Don't web site designers do any market research? Don't they know that stay-at-home-parents need more than just a few minutes before their session times out? I want to be able to pay one bill without logging in three separate times!
Speaking as someone that used to work in online banking, I can say that it's a thin line to walk balancing usability and security. It's typically the developers and designers on one side and management on the other. The consequences of being less usable are dwarfed by those of leaving a session up for a long time.
I know what you mean. There are two pet peeves of mine: not holding your items in the shopping cart (I don't even care if they're just placeholders for me, not actually removing the items from an inventory check until they're purchased) across multiple sessions and requiring a user to log in frequently (which, of course, can be solved with the shopping cart cookie above). One of the science sites I was trying to use did this. I would get multiple items in the cart (which could take 1/2 an hour) and then go to check another website to see if they had something the first website didn't, and by the time I came back, the cart was emptied. I still don't purchase from that site. I won't even know if they change the policy because I just don't bother going there any more.
This is fractured time. I'm often only able to get in a few keystrokes before running off to clean up a spill, change an emergency diaper, let the dog out, answer the phone, or stop the cat from eating the leftover dinner on the stovetop.
Speaking as someone that used to work in online banking, I can say that it's a thin line to walk balancing usability and security. It's typically the developers and designers on one side and management on the other. The consequences of being less usable are dwarfed by those of leaving a session up for a long time.
ReplyDeleteI know what you mean. There are two pet peeves of mine: not holding your items in the shopping cart (I don't even care if they're just placeholders for me, not actually removing the items from an inventory check until they're purchased) across multiple sessions and requiring a user to log in frequently (which, of course, can be solved with the shopping cart cookie above). One of the science sites I was trying to use did this. I would get multiple items in the cart (which could take 1/2 an hour) and then go to check another website to see if they had something the first website didn't, and by the time I came back, the cart was emptied. I still don't purchase from that site. I won't even know if they change the policy because I just don't bother going there any more.
ReplyDeleteYou got the annoyance right on the nose!
This is fractured time. I'm often only able to get in a few keystrokes before running off to clean up a spill, change an emergency diaper, let the dog out, answer the phone, or stop the cat from eating the leftover dinner on the stovetop.
ReplyDelete