Moving from a separate four-digit attendance PIN to individual AS/400 accounts strengthened identity control and removed redundant input.
When the attendance system began, the AS/400 did not yet use individual accounts in our operation. Allowing everyone to see everyone else’s attendance was clearly unacceptable for privacy.
I therefore identified the employee with an employee number and a four-digit PIN used only by the attendance application—similar to a bank-card PIN.
Later, as personal-information protection matured, individual AS/400 accounts became standard. I added the user ID to the employee master so the signed-in account could resolve directly to the employee number: for example, user TAKI to employee 0361.
Once IBM i had already authenticated the person, asking again for an employee number and a weaker four-digit code added effort without adding security.
The result was stronger password control and one less step for the user. Security and usability do not have to be opponents; a better identity model can improve both.
CHAPTER 03 · EXTRA · EXTRA / 1 STORIES · 35 STORIES TOTAL