Identity matching is tricky. I have been working on health-sector project recently where it really matters that the identity in one system matches the identity in another. When access to patient information is being managed, identity matters. A lot.
So when I boarded my flight today my ears perked up when the boarding agent asked his coworker “Mike, Michael. Okay, eh?” The coworker said she thought so and after checking a list of allowed first name synonyms I was free to board.
Of course, the issue here is that my flight was reserved under Mike and my government ID has my legal name Michael. The airline – fairly recently as far as I can tell – has created this list and added a double check before boarding.
Identity matching matters and I’m guessing we will see a lot more of this type of process implemented for transactions where a high level of assurance is needed.
Mike
