8. Conclusion

There is a wide array of low-cost usability methods available which also very much fits in the free software development environment. It does not necessarily need usability experts to carry these methods out, just solid determination to make the software better. I hope this document helps to increase awareness about the importance of user research in the free & open source software community and at the same time offer the tools to put it into practice. I encourage everyone to use the methods and give feedback on them. As said in the introduction, this document will be released publicly on my website at jancborchardt.wordpress.com and then constantly evolve with things I and other usability practitioners learn. We in the free & open source software community should always keep in mind that we have one common goal: Freedom for people. And that freedom offered by the software is only available to users if the software is properly usable.