Product Development Life Cycle – Understanding The Steps and Stages!

Comprehensive Product Development Life Cycle

The product development life cycle consists of many important aspects to consider when you want to develop a new product from scratch. As an entrepreneur or product creator may know, the product is the sole reason behind creating interest among customers and driving sales. However, the process of taking your half-baked idea from inception to product launch is hectic and somewhat complex. One should know that each process of the product development life cycle will be a little different based on the end product. However, the process is almost the same when looking at the main steps of product development.

A step-by-step plan is indeed crucial when we are talking about new product development, of course, if you want the product to succeed in the market. Each and every phase of product development has its own importance in the product development cycle. Whether you are a newcomer or an experienced entrepreneur opting for building a creative and powerful product from scratch, you will need to find an expert product development company such as GID Company. Let’s move forward to find out more about the product development life cycle and process.

What is Product Development Life Cycle?

The product life cycle is the amalgamation of stages a product goes through from its launch in the market to termination. There is a minor difference between the product life cycle and the product development life cycle. That’s the reason why most people often consider both terms the same. You will get more ideas by comparing the important stages of the product life cycle and product development life cycle. The main stages of the product life cycle are as follows:

Introduction

The product is currently in the introduction phase of the Product Development Life Cycle and is new to the market. This introduction phase of the Product Development Life Cycle starts when the product is launched for end users. During this phase, customers or end users will utilize the product for its intended purpose within the Product Development Life Cycle.

Growth

As the product moves through the Product Development Life Cycle and gains popularity among customers, it will start to gain traction and experience consistent growth. The growth phase within the Product Development Life Cycle will be influenced by factors such as the product’s quality, price range, and overall usefulness to consumers.

Maturity

The product reaches the maturity stage in the product life cycle when it reaches peak market penetration. The product reaches its maximum limit to grow in the market and eventually, will keep holding its position or degrade over time but not exceed the peak point.

Decline

The product will lose its market share over time after it obtains the maturity stage. The product may have to be discontinued under circumstances where the product owners deal with the loss for a considerable period of time.

Product Development Life Cycle For New Products

Basically, a product life cycle is a process of developing a new product by generating a new idea and defining the development process to creating a product prototype model and later on, developing, and launching the actual product. The product development life cycle actually describes how a product goes through each and every stage from inception to launch.

The process actually explains how the new product ideas are actually brought to the market after their successful and precise design and development. The product development experts will craft a well-planned and efficient process to ensure reducing the risk and maximize the chances of leading the product in traction. The product development life cycle defines the accurate path for new product development.

7 Stages Of Product Development Life Cycle

Product development is a process that involves the creation of a new product or service. It starts with an idea, which is then developed into a prototype and can be tested for viability. The process then continues to the production phase, where the product is manufactured and sold to customers. Finally, the product can be improved or changed in order to meet customer needs. Highlighting the different ways to categorize steps in the product development process, here are the important 7 key stages of the product development life cycle. 

Ideation

Generating new ideas for new product development is indeed the first step in the product development life cycle. The main motive of the product development company is to identify new problems as well as opportunities and have a clear idea of how to resolve them. The best thing to not do in the ideation stage is to judge the feasibility of the idea. Take the help of professionals if you want to let creative ideas flow through the product you are developing. The ideation stage involves market research, competitive research, and customer analysis to define the product scope, features, and needs.

Validation

Following through the ideation stage, in which you might have a list of creative product ideas through brainstorming, the second stage of product development begins. The validation stage actually is taken into account to filter through product ideas that are worth investing in and product ideas to avoid. In this stage, one can speak directly with potential customers to get a clear understanding of what they need in a product. It will be an advantage if you are trying to pre-sell the product in the validation product development life cycle stage.

Prototyping

Before moving on with the prototyping stage, you should ensure to have a list of the features and functions your product should have. Based on the defined requirements and scope, the product prototype model of the actual product is built and developed. Using wireframing tools such as Figma or Sketch, it will be easy to build a working prototype model. The prototype model is then tested by product testers and improvised accordingly to make it flawless.

Marketing

As soon as the product prototype model is developed successfully, it will be time to identify your potential customers and reach out to them with an effective marketing strategy. Consider marketing on social media and your current customer base if any and request them to share feedback and pain points. Ensure to establish the KPIs (Key Performance Indicators) using your preferred advertising mediums such as paid advertising, blogging, social media, etc. A well-planned marketing plan can offer you the desired results. 

Development

Start with the product development phase once you have finished with the marketing strategy of your actual product. With our years of experience, we believe that the end goal of the product development stage is to get the product to the market at the earliest. It will be better to define a deadline for a product launch in the market and divide the time into small, manageable works to get you one step closer to the finished product.  

Launch

When it is time to launch the product into the market, there are several things to finalize such as finalizing integrations, billing, user tracking, and analytics. The main thing when launching the product is to ensure everything is running smoothly and up to expectations. The product should be well-tested from each and every angle possible. You can opt for a product launch event to boost your product’s marketing and increase mouth-to-mouth advertising.  

Improvement

As you know, product development is not a one-time thing, a product will have to keep improvising with time. Once your product is launched into the market, you need to keep tabs on how it is performing and identify the flaws or weaknesses of the product and work on improvising the actual product for customer satisfaction. Take note of the end-user’s behavior, then tweak your existing features and functions of the product or add a new one. With consistent improvement in the product, it will be gradually successful in the market.  

Get In Touch With Us & Clear Doubts About Product Development Life Cycle

With an expert and well-experienced product development company like GID Company, it will be possible for your business to reach new heights and success in the market with a newly-launched product. We are here to help you find the right product development experts to serve your product design as well as development requirements. To clear all your doubts and questions, please feel free to give Jim a call today at +1714-323-1052 or Contact Us.