How Identity Mismanagement Almost Ruined My Date

Last week I went to meet someone on a first date in English Bay Vancouver (see photo). parked my car in a parkade, but the parkade had yet another new Parking App. :face_with_rolling_eyes:

  1. First I had to register, create a new account, password, license plate, etc.
  2. But, the app sensed I was on an Android phone, so it tried to integrate with Google Identity Management
    • Then why did the Parking App ask me for Identity Information it did not really need? :thinking_face:
  3. Google wanted me to authenticate, but I have dozens of different identities with Google, and it did not tell me which one it was using
    • Now this is really odd because usually when Google wants to authenticate me, it just uses my phone and fingerprint, but this time… NO :thinking_face:
    • Well, I could not remember the password because I did not know which account it using, so had to reset my password
    • Of course, you cannot use previous passwords
    • Typing secure passwords on a phone is especially painful…
    • Overall I suspect this was some sort of integration problem because Google rarely treats me so badly
  4. Eventually, Google vouched for me I and I was back in the Parking App
  5. Now I had to enter my credit card information
  6. Then I had to select where I was parked, and how long I wanted to park for
  7. Finally, when I clicked “OK”
    • The Parking App sent me to Google Pay, instead of using the credit card information I had already entered :flushed:
    • There was no other option to pay…
    • Google Pay reported an “Error” but gave no useful diagnostics
      • This is the first time Google Pay has ever failed me… ever…
    • But I was locked in a loop, and after failing to pay 6 times I gave up and paid directly at the parking machine :rage:
  8. In all, it took me over 15 minutes, because the process was broken. :face_with_rolling_eyes:
  9. Fortunately, my date was late, so I did not look like an idiot, and we had a lovely time… :innocent:
    Note the sunset… :smirk:

I carry around in my pocket a Samsung Galaxy Note 20 with astonishing computing power and connectivity, yet, none of it could overcome this hell. In more technical terms, this was a horrible ‘User Experience,’ or a horrible ‘Journey,’ through the terrible integration of two Identity Systems, the parking app, and Google.

In the past, I have worked in Fraud Detection, and we used the term “Frictionless Transactions” to focus on consumer experience, while also keeping transactions secure, so I wanted to relate this real-life story of Identity Hell.

As a company at the forefront of Identity Excellence, Forgerock is dedicated to finding ways to achieve Frictionless Identity

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