Navigating the Product Development Lifecycle

Welcome to the 9th edition of our "Product-Driven Principles" newsletter! This time, we're diving deep into the world of product development lifecycles and why they matter more than just a list of processes.

Table of contents:

• Introduction to the Product Development Lifecycle
• Waterfall vs. Agile: understanding the differences
• Hybrid product management approaches
• Effective product backlog management
• Planning and executing successful development sprints/cycles
• Conducting productive sprint reviews and retrospectives
• Continuous Improvement in Product Development
• Adapting your Product Development Process to your company's needs

Introduction to the Product Development Lifecycle

The journey through the product development lifecycle isn't just a one-and-done deal. It's a continuous cycle of adding new features, researching, testing, maintaining, upgrading, and sometimes even saying goodbye to features that no longer serve your product's purpose ??

Think of it like a product's circle of life. From the moment an idea for a product is born to the day it's closed, the product development lifecycle covers it all. And just like in life, there are ups and downs, twists and turns, and plenty of opportunities to learn and grow along the way. In most cases, it has an unknown "expiration date".

You might ask, why does mastering the product development lifecycle matter more than blindly following a list of processes? ?? Because understanding the lifecycle allows you to adapt, innovate, and create products that truly resonate with your users and your product vision. It also helps you look at your product like an infinite game (re: Simon's Sinek "Infinite Game" book). It's not about ticking boxes for the competition comparison matrix. It is about bringing vision to life using strategy and delivering on that.

Waterfall vs. Agile: understanding the differences

In the world of product development, there are two dominant approaches: Waterfall and Agile. It's like choosing between a slow, steady stream (predictable) and a fast-moving river (innovative).

Waterfall is the classic approach, where you plan everything ahead, and live in the utopia of no delays. You move through each stage of the lifecycle sequentially, from requirements gathering to design, development, testing, and finally, launch. It's like building a house, one brick at a time. However, the market changes (we have definitely seen this now with the Generative AI Boom), and once your project ends, it might no longer be required.

On the other hand, Agile is all about embracing change and being flexible. You work in short sprints, constantly iterating and improving your product based on feedback. In an ideal Agile world, you release updates every sprint, across all product/engineering teams, not just monthly or quarterly.

But here's the thing: both approaches have their pros and cons. Waterfall offers structure and predictability, while agile allows for flexibility and adaptability. The key is finding the right balance for your team and product.

There isn't only one right way to build great products

~ Marty Cagan, Transformed

Hybrid product management approaches

Now, what if you could have the best of both Waterfall and Agile? That's where hybrid approaches, like Shape-up, come in. These methods combine the best of waterfall and agile, acknowledging that you might not revisit a feature for a while, so you aim for a minimum likeable product (MLP vs MVP) and dedicate more time to it upfront.

Good hybrid approaches offer the structure of a waterfall with the flexibility of agile. It's like having your cake and eating it too?? By finding the sweet spot between planning and adaptability, you can create products that are both well-crafted and responsive to user needs. Pair this with proper Product Principles and you have your recipe for success.

Effective product backlog management

The product backlog shouldn't be a graveyard where ideas go to die. It should be a vibrant ecosystem of innovation, where the strongest ideas thrive and the weak are pruned. You have to properly document those ideas, so that even those pruned, can resurface when the market has changed.

At the same product backlog is something different from the backlog in Jira, that engineers keep. To manage this, you need more than a standard project management tool. You need a system that captures insights and prioritizes them effectively. Though, you are free to start small with tools like Jira, Monday or even Excel. Once you are ready you can look at other tools, my personal favourite is Productboard . I had the pleasure to meet Hubert Palan at one of WebSummits, and I like his vision of product management.

Remember, your backlog is a living, breathing entity. You must not treat product backlog as a queue. If an idea is good, it will resurface. Just make sure your research put into it and its stage was properly documented, so that you can continue your work instead of starting with an empty page. It means, that some ideas might never leave backlog, and some ideas might be there only for one sprint/cycle.

Planning and executing successful development sprints/cycles

Sprints are the heartbeat of Agile product development. They're short bursts of focused work where your team collaborates to deliver a slice of your product.

The key to successful sprints is ensuring that you deliver what's planned. Start with clear goals and a well-defined scope. Break down your backlog items into manageable chunks that can be completed within the sprint duration.

