There may be some UX work in the project...

Are you kidding me? Instead how about "when can you start with your ux piece and we'll work out what else we need?" or "we've already got the ux kick-off locked in" or "we told them we don't start without ux input, ok?" Have you been living under a rock for a decade Mr. Sales guy?

This (my blog post title) is the most short-sighted 20th (not 21st) century view of software development I have yet to hear. How do you assess that there is some UX work Mr. sales person...because your 'target' says 'UI' or mentions 'ease of use' or that it has to 'pop'. Back in my early days pre-web I was a real hard-nosed purist on usability, navigation, minimalism and the like with my developers, but now after a decade and a half I can plainly see that that youthful exuberance, though tempered and jaded by years of technology underachieving, was only partly erroneous and I have seen the/another light.

The meek shall inherit the earth.

We will no longer see a world dominated by machine-oriented system sellers but instead human(e) oriented experience sellers, mediators and storytellers.

So...here are some (more) safe predictions for 2008/2009:

1. FOSS will begin dominate the mainstream market
2. More traditional vendors and everybody in fact, formally moves to the web to deliver Software + Services
3. New opportunities will open up for those that can talk to the hybrid, creative chasm opening up between (right vs. left brain) groups such as clients+vendors, designers+developers, people+machines