Just today I had to use a registration process that was so abysmally bad that I felt I needed to share. I'm one of the (apparently many) people here who've switched from Mac to PC and one of my clients requires a Cisco client to access their VPN. So I head over to Cisco.com to find out if they have a Mac version. Click on Support, then click on Download Software, then click on VPN software. So far, so good.
Uh-oh, I have to register before I can find out if they have what I want. Well, OK, I need it for work. But I have to pick now between "Registered Guest" and "Registered Customer". Hmmm. Guest sounds faster, so I choose that. I click the Register Now button and I get a drop down list of languages next to a "Choose Language" label. Then my name, email, email again, and... another dropdown for "Language Preference". What?? Didn't I just answer that? Now they want a user name, but instead of being able to use my regular one, they require it be at least 9 characters (but no more than 50 - now who has a 50 character user name?) Then there's a bunch of stuff letting me choose not to be spammed. So I say "no" to all the emails they so generously want to send me, and I leave the email preferences (HTML or text) choice blank - because I don't want any email. But no, email format preference is required. Argh. On to Page 2 of 6 (sigh). Enter my address, my phone number, my job role. Weirdly I have to enter my country as part of my address, and then select my country code as part of my phone number. I don't know about you, but my phone is typically in the same country as me. Is this a computer company? Can they look this stuff up? Next... Page 3 of 6 - My "Interests and Preferences" Right now I would prefer not to have to deal with this dumb registration process. Oh look, they're asking me what language I prefer. Didn't I answer that twice before? Happily there is a Skip this Step button at the bottom. Page 4 or 6 - Two security questions. Ok, I fill out one and click Submit. But oh, no. They say I must fill them both out. I guess I might forget the name of my first pet and have to fall back to my favorite car. Page 5 of 6 - fill out your password. OK, I enter in my usual password for stuff I don't care about. Nope, I read the rules and (no kidding) here's what they require: - a minimum of 8 alphanumeric characters - both upper and lowercase characters (a-z, A-Z) - at least one numeral - have at least one symbol ([EMAIL PROTECTED]&*) At this point I give up in disgust. I am a beaten man. There's just no way their crummy VPN client software is worth this. I'll use the old PC for getting access. And that, my friends, is how to design a registration process so secure, so Byzantine that you'll never be bothered by those pesky users ever again. Thanks for letting me get that off my chest. -- Michael B. Moore • Pure InfoDesign • 415.246.6690 M • www.pureinfodesign.com ________________________________________________________________ Welcome to the Interaction Design Association (IxDA)! To post to this list ....... [EMAIL PROTECTED] Unsubscribe ................ http://www.ixda.org/unsubscribe List Guidelines ............ http://www.ixda.org/guidelines List Help .................. http://www.ixda.org/help
