Maturity of UX practice is not so important if your organization is based on a single application. But if it must operate across many coordinated channels (stores, call centers, websites, native applications, etc.) then maturity is important. You cannot expect to succeed based on just having some smart UX designers. To have an efficient and sustainable UX practice there is a lot that needs to be in place. There are lots of parts needed. And there are lots of ways it can fail. The global progress toward customer-centric design has been astoundingly slow and painful. Perhaps the central key to a mature practice is to have a process driven operation. This means that we are not dependent on a specific person. Instead, it’s far better to set up a practice that moves forward, builds knowledge, and delivers a coherent and consistent interface; even as staff come and go. “Being trained as a usability analyst helps you make informed design decisions regarding your user interfaces, instead of merely guessing and then producing designs based on incomplete data or incorrect assumptions.” About the author Dr. Eric Schaffer is the founder and CEO of Human Factors International. His book, Institutionalization of UX: A Step-by-Step Guide to a User Experience Practice, provides a roadmap for companies to make usability a systematic, routine practice throughout their organizations. Dr. Schaffer also co-developed The HFI Framework™, an ISO-certifiable process for user-centered design, built on principles from human-computer interaction, ergonomics, psychology, computer science, and marketing. Dr. Schaffer has completed projects for more than 100 Fortune 500 clients, providing user experience design consulting and training. He is a member of the Human Factors and Ergonomics Society and a Certified Professional Ergonomist.