5 users, 12 donuts, & 1 video camera are all the equipment you need to conduct a valuable usability study that can greatly improve a website's potential for success before you launch.

So why do so many talk about "usability" and so few do it? Some designers recoil at the very idea and are convinced that usable sites are stripped of graphics, identity, and style (Think Jacob Nielsen and useit.com). Decision makers or project managers often confuse usability testing with "QA" (Quality Assurance) or beta testing. Even development teams that recognize the value of testing and know that it can be done "on the cheap" have a hard time overcoming lack of experience or even a basic methodology to conduct testing.

So what's a development team to do?