Numbers in name can be added

[Emberlynn-Loo]

Steps to reproduce

1. Input add n/Benjamin 1 p/98765432 e/ben@benscarrots.com a/311, Clementi Ave 2, #02-25 c/Awesome Carrots t/vegetables t/carrots

Expected Error message to be shown, not explained in UG that numbers are allowed

Actual No error message shown

[nus-se-script]

Team's Response

The team has indicated in the UG under Input Constraints that names are allowed to be alphanumeric.

It is possible for people to have numbers in their names as well.

Furthermore, since the application does not allow for duplicate names, adding numbers can be a means for differentiating contacts with identical names in GourmetGrid.

Items for the Tester to Verify

:question: Issue response

Team chose [response.Rejected]

• [x] I disagree

Reason for disagreement: I do acknowledge that you have specified alphanumeric characters in the UG. My bug reports says that numbers in the name parameter can be added, which causes problems like having only a number as a name.

This is definitely invalid as there will is nobody who has only numbers as their name. In fact,

Nobody is allowed to have any numbers in their names. Only roman numbers so for example king james the IIV.

Your response is that the numbers will then be used as identifiers. However, as further explained in issue #2, this is not defined and unclear as to what that means. User will probably not be able to understand what that means and might not think that it means adding numbers to duplicate names, causing confusion.

Furthermore, your target audience is small business owners. Duplicate names with awkward identifier numbers at the back could cause more harm than benefit.

Legal and Regulatory Compliance: In many jurisdictions, businesses are required to maintain accurate records of their transactions, especially for purposes like billing, taxation, and compliance with health and safety regulations. The accuracy of customer names is crucial in this context. For instance, legal documentation or financial transactions require customer names to be recorded exactly as they appear on government-issued IDs, which do not include numbers. By allowing numbers in the name fields, our application might inadvertently promote non-compliance with these standards, potentially exposing business owners to legal risks or administrative difficulties.

User Expectations and Data Integrity: Our users, particularly small business owners, rely on our application to provide tools that align with best business practices. The inclusion of numbers in name fields can lead to data inconsistencies, affecting everything from customer service to legal documentation. It is reasonable to expect that a business-focused application would enforce data entry norms that prevent such issues.

Impact on User Experience: Confusion or errors in inputting customer information can degrade the user experience, resulting in inefficiencies and potential discrepancies in important business documents.

Restricting names to alphabetic characters helps maintain data integrity by ensuring that names entered into a system match real-world naming standards and are free from unintended characters that could be mistaken for other data types. Users generally expect name fields to contain only letters. Including numbers could confuse users or lead them to enter information in the wrong fields. Therefore, I think adding numbers in name parameter should be considered a valid bug.

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