.gov Monthly Number of Downloads Table 6.1.3 shows the IRS.gov Daily Number of Page Views and Visits for the peak Month of Filing Season.

Table 6.1.3 IRS.gov Daily Number of Page Views/Visits for the Peak Month of Filing Season Date Page Views Average Page Views Per Visit Visits April 8, 2009 10,143,632 5.66 1,792,594 April 9, 2009 9,648,821 5.61 1,720,592 April 10, 2009 9,262,539 5.71 1,622,674 April 11, 2009 8,416,578 6.03 1,395,999 April 12, 2009 8,496,414 6.39 1,328,800 April 13, 2009 21,959,975 6.32 3,475,875 April 14, 2009 29,016,981 6.55 4,432,516 April 15, 2009 34,023,430 7.00 4,862,440 April 16, 2009 7,188,488 5.71 1,258,954 April 17, 2009 4,106,238 4.95 829,555 April 18, 2009 1,876,627 4.96 378,611 April 19, 2009 1,989,976 5.28 376,916 April 20, 2009 5,140,823 5.02 1,023,331 April 21, 2009 4,763,793 4.99 954,260 April 22, 2009 4,411,849 4.94 893,328

Table 6.1.4 shows the IRS.gov Hourly Number of Page Views and Visits for the peak Day of Filing Season.

Table 6.1.4 IRS.gov Hourly Number of Page Views and Visits for the Peak Day of Filing Season Time Page Views % of Total Visits % of Total 00:00 1,037,394 3.05% 145,822 3.00% 01:00 689,439 2.03% 98,004 2.02% 02:00 440,398 1.29% 61,218 1.26% 03:00 263,266 0.77% 37,402 0.77% 04:00 183,323 0.54% 26,215 0.54% 05:00 173,639 0.51% 25,628 0.53% 06:00 271,553 0.80% 43,707 0.90% 07:00 518,636 1.52% 85,696 1.76% 08:00 963,116 2.83% 157,580 3.24% 09:00 1,487,479 4.37% 239,867 4.93% 10:00 1,884,550 5.54% 294,622 6.06% 11:00 2,120,937 6.23% 326,598 6.72% 12:00 2,230,213 6.55% 338,401 6.96% 13:00 2,262,332 6.65% 339,769 6.99% 14:00 2,284,653 6.71% 342,169 7.04% 15:00 2,269,567 6.67% 336,202 6.91% 16:00 2,232,572 6.56% 326,865 6.72% 17:00 2,089,155 6.14% 298,848 6.15% 18:00 1,954,870 5.75% 270,550 5.56% 19:00 1,839,057 5.41% 247,554 5.09% 20:00 1,767,878 5.20% 229,368 4.72% 21:00 1,730,606 5.09% 215,951 4.44% 22:00 1,772,184 5.21% 205,597 4.23% 23:00 1,556,613 4.58% 168,807 3.47% Total 34,023,430 100.00% 4,862,440 100.00%

Tables 6.1.5 through 6.1.7 show forecasted volumes for the number of Page Views, Visits, and Downloads. These forecasted volumes are based on historical observations; however, legislative mandates and other external factors may cause a substantial increase in the Web traffic to IRS.gov.

Historically the Web traffic peak day occurs during the month of April. However, the monthly statistic shows that the number of Page Views and Visits peaks in February. The reasons for the boost in Web traffic could be explained by the following:

There is rush to gather new tax information after receipt of W-2s.

Third Party Practitioners looking for new tax law guidance.

Download of current tax year’s forms.

Some rush to file taxes early to get faster refund.

