In product development, an end user is a person who ultimately uses or is intended to ultimately use a product. The end user stands in contrast to users who support or maintain the product, such as sysops, system administrators, database administrators, information technology experts, software professionals and computer technicians. End users typically do not possess the technical understanding or skill of the product designers, a fact easily overlooked and forgotten by designers: leading to features creating low customer satisfaction. In information technology, end users are not “customers” in the usual sense they are typically employees of the customer. For example, if a large retail corporation buys a software package for its employees to use, even though the large retail corporation was the “customer” which purchased the software, the end users are the employees of the company, who will use the software at work.
Certain American defense-related products and information require export approval from the United States Government under the ITAR and EAR. In order to obtain a license to export, the exporter must specify both the end user and the end use for undertaking an end-user certificate. In End-User License Agreements (EULAs), the end user is distinguished from the value-added reseller, who installs the software or the organization who purchases and manages the software. In the UK, there exist documents that accompany licenses for products named in the end user undertaking Statements (EUU).
End User Function The end user is the term used for those people who actually use a product, often on a constant or regular basis, as part of their own job. End users are ‘hands on’ customers who work directly with various products and tools in order to deliver on the business goals of their own organization.
Depending on the project and related organizational needs, end-users roles can run the gamut from customer, to sponsor, to active participant, to liaison and even project executive. The possibilities depend on how your IT organization is structured, use of technology, and IT/end-user relationship.
A computer system’s database software acts as an efficient, secure repository for an organization’s data. The end user of a database typically never sees the software or its files, and may be unaware of how the system works.
There are several categories of end users these are as follows:
Casual End Users: These are the users who occasionally access the database but they require different information each time.
- Naive or parametric end users
- Sophisticated end users
- Standalone users