If..Else Log

Sometimes I dispair at the level of poor design inflicted on the public. There are times where you see examples of such inanity that you have to wonder how the hell they managed to make their way out to the real world. The application form for a student bus pass is a prime case in point. My brother was required to fill out his details by Transport for London when he came across the following pieces of genius.

First, have a look at exhibit 1 which I've highlighted and tagged appropriately.

Now, item number 1 is where they request a date of birth. Nothing wrong with that, as this is an application for a 16-17 photo-card. It's item number 2, however, which is the puzzling item. Forgive me if I'm wrong but to calculate the date when someone becomes 18 when you already have their date of birth is not really that difficult. Do they really need to allocate a seperate field to request that this is filled out for them? Has the TFL recruitment team found it hard to recruit people with the ability to add?

Next, let's have a look at exhibit 2.

Now they have two sets of fields next to each other labelled 16 and 17 respectively (unfortunately I've cropped 17 out of the picture. Apologies). At first glance you may think they have those fields to ask for your current age and which, presumably, you would tick. However, they have interestingly provided two character boxes to each field. Then it dawns on you that maybe they're asking for the year in which you turn 16 and 17. Yes, just as it was hard for them to work out the year in which you turn 18 from your date of birth, they also have difficulty working out what year you turn 16 and 17 as well. It must have also been difficult for them to provide a more appropriate label or description than 16 and 17.

How the hell someone got paid for designing this abomination, I just do not know.

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