PUBLIC MARKS from amyrussell with tags usability & "usability testing"

Too often, usability testing is judged to be a “nice-to-have,” but dispensable within the time and budget constraints of a full design and development project.

The growing partnership between user-centered design practices and the array of agile methodologies faces an impasse when it comes to usability testing. In a traditional waterfall approach, a formal usability assessment generally occurs close to release and is structured--and often perceived by clients--as a culminating Big Event. Consequently, the attempt to insert traditional usability testing events into the iterative agile process is viewed by developers as antithetical to their process.