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Interesting Use Case

A while back, I was asked to work on a project at work. The details aren't particularly important, except for one things. The application allows users to approve or deny a request that can potentially affect our department significantly. You wouldn't think that this would be particularly amusing, or even interesting, but trust me on this one. Sometimes, there are quite a few laughs to be had for work-related matters.

So, let's start with some background information. One of the things you try to do when building a web site/application is to use common patterns that people are used to. It makes it easier if they don't have to re-learn everything. The icon for saving something is often a floppy disk, for that very reason. People just know what that means. You wouldn't pick an arbitrary image, since that would just confuse your users.

Okay, so you pick patterns that people know. Basically, you copy off of other people. And if there's already a similar application, even if it's in another field, you should steal shamelessly. You still have to put in plenty of original thought and it's not wholesale plagiarism, but you can mimic the structures. Again, you don't make up your own save button.

So, I was sitting there in my cube, thinking about this particular project. Inspiration struck. You know what else has an entire series of yes/no decisions? Dating sites. That's basically the whole premise. You say "yes" or "no" to a series of profiles, but it's not all that different from approving or denying a series of requests. Sure, there are more nuances in either case, but still, the basic structure is the same.

There was only one problem: I didn't have a dating profile on any of these sites, and I was still dating one of the Mild Ex'es at the time. I suspect that you might see the potential humor now.

I didn't want my actions to be interpreted in any untoward way, so I was completely honest with the Mild Ex. I told her what I was working on, and that I needed some way to see the various screens on one of these sites. She, understandably, wasn't exactly thrilled with the prospect of me joining. Neither was I, to be honest. It seemed disingenuous at best.

But that still left me with a conundrum. I mentioned this dilemma to a few friends, and they came up with several suggestions:
  • Create a joint account with the Mild Ex, so that she could see exactly what I had done. Again, total transparency
  • Let the Mild Ex create an account
  • Look over a friend's shoulder as they did their thing on one of these sites
  • Screw what the Mild Ex thought, just do it anyway
The last one actually made me laugh out loud, because that's not how it was presented. The person actually thought it was a valid suggestion. Then I said to that person, "so you want me to go behind her back?" Suddenly, it didn't seem like such a good idea.

Funnily enough, I also mentioned it to a married friend of mine, and she had more or less the same reaction as the Mild Ex. They weren't her exact words, but they amounted to, "eff that. Get one of your friends to do it." Which, incidentally, was exactly what I did.

Now, nothing came of all of this, and there was no huge fight or anything. Everyone involved knew what was going on, and there were no shenanigans. Still, for a little while there, my job made things awfully interesting. Who knew software development had such hidden pitfalls for your love life?
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