Product Development Life Cycle Stages

What are the product development life cycle stages? What are some of the reasons why companies need to know these stages? Let us know more below.

Product Development Life Cycle Stages

To begin, product development life cycle stages refer to the process of product development. It is a series of steps, which can be seen as an iterative one. This focuses on the improvement of an existing product or the development of a new one. The end product or result is known as the product development life cycle stages.

The product development life cycle stages are divided into four main stages:

• Conceptual design 
• Engineering design
• Production design 
• Commercialization and introduction

The main stages are highly dependent on the type of product that is being developed. In most cases, the concept would be derived from the actual product requirement document (PRD). This was drafted during the research and development process. This would be based on certain market research and requirement assessment. 

Then, the PRD will contain information regarding the:

• target market segment, 
• customer needs and wants, 
• product features and technical specifications

Further, it is also important to note that the these stages would always vary in length. This is depending on many factors such as available resources and budget constraints among others. 

For instance, small businesses usually take a shorter period to complete the first three stages but a longer time frame for commercialization. Since they have limited funds for mass production. Meanwhile, large corporations focus more on commercialization. Since they have ample resources for mass production but will take longer for conceptualization.

Product Development Life Cycle Importance

Why, then, is this important? Firstly, it helps to know the life cycle stages. This is especially important if you are working in a company or organization that develops and designs products. You need to be familiar with the stages and know how the process works. 

Secondly, knowing the life cycle stages helps you to better understand why a certain product is developed. A prime example is when a certain product is created because there is a need for it in the market. Meanwhile, another one was developed as a part of a marketing strategy. 

Lastly, understanding these stages can help you to get a better idea regarding the final price of a certain product. This is because the process usually takes time and money. Hence, it is important to have an idea regarding the cost factors involved in making this product. 

How to Implement

So, doing this means you need to start with learning about the four main stages of product development life cycle stages. These are conceptualization, engineering, production, and commercialization.

What do you need to do this? You will need to start with forming a committee. This will be in charge of making the necessary changes to the PRD and product design. Moreover, you need to set up a timeline for the project. This will help you to monitor the progress and make sure that everything is going well. 

After that, you also need to involve other teams in the project. For instance, you can include marketing, sales, and other key stakeholders in this process. This will help you to get their input regarding the product design and functionality.