[IxDA Discuss] Is user research a band-aid for "the listening deficit"?

[Joseph Selbie]

Jared wrote:

"In our research, a lot of it plays into the organizational structure."

"If you want to fix the problem, follow the money."

I couldn't agree more. 

Most of the companies my company has worked for have a built in conflict
between the engineers/developers and the designers and business leads.
Typically the business leads are insisting on bringing us in to do a
thorough user centered design -- but the budget for the development of the
application comes out of IT. Plus the IT group is rewarded for speed and
economical reuse of code -- both of which tend to fight against new design.

Joseph Selbie
Founder, CEO Tristream
Web Application Design
http://www.tristream.com