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Designer: Need to file a bug, I'm not getting an option to login with FaceID

Me: Oh weird bug. Is it setup on the phone you are testing with?

Designer: yes, use it in all other apps

Me: Did you get an error during onboarding on the FaceID screen?

Designer: nope no error

Me: ..... hhhmm, can you show me your settings?

Me: ... eh, says you have FaceID disabled for this app ... did you click "No" to FaceID during onboarding?

Designer: Yes, to test edge cases

Me: ................ ok ........ if you setup the app and told it to not allow FaceID to login ......... you won't get the ability to use FaceID to login .......... like .... by design .... on purpose ...... cause .... you told it to do that

Designer: No no, it needs to have a setting on the login screen to allow me to turn that back on incase I forget my passcode

Me: the fuck it does. Yeah we can't have anything on the login page that says, without authorization, change my settings

*Deep breath*

Me: Remember we had this conversation previously, where you didn't want the user to create a passcode during onboarding as it was too much friction, and wanted to do FaceID only. With your backup plan being to allow the user to create a NEW passcode on the login screen if FaceID failed .... remember that discussion we had about security? ... and how its important? ... and that we like having any? Ok so its the same reason as that, just with a different setting this time

Designer: ... hhmm i'm not sure I like this

Me: ... tough luck then, not happening

Me: oh and btw, remember we had that other talk about reproduction steps for bugs? Like when the app crashed and you told me it was because its in light mode, and nothing else at all? So disabling FaceID, is very relevant info to the problem of "I can't login with FaceID", please tell me these things first

Comments
  • 26
    Extremely glad we waited 6 months for this expert in mobile design to become available ... been hugely helpful in speeding up the process
  • 13
    +1 for the way you handled it, usually I see people panic and get all angry ...
  • 16
    My designer decided the "submit" button on a form should be touching the last input field (basically making in look like the button is coming from under the input field). Sure, whatever.

    But what about form validation? There's no way to show the error message under the input field without messing with that submit button. Their response? Just don't show validation error.

    Because god forbid a UX designer would consider multiple potential states and scenarios when designing the UX to prevent problems like that.
  • 0
    Holy fuck I would not handle this professionally - glad u did
  • 1
    I am very, very bad at dealing with this kind of white noise thinking.

    I'm fortunate that communications like this are usually intercepted before I have a chance to respond. When they aren't, I ask other, more diplomatic, coworkers to help format the response.
  • 4
    @hitko I like to defer idiots:

    "What hard data is or isn't shown on this form is not a UI design decision. If you really feel like removing this feedback would improve UX, please discuss alternative feedback methods with (BA/PM), otherwise please send me a design that includes all of the specified inputs in all states."
  • 3
    I may phrase it more nicely, but I definitely would make them present this idea to someone whose job is to think about the user, just so more people are aware of their idiocy.
  • 2
    But I also like to just implement stupid ideas as long as they are possible, if they are approved by the person in charge of those decisions. So far my position in a company was always more closely associated with my pace of work and conformance than it was with the success of the product.
  • 2
    When in doubt, cc the person that can hold this person accountable with your doubts clearly spelled out. If the person is your boss, get backup from coworkers.

    If it goes past that, say you want it in writing that this was asked for and that you objected. I did this once and it put a stop to the nonsensical request.
  • 2
    When in doubt, I just tell designer/client: "Right now it works the native way, just how the OS intended and users are already used to it." Usually they fuck off fast.
  • 0
    @Alexanderr I'd say that "authentication settings for a given user can only be changed after the UA has been authenticated for that user" is not the part of the specification that we should muck around with to warrant our salaries
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