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Smart applications

We have been trained to deal with applications in a certain way. If we encounter a problem, we call tech support on the phone and explain what had happened. Without fail, tech support would not have enough information in order to answer our questions. It is not their fault since we usually do not have all the information to give them because we did not know what we should remember when the problem occurred. This way of reporting errors is so 90s.

It is time for smart applications. Applications should know what to do when an error occurs. The system knows when the error happened, what the user was doing, what type of data was entered, and which line of code caused the error. With all this information, the system should be the one reporting the error, not the user.

One place where I have seen this implemented is Windows XP. When an error occurs, the OS prompts the user to submit the problem to Microsoft. Web applications should follow suit but they should take it a step further. If someone is making an online order and an error pops up, that error can be sent to customer support and the site can bring up a chat screen to help the customer immediately. All the information had been sent to the support person so the customer does not have to spend time recalling what had happened then relaying the information to customer support. This method of handling errors can make the process a lot more efficient for support and more pleasant for the users.