The product development life cycle is the core of all business processes with prehistory and continuation. Prehistory is the idea. Every business begins with a business idea, which is to add unique value to the world. Each idea can survive if implemented professionally and when the market mostly needs it. No matter how crazy and creative the concept may be, a business perspective is essential; after all, it is the business world where ideas should be converted into profits. So when does the product development life cycle start its first stage, and when is it over? Or does it really end? In this article, we will discuss the different stages of the product development lifecycle and how each step plays a role in the overall process.
The product development lifecycle is a critical part of any business that manufactures or sells products and services, be they physical or digital, as it determines the success of a product in the market. The product development lifecycle is creating a new product from conception to launch. It entails a series of steps designed to get a product from concept to market as efficiently and effectively as possible. Coming next, we will discuss all the stages of the product development lifecycle and how each step plays a role in the overall process.
Product development is a whole “ecosystem,” with thousands of processes behind the scenes and team members involved. In fact, it requires the involvement of all the departments that take major roles in each stage. Furthermore, the lifecycle can be endless if the team handles ongoing support and maintenance of the product.
What Are the Product Development Cycle Stages?
The product development cycle consists of a series of stages to bring a new product from idea to launch. These stages include idea generation, idea evaluation and validation, product design and prototyping, marketing, product development, and testing, product launch, and post-launch evaluation and improvement. Each stage plays a critical role in the overall product development process and is essential for the product’s success.
Understanding the stages of the product development cycle is essential for businesses looking to successfully bring new products to market.
Ideation
The ideation stage is the first step in the product development lifecycle and involves idea generation for new products. This stage is all about coming up with creative and innovative ideas that have the potential to be successful in the market. There are different methods that businesses can use to generate ideas during the ideation stage, including:
- Brainstorming sessions: These are group sessions where team members brainstorm ideas for new products. The goal is to generate as many ideas as possible, then filter those that are feasible.
- Customer feedback: Many businesses gather customer feedback to get ideas for new products. This can be done through surveys, focus groups, or simply by listening to customer feedback on social media or other channels.
- Market research: Market research is a crucial part of the ideation stage. It involves analyzing market trends, customer needs, and competition to identify opportunities for new products.
- Internal research and development: Some businesses have dedicated research and development teams responsible for generating ideas for new products. It can involve experimenting with new technologies or materials to come up with innovative ideas.
The SCAMPER model is also a common practice in the ideation stage. It is a creative thinking tool that can generate ideas for new products or improve existing ones. Each letter in SCAMPER stands for a prompt.
- Substitute: Can you replace an ingredient, component, or feature with something else?
- Combine: Can you combine this product with another one or add something new?
- Adapt: Can you adapt this product for a different use or use by a different group of people?
- Modify: Can you change the size, shape, color, or another aspect of the product?
- Put to another use: Can you use the product for a different purpose than originally intended?
- Eliminate: Can you remove a feature or component from the product?
- Rearrange/Reverse: Can you rearrange the components or parts of the product differently? Can you reverse the use or purpose of the product?
The ideation stage is a critical part of the product development process, as it sets the foundation for the rest of the product development life cycle. It is important to generate as many ideas as possible during this stage and to keep an open mind about what is possible.
Validation
The idea validation stage is the second in the product development life cycle and tests a business idea’s feasibility and potential success. This stage is also referred to as the “concept development” or “market validation” stage.
During the idea validation stage, the focus is gathering information about the market, competitors in the niche market, and the target customer. This might involve conducting market research, creating prototypes or MVPs (minimum viable products), and gathering feedback from potential customers.
The idea validation stage aims to determine whether the product concept is worth pursuing and identify any potential issues or challenges that need to be addressed. This stage helps ensure that resources are not wasted on a product that is not likely to be successful.
Prototyping
The third stage involves creating a physical or digital representation of the product to test and refine the design. Prototyping allows the development team to better understand how the product will function. It also identifies any issues that need to be addressed before it is finalized.
Prototyping starts with low-fidelity paper prototypes and moves to high-fidelity digital prototypes, getting more refined with each iteration.
Prototyping is an iterative process, meaning the prototype will likely be revised and refined multiple times before the final product is completed. This allows the development team to identify and fix problems in the early stages before the development stage, saving time and resources in the long run.
When the design and features are defined at this stage, it is more or less clear what the price of product development will be. Often, software development agencies have separate pricing for each stage that, as a result, affects the final cost of the software development.
Marketing
Even while your product is still in the prototyping stage and can be subject to changes before development, the marketing team can already get to work! Utilizing the market and competitor research from earlier stages is essential for building brand awareness and identity and making the world aware of the new product or service with tantalizing announcements about its soon-to-be launch!
Development
The development is the most time-consuming of all stages in the product development life cycle. It involves turning the product prototype into a fully functional and market-ready product.
During the development stage, the dev team will refine and improve the product based on feedback from prototypes and market research.
The development stage involves various activities, including engineering, design, testing, and quality assurance. This stage is often the most resource-intensive stage of product development, as it requires the development team to put all the pieces together and ensure that the product is ready for market.
Launch
By this stage, all the teams are ready on their sides — marketing, development, and testing, and the product is “set to sail.”
The launch stage aims to generate demand for the product and drive sales. This requires effectively communicating the product’s value to potential customers and building a strong brand identity. At the same time, the whole team continues working hard on polishing the product to perfection.
The product development life cycle repeats itself with little to no modifications in each stage of company development, be it the seed stage, growth, or even decline.
Improvement
After launching the product, it is time to gather feedback and work on improvements. This stage is not formal in the product development life cycle, but it is an important aspect of product development and management. It involves ongoing efforts to improve and update the product based on customer feedback, market trends, and other factors.
The improvement stage is an important part of the product development process because it helps ensure that the product stays relevant and meets customers’ evolving needs. It also helps keep the product competitive by addressing issues and adding new features.
If the stakeholders and agency agree on delivering ongoing maintenance, the improvement stage can become the first stage of a new life cycle.