Table 6.1.5 IRS.gov Forecasted Monthly Page Views and Visits Date Page Views 2011 Visits 2011 Page Views 2012 Visits 2012 January 424,014,986 68,438,360 530,018,732 88,969,868 February 527,612,573 109,357,772 659,515,717 142,165,104 March 389,292,355 79,294,491 486,615,443 103,082,838 April 386,734,467 71,778,618 483,418,084 93,312,203 May 121,625,289 25,070,608 152,031,611 32,591,790 June 108,632,473 21,823,509 135,790,592 28,370,562 July 178,424,053 30,840,702 223,030,066 40,092,912 August 106,663,614 19,786,267 133,329,518 25,722,146 September 104,434,466 19,659,484 130,543,082 25,557,330 October 126,335,681 22,891,702 157,919,602 29,759,213 November 108,012,038 19,865,565 135,015,047 25,825,234 December 130,531,647 20,775,740 163,164,559 27,008,461 Table 6.1.6 Shows Forecast of Monthly Downloads Months Forecasted Number of Downloads 2011 Forecasted Number of Downloads 2012 January 40,469,858 50,587,322 February 49,767,139 62,208,924 March 38,071,542 47,589,428 April 39,516,134 49,395,168 May 15,810,395 19,762,994 June 15,450,370 19,312,963 July 14,872,558 18,590,697 August 12,850,259 16,062,824 September 15,212,402 19,015,502 October 16,776,470 20,970,588 November 13,252,934 16,566,168 December 15,782,566 19,728,207

Table 6.1.7 Peak Days Downloads/FTPs Bandwidth Peak Date Yearly Downloads Bandwidth Estimate 4/16/2007 2,600,056

875 GB

4/15/2008 3,892,928

1,175 GB

4/15/2009 3,280,357

950 GB

*Note: Metrics were derived from current file sizes for the top 20 file requests (approximately 50% of total requested downloads) to provide an estimated total bandwidth usage for all downloads. Note that these are estimates only. Downloads include both HTTP and FTP downloads.

Table 6.1.8 provides forecasted Bandwidth Capacity needs.

Table 6.1.8 Downloads/FTPs Bandwidth Estimates Category History Projections for 2011 Projections for 2012 Content Data Delivered (GB)*

215,000 GB

335,938 419,922 Online Storage (GB)

100 GB

WebTrends OnDemand (MPV)

2,000 MPV

3,125 3,906 WebTrends Reports

Table 6.1.9 shows the forecast of the Web traffic in April during which the Web traffic peaks and slows down. For the past year the Web traffic started to increase starting on April 08.

Table 6.1.9 IRS.gov Forecasted Daily Number of Page Views/Visits for the Peak Month of Filing Season Date Page Views 2011 Visits 2011 Page Views 2012 Visits 2012 Day 1 (April 08) 15,849,425 3,029,484 19,811,781 3,938,329 Day 2 (April 09) 15,076,283 2,907,800 18,845,354 3,780,141 Day 3 (April 10) 14,472,717 2,742,319 18,090,896 3,565,015 Day 4 (April 11) 13,150,903 2,359,238 16,438,629 3,067,010 Day 5 (April 12) 13,275,647 2,245,672 16,594,559 2,919,374 Day 6 (April 13) 34,312,461 5,874,229 42,890,576 7,636,497 Day 7 (April 14) 45,339,033 7,490,952 56,673,791 9,738,238 Day 8 (April 15) 53,161,609 8,217,524 66,452,012 10,682,781 Day 9 (April 16) 11,232,013 2,127,632 14,040,016 2,765,922 Day 10 (April 17) 6,415,997 1,401,948 8,019,996 1,822,532 Day 11 (April 18) 2,932,230 639,853 3,665,287 831,808 Day 12 (April 19) 3,109,338 636,988 3,886,672 828,084 Day 13 (April 20) 8,032,536 1,729,429 10,040,670 2,248,258 Day 14 (April 21) 7,443,427 1,612,699 9,304,283 2,096,509 Day 15 (April 22) 6,893,514 1,509,724 8,616,893 1,962,642

Table 6.1.10 shows the forecasted hourly number of Page Views and Visits for the peak day of the filing season.

