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What is the product development life cycle?
The product development life cycle is a structured process that guides the creation of a product from its initial concept to its eventual market launch and beyond.
Understanding and effectively managing each stage of the product development life cycle is crucial for business success.
Product development life cycle vs product life cycle
The terms product development life cycle and product life cycle are often used interchangeably, but they are different concepts.
The product development life cycle describes the process a product goes through from its concept development to its market launch.
The product life cycle describes the different stages a product goes through, from its market launch to its sunsetting.
7 key stages of the product development life cycle
The product development life cycle may vary depending on the scale of the product and the business involved.
However, there are seven key stages that help companies define their product development process:
1. Generate product ideas
The very first thing companies should do is conduct market research to understand the existing challenges in the market.
You should answer questions like:
- What problems is my product going to solve?
- Are there already existing products that solve a similar problem?
- Are there any gaps in the existing tools that my product can fill?
Next, you need to brainstorm and come up with product ideas that address the user challenges you identified. You can use different farmworks and methods to streamline this process.
The SCAMPER approach is one effective way of identifying new opportunities. It helps you think creatively and reimagine existing products and services. The acronym SCAMPER stands for Substitute, Combine, Adapt, Modify, Put to another use, Eliminate, or Reverse, guiding business owners through different ways to innovate.
For example, you could adapt existing solutions for new markets, combine features from different products to create something new or modify a product to better meet customer needs.
2. Validate the product ideas
At this time, you screen the most promising ideas to see if they can work and narrow the list of ideas to a feature(s) that is worth investing your resources in.
Product teams can use a model like weighted scoring to weigh the strength of each product idea against a consistent criterion.
After that, more research is conducted to determine whether the potential product has a market.
Fake door tests are one well-known and effective method of validating product ideas before you even start building them.
For example, if you’re thinking of adding a new feature to your product, you can add it to your UI as if it was ready. Next, use in-app messages or paid ads to attract users.
Then, track user engagement. If enough users click on the feature, it’s an indication that there’s enough interest.
Of course, once they click on it, they will realize you’ve actually conned them, so make sure to explain the purpose of all the shenanigans. If the new feature looks promising, they will forgive you.
3. Build a prototype to gather customer feedback
Once you are settled on a product idea, you can start building a prototype.
The goal here is to get the prototype out as soon as possible, so don’t invest too many resources in it yet. You can just create a mockup using wireframing tools like Figma or Sketch to visualize the look and functions of the product.
Stay in touch with your stakeholders throughout the design phase to ensure you are on the right track.
Prototyping can also provide valuable insights from early adopters, helping you determine the product’s ease of use and the next steps.
4. Develop a marketing strategy
As you complete your prototype, begin crafting your marketing strategy to bring your product closer to launch.
Your marketing strategy will involve:
- Effective messaging that resonates with your target audience.
- Developing a unique and compelling value proposition.
- Choosing the right channels for your sales strategy. For example, you may consider either paid advertising, word-of-mouth, social media, search engine optimization (SEO) techniques, or even a mix of the different channels.
- Establishing key performance indicators (KPIs) for each channel. For instance, you can track clicks from your SEO marketing efforts.
5. Develop a minimum viable product
As you put the pieces of your product development process together, it is now time to bring your idea to life.
The minimum viable product (MVP) should include key functions of your product and be created with your target audience in mind.
The goal is to launch the product as quickly as possible to get early feedback and adjust the functionalities and features to ensure product-market fit.
For example, Airbnb founders Brian Chesky and Joe Gebbia went for an extremely simple MVP: a basic website with limited functionality (no more than a collection of landing pages really) with a few photos of their apartment.
They saw a spike in interest from attendees of a local conference, so they iterated the product as demand grew to build a marketplace based on user needs.
6. Launch the product to the public
Once you’ve refined your MVP, you are ready to go live.
Create a strategic launch plan to generate buzz and reach your target audience. This may entail an announcement, an event, or plans for distribution.
For example, you can use TechCrunch to craft a press release that spreads the word about your product and creates excitement around your brand in the tech world.
In the past few years, many SaaS companies chose to release their products on Product Hunt, a digital marketplace where tech community members can upvote their favorite features and spark discussions in the comment section.
Launching on Product Hunt is a fantastic way to get the word about your new and revolutionary product to a larger community.
7. Improve the product based on data
The product development life cycle is a never-ending journey.
You need to continuously track and analyze users’ behavior inside the product to spot gaps in the user experience.
For example, you can track product usage to spot which features get the least engagement and then use qualitative research methods to identify the potential usability issues or bugs behind them.
How long does the product development life cycle take?
The amount of time this takes will depend on the product’s complexity, production costs, and expected functionality. Other factors, such as the size and industry of the business involved, can also play a big role.
Considering all the factors involved, a product development life cycle can take anything from a few weeks to a few years. It’s important to stay patient and focused on the goals, giving the process the attention and care it deserves instead of rushing through the process.
Who is part of the product development team?
A product development team involves multidisciplinary teams that manage product strategy, implementation, and marketing.
Some teams will likely include a mix of software development roles to assist with the product development process.
Here is what a typical product development team looks like:
- Product manager: The product manager oversees all aspects of the product development process. They act as a bridge that connects all the internal and external teams. Product managers also have a deep understanding of market requirements and customer pain points.
- Project manager: The project management role involves assisting with communications across departments, delegating tasks, tracking goals, and creating a risk management plan. Project managers also help to motivate team members and create a positive environment.
- Product designer: The design teams are responsible for creating user-friendly designs that align with the company’s goals and UX best practices. This involves research, brainstorming, and collaboration with stakeholders.
- Software development team: This consists of a mix of roles, including a QA engineer, a front-end developer, and a back-end developer. They work with product and project managers to ensure the software brings the product expectations to life.
- Marketing team: The marketing team helps to develop a marketing strategy and campaigns to boost product awareness.
- Sales team: The sales team creates an effective sales strategy and performs outreaches to sign new customers.
How can Userpilot assist in the product development process?
Userpilot can help you create and automate your feedback collection process, track and analyze user behavior, track product usage metrics, and create onboarding flows to help users derive value.
- Feedback collection: Userpilot’s in-app surveys let you collect actionable user insights to inform your product development strategy. You can customize your surveys with different question types and contextually trigger them for different user segments.
- Funnel reports: Userpilot’s funnel analytics visualizes how users behave in the product, particularly how they advance from one stage to the next. Most importantly, you can easily identify drop-off and friction points in the product and fix them to enhance the user experience.
- Analytics dashboards: Track key product metrics such as user activation, feature adoption rate, number of sessions, and so on to measure how your product strategy is performing and if you are measuring up against industry benchmarks.
- Onboarding UI patterns flows: Userpilot offers different UI patterns, such as modals, tooltips, banners, checklists, etc., product teams can use to create onboarding experiences that educate users and help them experience the value of your product.
Conclusion
The product development life cycle is a dynamic and iterative process that requires careful planning, execution, and continuous improvement.
Ultimately, mastering the product development life cycle is essential for any SaaS company aiming to achieve sustainable growth and long-term success.
Need a tool to power up your product development strategy? Book a Userpilot demo and we will help you get started!
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