One of the classes I took (and was required to) in my study of Information Technology here at BYU was Human Computer Interfacing. This was a study of the interactions between users and technology – and specifically how technology can (and should) be designed to help users accomplish what they need to – faster, easier, and smarter.

But where does one draw the line between designing something user-friendly but also secure?

A prime example of this is the User Account Control (UAC) feature that was implemented in Windows Vista. I’m sure the reasoning Microsoft had was to try and educate, as well as warn users, when potentially harmful activity was occurring. This feature would literally pester the user – constantly. While I skipped the Vista flavor of Windows (I recently moved from XP to Windows 7 and love it), I can recall countless times that users would turn off the function – or simply click Ok without a seconds hesitation. Truly convenience of getting on with whatever the user was trying to do outweighed the warning. (Granted – Windows implementation of this feature wasn’t the greatest…I’m just using it to prove a point. )

Passwords are another point of concern on this topic. I believe it was one of the temps from “The Office” that indicated the only thing she learned was that half the employees used “password” as their password. While this is just a TV show – it’s probably more true than not in the actual workplace. A secure password could be defined as one that is changed every 30-45 days, does not contain family names or words found in a dictionary. It also contains uppercase, lowercase, symbols, numbers, and should range from 8 characters to 16 characters. This seems to be a daunting task for any user – let alone your average Joe.

Recently some changes have been made to the wireless on BYU campus. A secure SSID that implemented WPA or WPA2 and required the user to pass a scanning process that ensured the user was up-to-date with Windows patches and had installed a up-to-date antivirus program. While this added 10-20 seconds more time (after the initial setup) from the previous process – the end result was far more secure than the previous implementation (no security, no scanning). According to the network security team, the amount of viruses, attacks, and malicious activity on the network dropped to rates not before seen. So in reality – not only was the network more secure, but performed better. So a win for the user? No – a number of users were annoyed at the extra time this “inconvenience” caused. I even heard complaints that it was an invasion of privacy – that the network team had no right to know what was on a users computer. Sometimes you just have to sigh.

I think this will continue to be a struggle – until users have a deep enough understanding as to why administrators seem to cause so much “inconvenience.”

Until then…I’m not even sure.

Since I’ve been attending BYU, they have issued decals to be able to park in various lots. There are Y lots (Undergraduate Students), A lots (Faculty/Staff), G lots (Graduate Students), and C lots (on-campus housing). The members of University Police that enforce these lots have been much like the post office – they are out there rain, snow, or shine.

There are also two gates that lead to on-campus driveways – roads that are only accessible to full-time staff. Cars would have to get a little RFID that would open the gate when the antenna came in range of the gate.

Recently, BYU has decided to switch over to a system that uses license plate recognition in lieu of parking stickers or gate openers. It’s a pretty novel concept – instead of issuing stickers or passes, students and faculty merely register their license plates online. Parking lots are now enforced by a car that drives around with a camera on it’s roof that reads license plates to verify parking entitlement. Additionally, cameras were installed by the gates that lead on to campus so that when a car pulls up to the gate, it reads the plate and opens it.

Awesome – no more stickers, no more passes, and no more officers having to be out in the cold during the dead of winter…now only if it worked.

Unfortunately, of the 5 times I’ve had to use the gates on campus – it’s worked for me once. After being instructed to contact parking services – I was told that the system “has issues” and that they’re “working on it.”

Luckily for me I only have to use the gate a couple times a week – I can’t imagine the annoyance daily users must encounter. Perhaps they need to upgrade their new system, because systems are available that “can scan number plates at around one per second on cars traveling up to 100 mph.”

Perhaps BYU employees just need to slow down.