Table 6.1.10 IRS.gov Forecasted Hourly Number of Page Views and Visits for the Peak Day of the Filing Season Time Page Views 2011 Visits 2011 Page Views 2012 Visits 2012 00:00 1,620,928 246,439 2,026,160 320,371 01:00 1,077,248 165,627 1,346,561 215,315 02:00 688,122 103,458 860,152 134,496 03:00 411,353 63,209 514,191 82,172 04:00 286,442 44,303 358,053 57,594 05:00 271,311 43,311 339,139 56,305 06:00 424,302 73,865 530,377 96,024 07:00 810,369 144,826 1,012,961 188,274 08:00 1,504,869 266,310 1,881,086 346,203 09:00 2,324,186 405,375 2,905,232 526,988 10:00 2,944,609 497,911 3,680,762 647,285 11:00 3,313,964 551,951 4,142,455 717,536 12:00 3,484,708 571,898 4,355,885 743,467 13:00 3,534,894 574,210 4,418,617 746,472 14:00 3,569,770 578,266 4,462,213 751,745 15:00 3,546,198 568,181 4,432,748 738,636 16:00 3,488,394 552,402 4,360,492 718,122 17:00 3,264,305 505,053 4,080,381 656,569 18:00 3,054,484 457,230 3,818,105 594,398 19:00 2,873,527 418,366 3,591,908 543,876 20:00 2,762,309 387,632 3,452,887 503,921 21:00 2,704,072 364,957 3,380,090 474,444 22:00 2,769,038 347,459 3,461,297 451,697 23:00 2,432,208 285,284 3,040,260 370,869 Total 53,161,609 8,217,524 66,452,012 10,682,781

RUP and EUP Volumes and Volume Forecasts The peak usage for RUP and EUP portals correspond with the peak usage for modernized applications. For example, historically MeF peak usage occurs in March and September of each year for the RUP-LA string. The peak usage for the RUP-SA string occurs in February. The statistics in this section show the number of unique sessions for the RUP-LA and the EUP portals as well as the number of Web Hits for RUP-SA. Table 6.2.1 shows the monthly number of unique sessions for the RUP-LA for the last three years.

Table 6.2.1 Monthly Number of Unique Sessions for the RUP-LA

January N/A 961,228 1,927,177 February 410,672 622,262 1,118,394 March 431,289 593,849 1,090,603 April 364,100 594,781 979,775 May 418,886 598,090 810,308 June 386,240 619,719 880,319 July 416,990 863,150 902,184 August 507,840 856,206

September 468,378 1,809,867

October 630,212 1,997,154

November 716,881 1,879,070

December 622,166 1,552,031

TOTAL

5,373,654 12,947,407 7,708,760

Table 6.2.2 shows the number of unique sessions for the EUP portal for the past three years.

Table 6.2.2 Monthly Number of Unique Sessions for EUP

January 523,721 280,844 287,254 February 474,672 287,393 282,895 March 506,158 299,755 340,439 April 474,409 308,597 332,081 May 505,580 245,313 281,962 June 369,805 238,785 317,104 July 284,102 261,886 303,398 August 282,429 224,974

September 228,390 240,247

October 248,703 268,811

November 214,493 208,902

December 183,667 225,910

TOTAL

4,296,129 3,091,417 2,145,133

Table 6.2.3 shows the number of Web hits for the RUP-SA string.

Table 6.2.3 Monthly Number of Web Hits for the RUP-SA String

January N/A 255,566,568 February N/A 649,429,084 March N/A 395,728,051 April N/A 292,166,746 May 573,367,784 104,504,298 June 245,373,112 75,128,062 July 98,728,748 72,138,665 August 73,213,197

September 62,930,319

October 69,531,416

November 59,663,168

December 50,139,685

TOTAL

1,232,947,429 1,844,661,474

Figure 6.2.1 shows the daily number of Web hits for the peak month of the year for the RUP-SA string.

file_7.emf file_8.wmf

Figure 6.2.1 Daily Number of Web Hits for the Peak Month The number of applications using registered portals, RUP, and EUP is growing. In addition, applications such as MeF, e-Services, and Internet Refund Fact of Filing (IRFOF) are projecting growth for the next three to four years. The projected growth of these applications will impact the capacity needed for the registered portals.

Associated Systems Volumes and Volume Forecasts The IRS Careers Web (ICW) is a sub-domain of IRS.gov, but is hosted independently of IRS.gov. It does not use a content management system nor allow remote or distributed authoring. ICW has approximately 3 million visitors per year with an estimated projected growth of 500,000 visitors per year.

