Product life cycle in view.

Here's a summary of the different stages of a product life cycle, starting from ideation:

1. Ideation: Some products are started as a means of solving a prevailing problem in the society. Some are born out of luxury or to Stand out. All products must have a need that they are satisfying.

Purpose: This is where the product idea is born.

Activities: Brainstorming, market research, identifying customer pain points, and analyzing competition. At this stage, you define the problem your product will solve.

2. Concept Development: the idea will now be turned into something workable or worth inventing.

Purpose: Turn the idea into a tangible concept.

Activities: Defining product features, creating sketches or wireframes, and outlining the product's value proposition. You also assess technical feasibility and potential market fit.

3. Prototyping:a smallest version of what the product is will be created here. The product will at a minimal level has a problem that it is solving. It can be use at this stage.

Purpose: Create an early version of the product to test assumptions.

Activities: Building a minimum viable product (MVP), rapid prototyping, testing design, and functionality. This is usually where user feedback is collected to refine the product.

4. Product Development:the work of the developers is actively engaged. There is active building of the product.

Purpose: Develop the product based on prototypes and feedback.

Activities: Full-scale product design, coding, testing, and development of all features. Collaboration between design, engineering, and other departments is crucial here.

5. Testing and Validation: The product is being used as an attempt to find out the efficiency and effectiveness.

Purpose: Ensure the product meets quality and user requirements.

Activities: Conduct usability testing, quality assurance (QA), beta testing, and gather customer feedback to fine-tune the product before launch.

6. Launch:At this stage the product is made available to the target users. It is in the market and people can buy to use it.

Purpose: Introduce the product to the market.

Activities: Marketing campaigns, public relations (PR), product release, and onboarding users. This stage often includes a go-to-market strategy that defines how to reach target customers.

7. Growth and Scale: Different KPI's are being used at this stage to find out the growth and scalabiliyy of the product.

Purpose: Expand product reach and user base.

Activities: Monitoring user adoption, adding new features, scaling infrastructure, and optimizing for efficiency. This stage focuses on increasing market share and enhancing the product's capabilities.

8. Maturity: This is the apex where revenue out performed the cost and without less marketing the engagement by the users does not decline.

Purpose: Maximize profitability and sustain market position.

Activities: Continue adding incremental improvements and features, managing a stable customer base, and optimizing costs. Competitors might start emerging, so maintaining a competitive edge is key.

9. Decline or Revamp: Competitors actions May cause a drop in the engagementby the target audience. Hence, there is the need for constant revamp and introducing new and better features of the product.

Purpose: Manage product phase-out or reinvention.

Activities: As the product loses market relevance or hits a saturation point, decide whether to discontinue it or introduce a revamp with new features or rebranding to reinvigorate interest.

These stages help manage the product's lifecycle from conception to retirement, ensuring that it delivers value at each phase.

Note: Maintaining product relevance to the target user is the key for a successful product.

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Written by

Oyebimpe Akinlabi
Oyebimpe Akinlabi