Reasons to come to the conference:

1. High population density of usability professionals, all talking about usability.
2. Cutting edge tutorials, workshops, presentations, and posters by some of the most active and innovative people in the profession.
3. Numerous group informal events where you can make new friends and renew old friendships.
4. Great opportunity to ask some of your peers about that issue that has been bugging you (and if you don't like the answer, another peer is a step away).
5. Great way to make sure your voice is heard on the issues facing our profession; the UPA board is only a few steps away all week.
6. Put live faces with the names and photos you see on the books lining your library, and in mailing lists.
7. Explore what folks are doing, hear about the latest tools before they make it to the journals.
8. Expand your toolkit and refine the tools in it by discussing your findings with other practitioners.
9. Spend a few days with folks that don't question the value of what you do.
10. Celebrate the importance and value of usability to successful design.

Reasons it is a great value

1. Registration covers breakfasts, lunches, breaks, the Welcome Reception, and the banquet.
2. See all of the reasons above, no where else can you do all of them at one time/place.
3. The Association has aggressively tried to contain costs and reduce them wherever possible.
4. To meet all of these folks would normally cost you enrolling in several seminars and flying around the country, we have them all here in one place for one fee.
5. Gets the boss to pay for you to go to Scottsdale for a few days.