I stayed up until 2am to order my iPhone. Crazy, maybe… but I’ve held out for an upgrade from my Samsung windows mobile device for over 3 years. I call my current phone “the brick”. It was an amazing smartphone, long, long ago. I’ve been fortunate to have the latest devices through work, so I have been patient waiting for Verizon and Apple to provide a solution.
So… it’s 1:50 am and I anxiously check the countdown page. They are ready for me to order. I am worried for them. Would the site hold up to the load? Did they test all of the order processing workflows? What about error conditions and unexpected user data? What about my user data?
The first attempt went as I expected. It failed. I upgraded 2 different phone lines, carefully selecting my options and just prior to checking out I get an “error – we are trying to correct as quickly as possible… try again”. Argh!
I immediately wonder what test scenarios would have captured the failure. Could this have been uncovered with additional load testing? Was it the fact that the landing page was updated prematurely and the rest of the order pages were not in place? Was it that I was slow the first time through as I read each of the options and reviewed help? Was it an issue with the help pop-ups and a focus issues once I returned to the main order workflow?
Then I wonder how many orders were lost along with mine. What was the business impact? Maybe none considering the time of day and the insanity of those of us who would try over & over until the order was processed.
I have to start over. This time, I make it through with no issues. I am careful to capture my order information in case there are issues with the backend systems. My confirmation email is delivered about 30 minutes later. I am relieved, I was concerned I would never get an email. I quickly check the site to confirm my order is in the system. Indeed it is and the screen indicates that the order is being processed. Then I check the site to confirm that the charges and order details are correct. Everything looks right. Excellent!
Finally — the waiting is over. Well, not really. Now, I keep checking to see if my “order has been processed” and my “phone has shipped”.
Let me check now… yes I checked just 5 minutes ago.
YES! “Your order has been shipped.” Now, I will keep checking to see if the courier and tracking number is posted and of course I will listen intently for the doorbell. 🙂