> My workplace doesn't test either which I think is a huge mistake (so much so I almost couldn't write this sentence without swearing). That's something I am trying to change.
This is the biggest problem, I think - the conception of UX without "user" work.
This doesn't mean only testing per se, but any kind of empirical or data collection work (from using anthropological methods early to strict usability testing). If a given company is not doing any of this, then they're not doing UX at all. If they're not in contact with the user in any way, then it's not UX.
Having someone creating UIs in Photoshop is not UX and this is, I think, the biggest and most detrimental misconception of the field.
This is the biggest problem, I think - the conception of UX without "user" work.
This doesn't mean only testing per se, but any kind of empirical or data collection work (from using anthropological methods early to strict usability testing). If a given company is not doing any of this, then they're not doing UX at all. If they're not in contact with the user in any way, then it's not UX.
Having someone creating UIs in Photoshop is not UX and this is, I think, the biggest and most detrimental misconception of the field.