The Product Lifecycle consists of several phases, each representing a stage in the development, launch, growth, maturity, and eventual decline of a product.

This phase marks the launch of the product into the market. Activities during this phase include market research, product development, testing, and initial marketing efforts to create awareness and generate interest among potential customers.

Product Owner Involvement

• Requirement Gathering: Collaborate with stakeholders to gather requirements and define the initial product backlog.
• Prioritization: Prioritize backlog items based on business value, customer needs, and market opportunity.
• User Story Creation: Create user stories with acceptance criteria to communicate requirements to the development team.
• Feedback Collection: Collect feedback from stakeholders and customers to iterate on product requirements and backlog priorities.

Product Manager Involvement

• Market Research & Analysis: Conduct market research to identify customer needs, market trends, and competitive landscape.
• Product Definition: Defines the product vision, goals, and requirements based on market insights and business objectives.
• Cross-Functional Collaboration: Work closely with cross-functional teams including development, design, and marketing to bring the product to market.
• Initial Launch Planning: Develop launch plans, including pricing strategy, go-to-market strategy, and marketing messaging.

Minimum Viable Product (MVP)

• Definition
  • MVP is the earliest version of a product that includes only the core features necessary to validate the product concept and gather feedback from early adopters.
• Key Characteristics
  • Minimal features to address the primary user needs.
  • Focus on validating assumptions and testing hypotheses.
  • Iterative development based on user feedback and learning.
• Purpose
  • To quickly launch a basic version of the product to learn from user interactions and iterate towards a more robust solution.

Early Adopter

• Definition
  • The Early Adopter phase follows the MVP stage and involves targeting a select group of customers who are willing to try new products and provide feedback.
• Key Characteristics
  • Targeted marketing and outreach to attract early adopters.
  • Close engagement with users to gather feedback and insights.
  • Iterative improvements based on early adopter feedback and validation.
• Purpose
  • To refine the product based on feedback from early adopters and build a solid user base before scaling to a broader audience.

Feature Preview

• Definition
  • Feature preview is a phase where new features or enhancements are showcased to a limited audience for feedback and validation before a full release.
• Key Characteristics
  • Selective rollout of specific features to a subset of users.
  • Solicitation of feedback and reactions from users.
  • Iterative refinement of features based on user input.
• Purpose
  • To gather insights and validate new features or improvements with real users before a wider release, reducing the risk of negative user reactions or adoption issues.

Generally Available

• Definition
  • The Generally Available phase marks the full release of the product to the broader market, making it widely accessible to all potential users.
• Key Characteristics
  • Comprehensive launch to target market or audiences.
  • Marketing and promotion efforts to drive adoption.
  • Ongoing support, maintenance, and feature updates.
• Purpose
  • To officially launch the product to the market and begin scaling user adoption, while continuing to iterate and improve based on user feedback and market dynamics.

During this phase, the product experiences rapid growth. As demand increases, the organization often invests in scaling production, expanding distribution channels, and increasing marketing efforts to capitalize on growth opportunities.

Product Owner Involvement

• Sprint Planning: Work with the development team to plan and prioritize work for each sprint, ensuring that the most valuable features are delivered first.
• Backlog Refinement: Continuously refines and prioritizes the product backlog based on changing priorities, market feedback, and development progress.
• User Acceptance Testing: Review and accept completes user stories during sprint reviews, ensuring that they meet acceptance criteria and deliver the intended value.
• Stakeholder Engagement: Maintain ongoing communication with stakeholders to keep them informed of progress, gather feedback, and adjust priorities as needed.

Product Manager Involvement

• Scaling and Optimization: Focus on scaling the product to meet growing demand while optimizing processes and operations.
• Customer Feedback and Iteration: Collect customer feedback to identify areas for improvement and drive iterative product enhancements.
• Market Expansion: Explores opportunities to expand the product's market reach through new customer segments, geographies, or channels.
• Competitive Analysis: Monitor competitive landscape and adjust product strategy to maintain a competitive edge.

The product reaches its peak in terms of market penetration and sales volume. Competition intensifies, and growth rates begin to slow down. Companies focus on maintaining market share, optimizing operational efficiency, and extending the product lifecycle through product enhancements, diversification, and targeted marketing strategies.

Product Owner Involvement

• Release Management: Coordinate the release of new features and updates, ensuring that they are delivered on time and meet quality standards.
• Feature Enhancement: Identify opportunities to enhance existing features based on user feedback and market trends, prioritizing them in the product backlog.
• Performance Monitoring: Monitor product performance metrics and user feedback to identify areas for improvement and optimization.
• Risk Management: Anticipates and mitigates risks that may impact product delivery or performance, collaborating with stakeholders and the development team to address challenges proactively.

Product Manager Involvement

• Market Monitoring: Continuously monitor market trends, customer preferences, and competitor activities to identify opportunities and threats.
• Lifecycle Management: Manages the product throughout its lifecycle, making decisions about future enhancements, updates, and end-of-life strategies.
• Customer Retention: Focus on customer retention strategies such as loyalty programs, customer support improvements, and product diversification to maintain market share.
• Profitability Optimization: Look for ways to optimize profitability through pricing adjustments, cost reduction initiatives, or upsell opportunities.

Eventually, the product enters the decline phase. Factors such as changing customer preferences, technological advancements, or the emergence of newer and better alternatives contribute to the decline. Organizations may choose to discontinue the product, phase it out gradually, or explore ways to revitalize it through innovation and repositioning.

Product Owner Involvement

• End of Life Planning: Plan for the eventual retirement or sunset of the product, considering factors such as market demand, technology obsolescence, and organizational priorities.
• Customer Transition: Develop strategies for transitioning customers to alternative products or solutions, ensuring a smooth and positive transition.
• Documentation and Knowledge Transfer: Document product knowledge, lessons learned, and best practices to facilitate a seamless transition for stakeholders and future Product teams.
• Closure Activities: Coordinate closure activities such as decommissioning, disposal, or migration of data and resources, ensuring compliance with regulatory requirements and organizational policies.

Product Manager Involvement

• Transition Planning: Develop transition plans for phasing out the product, including managing remaining inventory, communicating with customers, and transitioning to alternative solutions.
• Portfolio Analysis: Evaluates the product portfolio to identify opportunities for resource reallocation and investment in new growth areas.
• Lessons Learned: Reflects on the product's performance and identifies lessons learned to inform future product development efforts.
• Innovation and Reinvention: Explores opportunities for product innovation or reinvention to revitalize the product or pivot to new markets.