h4

Account Managment at a glance

Site Genre: Pattern Group h

magnify imageFigureH4.1 This account management page lets customers see and update all the information that LinkedIn manages for them. Customers can update what others see about them, as well as their contact and privacy settings.

Background

All Web applications that provide personalization, such as PERSONAL E-COMMERCE (A1), NEWS MOSAICS (A2), and COMMUNITY CONFERENCE (A3), need a way to let customers manage personal data and PRIVACY PREFERENCES (E8).

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PROBLEM

Customers need to see and manage the information that a Web site keeps about them.

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SOLUTION

magnify image FigureH4.6 An account management system should use a secure connection to protect each customer’s personal information and should guide customers through the steps needed to see and change their information.

Provide a single page that holds all the customer’s account information in one place. Use a task-based organization scheme to let people see and modify their information in the context of specific tasks.

Other Patterns to Consider

As part of the FAIR INFORMATION PRACTICES (E3), every Web site that provides PERSONALIZED CONTENT (D4) should also provide an account management system to let customers manage their personal information and their PRIVACY PREFERENCES (E8). Such information might include customers’ favorite MESSAGE BOARDS (D5), E-MAIL SUBSCRIPTIONS (E2), address books for QUICK ADDRESS SELECTION (F4), shipping preferences for QUICK SHIPPING METHOD SELECTION (F5), PAYMENT METHOD (F6) information, and ORDER TRACKING AND HISTORY (G7). Use a centralized organization scheme, with all the information in one place, as well as TASK-BASED ORGANIZATION (B4), where the information is spread out according to task. The more sensitive the data is, the more protection customers need. If the account management system contains sensitive personal or financial information, use a SECURE CONNECTION (E6) with extremely strong encryption to protect the data.

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