Bioware's Brian DuBose Interview

Gamasutra has an interview with Bioware's Brian DuBose about playtesting and maintaining Bioware's model:

'We're Not Looking To Integrate EA's Practices'

"QA is the voice of the customer within the organization," Dubose stated. It's also important, he said, because it's a service to developers and programmers. "It's important to remember that," he stressed.

Dubose recalled having seen antagonistic relationships before, when programmers see the QA staff as "in the way," while from the QA standpoint, they're just trying to get the game done.

"It's not QA saying 'you guys suck,'" Dubose reminded. "It's QA pointing out the problems and saying, 'here's where the game is.'" It's essential, Dubose said, because ultimately, quality affects the bottom line.

It's an interesting read and will set aside some concerns players have voiced after Bioware's merger with EA.