Nothing Makes Me Want to Buy Something More Than an Error

August 13th, 2008

So after attempting to sign out of my bank’s web site, I received this wonderful default .Net exception error instead of the usual credit card cross-sell.

Nothing makes me feel secure in my bank or want to buy something more than a giant exception error. I especially like this one because it’s the default .Net error and includes instructions to the developers about how to replace it with something more useful to the user. Here’s a thought guys - REPLACE IT WITH SOMETHING MORE USEFUL TO THE USER.

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  • Short time reader, first time commenter…

    If I wanted security, I wouldn’t have gone freelance. Not that I ever felt particularly secure in my employee job, just that security wasn’t the motivation.

    Happier, abso-freakin-lutely. More secure? That never really came into the equation.

    FWIW, etc.
  • Well, the default exception error handling in .Net is targeted at providing developers with insight into problems with their applications. It's definitely not helpful to end users who come across problems while trying to use those same applications. There are tons of resources available on the Web and in bookstores about helpful error messaging and ways to communicate problems with a site to users that don't include crazy technical jargon and whatnot. Of course, those solutions only deal with problems after they occur. A better strategy would be to properly test an application to catch errors before they happen to real people trying to spend real money. There are many strategies and techniques employed by QA teams and developers to test prior to release. We have had a lot of success leveraging behavior driven development along with active user click-testing to help us avoid critical errors like the one shown. Basically, here's what I'd do:

    1. Do my absolute best to avoid errors like that in the first place
    2. When they do occur, make sure to communicate to users with compassion. No one on earth gives a sh!t about your exception errors, they only care about the fact that they weren't able to do something they wanted to do.
  • What do yo mean by REPLACE IT WITH SOMETHING MORE USEFUL TO THE USER I don't understand. Explanation welcom.
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