Political Organization Filing Disclosure (POFD) is the PUP application used during political campaigns to track donations, and thus, has high visibility and exposure. It is critical that the IRS maintains this legislative mandate application in a ready production state.

It is estimated that the POFD application will grow 15% annually.

Table 6.3.1 shows the number of Page Views and Visits for the POFD Application.

Table 6.3.1 Page Views and Visits for the POFD Application

2009 (Jan - July)

Page Views Visits Page Views Visits Page Views Visits Page Views Visits

POFD

1,101,677 47,568 566,495 63,059 530,877 39,527 231,393 19,941

Table 6.3.2 shows a sample of monthly Page Views for the POFD application.

Table 6.3.2 Monthly Number of Page Views for POFD Application

September 2008 October 2008 November 2008 December 2008 January 2009 February 2009 POFD Page Views 32,738 73,140 22,529 46,771 41,021 29,784

Website Help Desk Volumes and Volume Forecasts Table 6.4.1 provides information on the volumes of various types of communications received by IRS.gov’s Website Help Desk.

Table 6.4.1 Help Desk Volumes Month Year e-Mail Call Chat June 2008 27,375 6,637 2,291 July 2008 17,849 6,964 8,073 August 2008 9,715 4,325 4,398 September 2008 8,278 3,058 3,464 October 2008 8,695 2,696 2,896 November 2008 6,885 1,985 2,035 December 2008 5,756 2,300 2,714 January 2009 11,776 10,692 7,744 February 2009 17,162 22,289 13,469 March 2009 10,863 13,958 8,180 April 2009 9,474 16,565 8,394 May 2009 4,257 4,435 3,202 June 2009 3,881 4,051 2,291

Table 6.4.2 provides information on current telephone, chat, and e-mail channel statistics.

Table 6.4.2 Channel Statistics Metric Current IRS Standard Telephone Service Level 80% of calls answered within 40 seconds Chat Service Level 80% of chats answered within 40 seconds E-mail Service Level Response within 24 business hours Voice Mail Service Level Response within 24 business hours Telephone Average Handle Time 180 seconds Chat Average Handle Time 360 seconds Email Average Handle Time 90 seconds Telephone Abandon Rate 5% Telephone Blockage Rate 0%

Table 6.4.3 provides information on current CSR staffing levels.

Table 6.4.3 Current CSR Staffing Levels Time Period Staff Levels April 16 – December 6 English Language CSRs 1 Spanish Language CSR(s) 1 Escalation Specialist 1 Team Lead January – April 15 18 - 26 English Language CSRs 2 - 3 Spanish Language CSRs 2 Escalation Specialists 1 Team Lead

Table 6.4.4 shows the forecasted number of e-mails, calls, and chats. The growth rates are forecasted to be:

Number of e-mails to grow by 10% each year

Number of calls to grow by 5% each year Number of chats to grow by 10% each year.

Table 6.4.4 Forecasted Help Desk E-Mail, Calls, and Chat Volumes E-Mail Calls Chat Month January 22,661 24,927 6,225 6,536 7,222 7,945 February 32,078 35,286 9,054 9,506 11,255 12,381 March 29,343 32,277 8,299 8,713 10,342 11,376 April 34,048 37,453 13,726 14,412 17,470 19,217 May 29,040 31,944 9,923 10,419 12,100 13,310 June 33,124 36,436 7,317 7,683 2,772 3,049 July 21,597 23,757 7,678 8,062 9,768 10,745 August 11,755 12,931 4,768 5,007 5,322 5,854 September 10,517 11,569 3,540 3,717 4,611 5,072 October 11,047 12,152 3,121 3,277 3,855 4,241 November 8,748 9,623 2,299 2,414 2,709 2,980 December 8,864 9,751 2,335 2,452 1,871 2,058

Appendix A – IRS.gov Applications Name Description Lines of Code O/S DB Server/ App. Server Web Server/ FTP Server Application Components PUP Applications: Applications which interact with databases, store data, or include interaction with other systems/applications on the backend.

Comments Allows users to enter comments regarding the IRS.gov Website and other IRS matters. The comments are forwarded to one of several IRS email accounts. Tax law questions are also accepted.

