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Subject:customers vs. users From:Beverly Parks <bparks -at- HUACHUCA-EMH1 -dot- ARMY -dot- MIL> Date:Fri, 19 May 1995 09:01:14 MST
Ronni Perry asks-->
> Second, how can we distinguish between customers and users? A new TQM
> group here is trying to determine exactly who our documents are written
> for, and the definitions are important. Are we just playing with words
> or do you see a real difference?
=====================
Ronni,
We've struggled with that question here, too. I don't
necessarily agree with this (I think of all of them as
customers), but the distinction comes down to money. The
people/organizations who fund our projects are our customers,
the soldiers in the field who use our products are our users.
(I work for the Army.)
Basically, the person paying for it is the customer. The
person using it is the user. It's possible for this to be one
and the same, but in most cases, in my environment, it's not.
That's one way to make the distinction; I'm sure there are
others.
Bev
=*= Beverly Parks =*= bparks -at- huachuca-emh1 -dot- army -dot- mil =*=
=*= "Unless otherwise stated, all comments are my own. =*=
=*= I am not representing my employer in any way." =*=