The Great Leap Forward: The Birth of the Usability Profession (1988-1993)
http://www.usabilityprofessionals.org/upa_publications/jus/2007_february/dumas_birth_of_usability_profession.pdf
  peer-reviewed

Dumas, Joe
Journal of Usability Studies
2007

Abstract:

In this editorial, I describe our birth and some personal experiences as I lived through those times. I present these observations, not as a historian, but as a usability professional viewing events of 15 years ago through my personal filter.