Usability Professionals' Association

The Usability Professionals’ Association is a professional association for people interested in usability.

According to the [http://www.usabilityprofessionals.org/ UPA web site] , The Usability Professionals’ Association supports usability specialists, people from all aspects of human-centered design, and the broad family of disciplines that create the user experience in promoting the design and development of usable products.

The UPA's goals are to:
* Provide an international network through which usability professionals can share information about the techniques and methodologies in the profession.
* Create an inclusive community for those interested in usability, whether it is their primary focus or a related discipline.
* Change new product development processes to include a concern for the people who use them by presenting the business case for usability in product development to colleagues, customers, the public and governmental agencies.
* Increase the body of knowledge about usability and user-centered design through professional education, meetings and conventions and other professional interchanges

Founded in 1991, the original 50-member Usability Professionals' Association has grown to serve a community of more than 2200 members worldwide by promoting usability concepts and techniques through its [http://www.usabilityprofessionals.org/upa_publications/ publications] , [http://www.usabilityprofessionals.org/conference/ conferences] , and currently 37 active [http://www.usabilityprofessionals.org/chapters/ local chapters around the world] and World Usability Day [www.worldusabilityday.org] .