Comments on: On Design: Don’t be Paranoid

By: Chris

Chris — Sun, 07 Jan 2007 04:02:50 +0000

Thanks for this post. I’ve been designing a web app, and every time I get feedback from co workers they point out the flaws. It’s really discouraging. I think what happens a lot of time is they get to where they point out the weaknesses that people could exploit, but that don’t matter at all. Good stuff.

By: Mike McDerment

Mike McDerment — Fri, 05 Jan 2007 19:05:43 +0000

One thing I left out of this post (it really warrants a post on its own) is how this applies to the way we do things here at FreshBooks. We basically empower everyone who works here with the ability to do what they see fit with respect to customer care. If something seems like it should be done, or you want to do it, then do it, with the rest of the team’s blessing.

I think this is important – not just for our customers – but for our staff. Everyone at FreshBooks needs to feel like they can make a difference in someone’s experience in using our service – our staff can and do make a difference everyday.

Which reminds we, we are hiring if you know and designers or developers who are looking…I’ll post about the jobs on this blog soon.

By: cvfoss

cvfoss — Fri, 05 Jan 2007 18:58:26 +0000

I wasn’t there so I can speak to your experience at the restaurant. There are a few things that could have factored in (like the experience of the clerk, how full the restaurant was, number of reservations, etc, etc). I believe a manager or owner would have probably given you the table if it was free.

Most restrictions like this seem silly until you realize the logic behind them (like ensuring people eating-in have to wait as little as possible).

I tend to agree with your point, though. Regular users/customers should be given breaks. People should be made to jump through as few hoops as possible. This is a trade-off that has to be balanced.

By: Mike McDerment

Mike McDerment — Fri, 05 Jan 2007 16:30:29 +0000

I see where you are coming from AJ, and I chose not to include the fact that this approach is most applicable to a new web app and that once you reach a certain scale, it may not apply.

That said, I’m not crazy about your solution…what’s the benefit of what you are proposing? Knowing me I won’t remember or bother to validate that email unless I am forced to get things done…and I don’t want to be forced if I don’t have to be.

By: AJ

AJ — Fri, 05 Jan 2007 15:20:25 +0000

Most services out there tend to use the email verification system. Are our lives really that busy that we can’t click a link in an email to validate our account?

Maybe we want the instant gratification of gaining access account as soon as we fill out simple or tedious registration forms? If so, let’s compromise….

Give a user access to the site for 24 hours without validatiing. That way, they can get the instant gratification of access to your site, and you can ensure that no one is registering without a valid email. Whenever the user next checks their email, which they probably will do in the next 24 hours, they can simply click the link and their account is validated.

By: Paranoia and Web App Design

Paranoia and Web App Design — Fri, 05 Jan 2007 14:44:26 +0000

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