Supportsoft Glossary

Who End Users Are and Why They Shape Product Decisions

The person or users who ultimately utilise your application will usually be the end-users—regardless of who purchased your software (whether it was you), who's using it, or who managed it to get from the point of purchase or approval until they acquire your application. The end-users of an application are typically comprised of customers (individual or business), employees of a business, clients, or the general public (depending on the purpose of the application). While end-users generally aren't involved in creating/designing the technical aspects of the application, they have an important impact on how an application will operate because their needs, behaviours, and challenges create the model for how an application will operate to meet user needs. 

By researching the way end-users think and what tasks they hope to accomplish, and what frustrations they experience with existing solutions, product teams gather insight on how to design interfaces, workflows, and overall user experience. Most product teams today rely on user research, usability tests, feedback mechanisms, and analytics of user behaviour to create a product that is beneficial and efficient for end-users. 

The ability for end-users to meet their goals with software is what drives software success. When a product is in line with end-user expectations, the likelihood of end-users adopting the product increases, support requests diminish, and the satisfaction level of the end-user continues to grow. This is why the end-user perspective should always remain in the forefront of product development.