2,000 Solaris 10 WebLogic Application Server 8.x Sun Java System Web Server 6.x

Pro FTP 1.3.x C GCC 3.3.x e-File Provider Search Users enter a ZIP Code between 3 and 5 digits and are provided a list of authorized e-file providers in the specified area.

1,500 Solaris 10 Oracle 9.2.x

WebLogic Application Server 8.x Sun Java System Web Server 6.x

Pro FTP 1.3.x Perl 5.6.x ePostcard Public disclosure of e-Postcard (Form 990-N). Provides for the searching and display of e-Postcards.

13,700 Solaris 10 Oracle 9.2.x WebLogic Application Server 8.x Sun Java System Web Server 6.x Pro FTP 1.3.x Hibernate 3.2.x, Spring 2.0.x, JSP, Struts 1.x, Java 1.4.x JRE, Java Script ETLA Customer Satisfaction Survey Used for collecting data from users. An e-mail is sent out to the users and a link is provided in the e-mail to fill out the survey.

1,500 Solaris 10 WebLogic Application Server 8.x Sun Java System Web Server 6.x C GCC 3.3.x Excise Tax Allows users to search for a trading partner’s “excise tax exempt” status, by querying Form 637 data.

6,300 Solaris 10 Oracle 9.2.x

WebLogic Application Server 8.x Sun Java System Web Server 6.x

Pro FTP 1.3.x Struts 1.x, Java 1.4.x JRE FAQ Survey Reporting Used for collecting survey data from users relating to FAQ content.

Inc. w/ CMA Solaris 10 N/A Sun Java System Web Server 6.x Vignette WCM 6.0.x, JSP, Java 1.4.x JRE, Java Script Free File Free File provides users with a list of companies that offer free tax filing services, if the users meet certain criteria. Free File also has a wizard component that allows users to enter in their own information such as age, AGI, state of residence, etc. and the application filters out the appropriate companies. Existing application in production; revised for latest tax season and XSS fix.

6,500 Solaris 10 WebLogic Application Server 8.x Sun Java System Web Server 6.x

JSP,

Java 1.4.x JRE Office Locator Provides a listing of taxpayer assistance centers by ZIP Code.

44,200 Solaris 10 Oracle 9.2.x

WebLogic Application Server 8.x Sun Java System Web Server 6.x Java Bullseye, JSP, Java 1.4.x JRE Publication 78 Search Data retrieval application searching tax exempt organizations.

6,400 Solaris 10 Oracle 9.2.x

WebLogic Application Server 8.x Sun Java System Web Server 6.x

Pro FTP 1.3.x Hibernate 3.2.x, Spring 2.0.x, JSP, Struts 1.x, Java 1.4.x JRE, Java Script Sales Tax Deduction Calculator (STDC) Allows taxpayers to determine their allowed sales tax deduction based on residence ZIP Code, income range, exemptions and general sales tax paid.

311,300 Solaris 10 WebLogic Application Server 8.x Sun Java System Web Server 6.x RuleBurst Rule Engine, Spring 2.0.x, JSP, Java 1.4.x JRE, JNI

SAMS

Allows the screening, reporting, and submission of systemic advocacy issues to the IRS.

13,000 Solaris 10 WebLogic Application Server 8.x Sun Java System Web Server 6.x

Pro FTP 1.3.x

JSP,

Struts 1.x, Java 1.4.x JRE, Java Script Tax Material Ordering Allows users to order various free items (Tax forms, info CDs) via a site-wide shopping cart mechanism. (“site-wide” meaning the same shopping cart applies to all free items on the IRS.gov site).

4,500 Solaris 10 Oracle 9.2.x

WebLogic Application Server 8.x Sun Java System Web Server 6.x

Pro FTP 1.3.x

JSP,

Java 1.4.x JRE PUP Core Functionality: Functionality which is necessary for providing or supporting core functionality of the Website.

Content Management Application (CMA)* For IRS internal users. The CMA is a Vignette v6 based CMS that currently supports approximately 300 IRS users in managing static content on IRS.gov. The CMA supports creation of Web pages in multiple formats, and displays that content with a consistent look-and-feel. Not available on IRS.gov; and only to IRS employees. Manages 100,000 pages of static content.

