Understanding the five phases of Product Development

Ideation and design

The idea generating phase of the product development process is its initial stage. Gather your group and start putting out ideas for products. A rough outline of your finished product or a short list of ideas to investigate, assess, and eliminate in the second phase could be your deliverables. The SWOT is the key.

• Competitor Analysis
• Gap Analysis
• Customer requirements
• Product's requirements

Development

The idea moves on to concept development if it makes it beyond this preliminary assessment phase. A more thorough business case is created during idea development to evaluate the project's viability in more depth. A more thorough description of the target market, projected sales volumes, anticipated profitability, a suggested price plan, and basic product specifications are all included in this business case. The idea proceeds to product development after being created and tested internally. The actual development of the good or service in accordance with the requirements set forth in the previous step is the main goal of this stage. The process of developing a final product and getting it ready for the market might take a while, involving several iterations of prototypes and testing.

• Comprehensive product design
• Prototype development
• Further refinements based on feedbacks

Production and Launching

This is the phase where you'll give your product idea life. It's time to start working on the design and production. You will produce a rough mock-up or a real prototype. At this point, some companies perform a small-scale release. Another alternative is to gather a representative sample of your intended market to assess the almost finished product.

• Market-ready version of the product
• Do launching and distribution into the market

Services and Support

This is the point at which your product eventually hits the market; it's also referred to as commercialization. In essence, this is the introduction of your MVP, or minimal viable product. It's typical for your initial release to contain only the most essential functionality, allowing your product to function seamlessly and begin producing revenue. Your supporting activities should be ready for action by the time your product is launched. Both technical and customer assistance ought to be prepared. In addition, you have to have decided on your price and given the required information to the other members of your team, including sales, marketing, distribution, and so forth.?Use the results of your earlier studies and testing phases to guide when and how you market your goods. With your target market, test out marketing concepts and make necessary revisions.

• Customer support
• Emphasis on the services provided

Retirement

Creating improvements or next-generation items to take the place of the discontinued product.

Developing fresh client transition tactics and support resources.

Developing more user-friendly disassembly and reuse processes and optimizing recycling procedures.

Drawing lessons from the discontinued product to guide current and upcoming initiatives.

Recording lessons learnt for the benefit of future initiatives.

Innovative methods of informing and supporting consumers throughout the shift are being used in customer communication and support.

• Absorption into new concepts

Recall that thorough planning and an abundance of resources won't recover a product that falls short of customer expectations. Make the most of this pre-launch phase to move towards the ideal product-market fit.