From the Mind of a Coder: The office bathroom

Take a look at these photos of the door to the bathroom that is near my office. One fact to keep in mind is that it's located in the back corner of a larger room. This will be important when looking at the last two photos. Anyway...


The sign on the outside of the door indicating the bathroom is not occupied


The sign on the outside of the door indicating the bathroom is being used


A sign on the inside of the door directing folks to leave it open when they're done


What someone approaching the bathroom sees when the door is closed


What someone approaching the bathroom sees when the door is slightly open


Are you thinking what I'm thinking?

Before entering the bathroom, one is supposed to slide the cover on the sign on the outside of the door to change the status from "Vacant" to "In Use." And then slide it back when they're done. They're also supposed to leave the door ajar. But then you can't see the sign indicating the status.

So the most efficient approach would be to always leave the sign in the "In Use" position. When the door is closed (i.e. when someone is using the bathroom) people will know it's occupied. When the bathroom is vacant and the door is open, it doesn't matter if the outside sign indicates "Vacant" or "In Use" because no one will even see it.

Of course, this "solution" would require that people always close the door when they're using the bathroom and then leave it open when they're done. These would be two critical process components. And they're evidence that human behavior needs to be a key consideration in any systems design :)

And that's a glimpse into the mind of a coder...