BioWare MMO QA Q&A

While a bit peripheral and only interesting for the inside look at BioWare, Gamasutra has an interview with BioWare's Brian Dubose about the QA process on their upcoming MMO.
"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.

He continued, "Before I started this session, BioWare was an independent company. We still have an independent mindset.) According to Dubose, BioWare has retained autonomy of their process. (We're not looking to integrate EA's practices into our work flow,) he said.