tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-44786126461020497.post3471246328481991291..comments2008-09-21T18:36:24.338-05:00Samantha LeVanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00060392747559374604noreply@blogger.comBlogger2125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-44786126461020497.post-45308927235823712632008-09-21T18:36:00.000-05:002008-09-21T18:36:00.000-05:00Mike,<BR/><BR/>It could be another 5-10 years before user research and usability testing is considered as valuable as QA. Until then, I'll be forcing myself on projects as much as possible to teach people just how much time and effort can be saved by knowing what actually works for users rather than assuming.<BR/><BR/>I watched a great Stanford lecture on iTunes the other day given by a Gmail UI designer. His points were that the Gmail team has really learned just how critical user research is, even though as a whole, even Google is still learning.Samantha LeVanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00060392747559374604noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-44786126461020497.post-244432217050299202008-09-21T03:00:00.000-05:002008-09-21T03:00:00.000-05:00Nice article. I think it will help people understand the value of a usability expert. Often times, I think others don't see the value in it. At the same time, they wonder why their products have problems or why their users are "stupid."<BR/><BR/>If the world had more usability experts, we could eradicate war and poverty by tomorrow. My toaster oven makes me very grumpy in the morning because it's difficult to use, and it's only a toaster oven!Mike Z.http://www.mikeziray.com/blognoreply@blogger.com