I’ve been in data processing for a long time. In a lot a ways I’m old fashioned. Something that was instilled in me from day one is that when creating custom programs, or even changing them, you test and then you break it. What I mean is that you want to make sure that your programming efforts not only work; but that they work in all conditions. I bring this up because there are so many times where people purchase something to find that the quality is just not there. I hear stories all the time about how people purchase software, only to find that it’s not working to the customer expectations.
The latest story was there was an offer of an upgrade to a premium website package. The problem was that you couldn’t use the same user name that was originally set up. After hearing about this, it just made me think that this upgrade not tested. What was worse, they didn’t attempt to break the website to find it’s weaknesses. The customer was acting as the one performing the “real world” testing.
A piece of advice from someone who has built and changed hundreds of applications. Don’t accept software, or websites that fail do the job you want them to do. Contact the company’s support area and let them know about the flaws you find. If you are paying good money, you have the right to let them know.
Later…