The Challenges around Where-Are-You-From (WAYF)

There are many ways to manage access to remote resources. From the use of IP addresses via VPN or proxy services to federated identity, the goal of enabling access to remote content is both easier and more complicated than ever before.

A common element in federated access workflows is that, at some point in their journey, the user needs to select the institution they want to use to authorize their access. When the institutional name is clear and unambiguous, users will have no problem selecting their institute from a multitude of other choices. However, that clarity is not always the case: in some situations the user is presented with a number of options with identical or very similar names, which makes it difficult and frustrating for them to choose the institute that grants access to the resource they are looking for. This is a thorny usability problem known as WAYF (‘Where Are You From’) Entry Disambiguation.

Recommendations and free Webinar

To address this challenge, SeamlessAccess started a Working Group to analyse the situation and present actionable recommendations for the various stakeholder groups. This work has now completed, and we’re happy to share the recommendations coming out of this Working Group in a webinar on October 26. The webinar is free of charge, please register here.

If you’re interested in reading more about this issue, please visit the Learning Center or jump straight to the recommendations.