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> Marketers and top executives are not interested in "users". They are
interested in "customers".
Sarah, I see good things for you in the future.
Now pay attention people, Sarah says something even more important in here next
sentences...
> Not always the same thing. In many cases, the guy who actually has to use the
> software in some hot, tiny utility closet is NOT the guy who decided to buy
it.
Oh man. Where have you been all my life. Its like you're readin' my mind.
> When a company decides at the top level to buy enterprise-wide software and
> deploy it, often the guys in IT are not consulted on which software to get.
However,
> they are required to use it. Assuming that the college-educated veep your
marketing
> guy "interviewed" during product development is the same as the blue-collar
cable
> modem installer who is installing it can be a very, very bad idea. That's why
it's
> often better to pay more attention to what the tech support folks tell you,
especially
> the ones who man the support phones.
You whacked this nail on the head.
"Users" are not "customers" and "customers" are not always "the guy who signs
the check" and "they guy who signs the check" is rarely "the guy who has to
make it all work"
I've learned this lesson the hard way.
So what is the solution to this little quandary.
The ideal doc addresses "users" "customers" "the guy who signs the check" and
the "guy who has to make it all work" simultaneously. This is why obsessing
over a generalized "user" isn't always the best course of action for a
document. The "user" may be many layers down and may never even see your doc,
if that doc doesn't make it past "the guy who signs the check."
Andrew Plato
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