[Sigia-l] Usability Profession Increasingly Under Scrutiny?

[Jon Nakasone]

This may have been addressed in the past, so I apologize if this is a repeat
topic.

In regards to Internet applications and web development, we "usability folk"
take great pride in our efforts to make things more intuitive, learnable and
useful.  However, more often am I getting asked how usability impacts the
bottom line and more importantly, how is it measured.   Since corporate
spending has dwindled over the past couple of years, I've worried at times
that we IAs (and Usability Specialists, Human Factors Engineers,
User-Centered Designers, et al) have been scrutinized in recent months,
especially within smaller organizations.  A colleague complained to me
recently that the perception of the usability profession among some of his
co-workers (various departments) is that it was accessible to anyone who has
a bookshelf full of related books.

As a dedicated professional, I find it frustrating that our work is seen by
some as lacking in measurable credibility.  Have any of you shared similar
experiences of late?  How do we promote our profession when dealing with
those concerned only with the bottom line?  When will our field(s) emerge as
an established, well-defined profession?  Our work is based on research,
analysis and data. how can similar data help to validate our profession?  

Pardon my seemingly random thoughts; all this is bubbling up on a busy
Monday.  Below are some related and recent Clickz articles that have been a
hot topic of discussion here:

Are Usability Experts Any Use?
http://www.clickz.com/tech/lead_edge/article.php/3113731

Does Usability Actually Sell Anything?
http://www.clickz.com/sales/traffic/article.php/3116541

Are You Designing For Usability or Sales?
http://www.clickz.com/sales/traffic/article.php/3297211

Jon