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The problem is that in some organizations the term "user" has a negative connotation. For starters, "use" can imply "taking advantage of,"2 thus some people in the public service may take offence since they are entrusted with the sound management of public funds. In organizations that provide social assistance and services, as in the dictionary, the term "user" refers to "a person who frequently uses illegal drugs."3
As a result some organizations look for an alternative to the word user. Here are some suggestions.
Term Definition / Comment
End User "The person who uses the final output of a project or delivered service."
“The ultimate consumer of a finished product.”
Client In the Canadian Federal Government the term Client is generally well accepted and used even though the ITILŪ Glossary defines it as:
"A generic term that means a customer, the business or a business customer. For example, client manager may be used as a synonym for business relationship manager. The term is also used to mean [client/server computing]."
Business Consumer Proposed by Jayne Groll
Customer This term is already used by ITILŪ and referrers to:
"Someone who buys goods or services. The customer of an IT service provider is the person or group who defines and agrees the service level targets. The term is also sometimes used informally to mean user – for example, ‘This is a customer-focused organization.’
"Generic – The person who is paying. May also be known as the client, buyer or purchaser.”
Business Customer In ITILŪ Service Strategy, it means "A recipient of a product or a service from the business. For example, if the business is a car manufacturer, then the business customer is someone who buys a car."
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