Usability Professionals' Association

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

According to the 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 publications, conferences, and currently 37 active local chapters around the world and World Usability Day [www.worldusabilityday.org].