http://wiki.teamliquid.net/starcraft2/Patches
What this indicates to me is that the balance and feature updates to Starcraft 2 are all being done in house, with Starcraft 2 players being a mile maker to see if these in house changes will work. Data is important to balance testing but it can also be skewed from improper gathering and poor feedback based off little to no proof that it’s actually effective or true to the context of the issue. Balancing requires looking at all units, elements and even map design to get a proper idea of why certain units are too effective or why certain pressure and tactics work and why others do not work as intended.
We can not ignore the fact that balance updates and feature changes to the battle.net and Starcraft 2 interfaces need to be better handled, regardless of whether active testing and feedback is used. Some of the tools provided are underused, like the Public Test Realm, it is the community’s responsibility to put these tools to good use. Even actively adding features to improve the quality of life for the game, does not happen often enough. Changes are needed to improve the game to keep players active and interested. This means that we need to have full board balance changes, work done to improve the quality of life for the game, and even feature additions.
Pro Players and casuals need to be active in the community by sharing their thoughts on what can be done to improve the quality of the game, be it in the forums here or through Teamliquid forums. We shouldn't need to be hiding feedback in special hidden forums that staff or progamers can only see: if there is one.
I was going to go into a detailed cross comparison about how other games handle balancing and reworks but i felt it would just make a lot of issues