How would you respond to this?
In the software development process, there are development stakeholders and product stakeholders. Development stakeholders, such as project managers, developers, and testers, are focused on process of creating the product. Product stakeholders, including users, customers, and investors, are more concerned with the finished product than with the process of creating it.
The text focuses on the three types of product stakeholders. Following is a summary of each of these roles:
1) Users: These are the people who interact with the software to carry out its intended purpose. The development process attempts to adhere to user requirements, specifically related to functionality, robustness, performance, ease of use, and reliability.
2) Customers: These are the buyers of the software. They may or may not be users, and might be either inside or outside the organization. Customers are typically concerned with the issues of cost, supportability, availability, and configurability of software.
3) Investors: These are the ones who pay for the development process. Investors are concerned mainly with the acceptability and usefulness of software to the users and customers, the service costs, and the value of any intellectual property that is created in the development process.
In a business setting, I have experience as a development stakeholder, but as a product stakeholder I have experience only as a user. Outside of work, like almost everyone, I have experience as a user and customer.