284,000 Solaris 10 Oracle 9.2.x, WebLogic Application Server 8.x Sun Java System Web Server 6.x

Pro FTP 1.3.x Vignette WCM 6.0.x, Vignette Application Portal 7.x, Hibernate 2.1.x, Spring 1.2.x, JSP, Java 1.4.x JRE, Java Script Picklist Allows users to view static files (i.e., PDFs) on the IRS.gov Website.

14,300 Solaris 10 Oracle 9.2.x

WebLogic Application Server 8.x Sun Java System Web Server 6.x Hibernate 3.2.x, Spring 2.0.x, JSP, Java 1.4.x JRE, Java Script Rotating Spotlight Both IRS internal users and Public portal users.

Inc. w/ CMA Solaris 10 Oracle 9.2.x N/A Vignette WCM 6.0.x, Hibernate 2.1.x, JSP, Java 1.4.x JRE, Java Script Search Provides search functionality for the IRS.gov Website.

33,200 Solaris 10 Oracle 9.2.x Sun Java System Web Server 6.x Python 2.2.x, Java Script PUP Tools: Calculators and wizard type applications which generally ask questions, provide numerical calculations, or provide “interactive” content. No data is stored and there is no interaction with databases or other systems/applications on the backend.

AMT Assistant 2006 Assists taxpayers in determining if they are subject to Alternative Minimum Tax for 2006.

9,700 Solaris 10 WebLogic Application Server 8.x Sun Java System Web Server 6.x

JSP,

Struts 1.x, Java 1.4.x JRE AMT Assistant 2007 Assists taxpayers in determining if they are subject to Alternative Minimum Tax for 2007.

9,600 Solaris 10 WebLogic Application Server 8.x Sun Java System Web Server 6.x

JSP,

Struts 1.x, Java 1.4.x JRE AMT Assistant 2008 Assists taxpayers in determining if they are subject to Alternative Minimum Tax for 2008.

9,900 Solaris 10 WebLogic Application Server 8.x Sun Java System Web Server 6.x

JSP,

Struts 1.x, Java 1.4.x JRE EITC Assistant 2006 The Assistant provides significant help for users to determine their eligibility for the Earned Income Tax Credit, as well as the ability to estimate their possible credit amount. Designed to be dual-language, it functions in both English and Spanish. The application can also help users determine if their children are qualified to be claimed for the credit, as well as help determine the users’ appropriate filing status.

50,000 Solaris 10 WebLogic Application Server 8.x Sun Java System Web Server 6.x

JSP,

Struts 1.x, Java 1.4.x JRE EITC Assistant 2007 The Assistant provides significant help for users to determine their eligibility for the Earned Income Tax Credit, as well as the ability to estimate their possible credit amount. Designed to be dual-language, it functions in both English and Spanish. The application can also help users determine if their children are qualified to be claimed for the credit, as well as help determine the users’ appropriate filing status.

45,500 Solaris 10 WebLogic Application Server 8.x Sun Java System Web Server 6.x

JSP,

Struts 1.x, Java 1.4.x JRE EITC Assistant 2008 The Assistant provides significant help for users to determine their eligibility for the Earned Income Tax Credit, as well as the ability to estimate their possible credit amount. Designed to be dual-language, it functions in both English and Spanish. The application can also help users determine if their children are qualified to be claimed for the credit, as well as help determine the users’ appropriate filing status.

45,800 Solaris 10 WebLogic Application Server 8.x Sun Java System Web Server 6.x

JSP,

Struts 1.x, Java 1.4.x JRE Link and Learn Taxes This application provides information and training designed for individuals and groups who volunteer their time and knowledge to help fellow taxpayers complete their tax returns (VITA/TCE).

Solaris 10 WebLogic Application Server 8.x Sun Java System Web Server 6.x

JSP,

Java 1.4.x JRE, Java Script Recovery Rebate Credit Calculator (RRCC) The RRCC developed by IRS using the RuleBurst…