Problems with Automated Transactions

Darkness Under the Lamp

Photo Credit: Siddharth Varanasi - Flickr: DSC_0455
CC BY 2.0, File:Diya, an oil lamp.jpg, Created: 26 October 2011

There is darkness under the lamp! The Computer Society of India is going through the process of verifying its list of members and the process has been proving to be difficult. I am not an outsider. I am a life member of CSI and am proud to be one. That does not mean that I should not discuss technical problems.

The trouble begins with your ID number. It reads something like 100045XX. When you type it into the verification system, it is likely to say something like “enter a valid number”. After trying three or four times you go around asking people and find that the ID is actually something like I00045XX, beginning with I not 1.

Then you have to verify your email address and mobile number. This seems to be about as challenging as climbing Makalu! After many complaints, the professionals concerned increased the time limit for the OTP to expire. That has not completely solved the problem. Members are continuing to warn each other that we have only days to go before we complete the process; otherwise, no vote for you!

I think it is poetic justice for computer professionals to face this type of problem. Every day, millions of users of automated systems suffer because of bad design and implementation.  

Another example of this: today I looked up to see what I had to pay for a credit card. There had been no email or message on this from the company concerned for two months. I then used the app on the cell phone. It showed me the current statement, but not the last statement, which should give me the amount due. Once upon a time when they used to send a printed bill every month, it made some sense to save money by not sending it when the amount due was Nil. It makes no sense now to deny me an email saying I owe nothing this month.

Of course, I could see from the app the amount due by going to the payment page, but that page has no date and hence has no evidentiary value. If I make a small mistake and fail to pay a month’s dues on time, I could be charged a hefty interest and penalty, but if they run a lousy system, there is no one to pull them up.

I don’t see how India is going to become a superpower when its plumbing leaks, its electricity is stolen, and its automated systems waste your time. 

Srinivasan Ramani