Estimating the effort required for each task is both an art and a science. Techniques like planning poker will help to gather input from your team and arrive at a consensus. Make sure that estimates are given by the people who will do the work, and not project managers, CEO or others. In the end, the engineers' high integrity commitments should also be signed off by the CTO/Head of Engineering. Remember, estimates are just that – estimates. Don't get too hung up on perfect accuracy.

There are also approaches, where we set the timeframe for the sprint/cycle upfront (like Shpae-up's appetite). In this case, we do not estimate, but conduct an in-depth feasibility research (sometimes feasibility prototypes) before agreeing on the timeframe. When there are first signs of delays, we conduct scope hammering. I will get into more detail about it in the next edition.

• Break down tasks into manageable chunks and avoid the temptation to overcommit. In Jira terms, one sprint/cycle is an epic, and one story/task should take no longer than 8h. Split stories/tasks into sub-tasks, if it is impossible to complete
• Foster a culture where it's okay to say, "This will take longer", because honesty upfront saves pain down the line.
• During the sprint, keep the momentum going with daily stand-ups, where the team shares progress, challenges, and plans for the day ahead. It's like a mini pep rally to keep everyone aligned and motivated.
• Conduct an alignment meeting, during the middle of a sprint/cycle, but not later than 2 weeks since the start. Sometimes, we are unable to conduct proper feasibility research without getting knee-deep into development. I have also faced situations, where we had stakeholders, who had not paid attention at the kick-off and wanted to propose last-minute changes. After this meeting, the scope should be set in stone (unless we do scope hammering) to focus on delivery.

Conducting productive sprint reviews and retrospectives

Sprint reviews should a demo what you've achieved, not just a dry report. Show off your team's hard work and get feedback from stakeholders. Make sure to engage your team in this demo (they could showcase the areas they were working on). Not all areas will be "demoable", make sure to recognize those who worked on it. While performing the demo, make sure to focus, on how your work aligns with the Product Strategy and Vision, and how those features will impact customers.

Retrospectives, on the other hand, are all about reflection and growth. Use this time to discuss what worked well, what didn't, and what you can do better next time. Try using frameworks like "start, stop, continue" to guide the conversation and ensure everyone's voice is heard.

Remember, the goal of retrospectives is not to point fingers, but to learn and improve as a team. Use retrospectives to build a culture of continuous improvement, where feedback is not just heard but acted upon.

Continuous Improvement in Product Development

Product development is not a one-and-done deal. It's an ongoing journey of learning, iterating, and improving. Don't wait for the perfect process. Start with what you've got and iterate. Your process will never be perfect, but it can always be better. Embrace the mindset of continuous improvement, always striving to make your product and your processes better.

Seek feedback from your users, your team, and your stakeholders, get ready for opinions like:

• "Development takes too long" - check for the bottlenecks, maybe it is poor product discovery or lack of designers.
• "Your features are always full of bugs" - then make sure to add more Quality Assurance (testing). It is common to release first to internal stakeholders for testing, and then publicly to users - just don't tell you are agile with this approach.

Experiment with new techniques and tools. Be open to trying new approaches and adapting your process to fit your team's needs. What works for one team might not work for another, and that's okay. So do not believe some Coaches or Consultants, who tell you that, they have the ideal process for you, without even a meeting with your product/engineering teams. They most probably just want to sell you their framework.

Adapting your Product Development Lifecycle to your company's needs

Every company is unique, with its own goals, challenges, and culture. Your product development process should be tailored to fit your organization like a well-crafted suit. There's no one-size-fits-all approach (I know I said it plenty of times already). What works for a Silicon Valley startup might not fly in a corporate behemoth. Even better, what works today might not work tomorrow, and that's okay.

Before you start adapting your product development lifecycle, you need to do your homework:

• Define your company's culture
• Define product vision and strategy
• Clarify your principles (over processes)

Next, ask yourselves

• What are your resources?
• What are your team's unique advantages? - like in "Unfair Advantages" by Ash Ali and Hasan Kubba
• What are your deadlines?
• What are your quality standards?

Remember, the goal is not to follow a process blindly but to create a product that solves real problems and delights your users. Your Product Development Lifecycle should be as unique as your product, and it should evolve alongside your company's growth and changing needs.

Wrapping Up ??

Mastering the product development lifecycle is a journey, not a destination. We covered a lot of ground, from understanding the differences between Waterfall and Agile to diving into the nitty-gritty of backlog management and sprint planning.

In the next edition, I will dig deeper into Shape-up, so stay tuned!