Two sets of end users (Was RE: New TECHWR-L Poll Question)

["Cook, Jenise" <jenise -dot- cook-crabbe -at- pacificlife -dot- com>]

Oooohh, I love this discussion! Here's some more food for thought.

-----Original Message-----
From: John Fleming [mailto:johnf -at- ecn -dot- ab -dot- ca]
Sent: Wednesday, June 27, 2001 10:53 PM
To: TECHWR-L
Subject: RE: New TECHWR-L Poll Question

<snip>
You're right, if you think of the salespeople in your company as the end
user.
</snip>

Yes, I do. For our documentation team, the folks who purchase our life
insurance policies are not my team's end user, because we don't write for
them. Those policy clients are definitely end users for other teams and
departments within my company (Marketing, for example). Our team's "end
users" are clearly the agents who faciliate the policy purchase.

<snip>
If you look at the end user of your company's products as the people who buy
insurance, then you are not writing for the end user of your company's
products any more than I am writing for the end user of my
client's services.
</snip>

I agree with you. I'm not saying that I write for the end user of my
company's products. Our marketing department most definitely must create and
publish documentation that meets the needs of the potential life insurance
clients. However, a company can have two sets of end users, as I will
describe below.

<snip>
Odds are, the people who buy insurance from your company will never see the
procedures you write--any more than the companies who buy billing services
from my client will see the procedures I write.
</snip>

That's true, and also defined by our legal department. But, that's not the
point I'm trying to make.

<snip>
While the procedures will help deliver the product, they are not intended
for the end user of the product, nor will they ever be used by the end user
of the product.
</snip>

For me and my team, our "product" is the procedures we write for the agents,
our end users. And, our documentation cannot be shared with the agents'
clients because it is for internal use only.

Thanks, John. Many companies can have at least two sets of customers/end
users. And, I guess we could classify one group as the primary end user (the
one who actually purchases the company's product), and the other group as
the secondary end user (the ones who facilitate the sale, and who is the
audience for the tech. pubs. documentation).

Of course, I agree with you that the first group is the ultimate
customer/end user. But, we view our documentation as a "product" for the
agents be cause we never write a word for the eyes of those who may purchase
a policy. All I'm trying to say is that a tech. pubs. team can write a
"product" for "end users" who don't purchase their company's profit-making
product. 

Jenise

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