Product Lifecycle

Product lifecycle is the timeline of a product from its conception, development, launch, growth, maturity, decline and eventual discontinuation. It is typically determined by the changing nature of consumer demand due to factors such as market trends, product competition, technological advances and customer preferences.

Product lifecycle is the complete timeline of a product from its birth to its death. It begins with the idea of the product and the development of its features. After the product is launched, it goes through a period of growth during which its features are refined and improved. The product eventually reaches a point when its usage begins to decline which signals the start of its maturity period. During this period, the product's features tend to remain relatively unchanged until it eventually loses its market share and is discontinued.

Product lifecycle consists of four main stages: Introduction, Growth, Maturity and Decline. Each of these stages has its own set of goals and strategies that product owners need to focus on in order to ensure product success. The Introduction stage covers the launch of the product and involves promoting it to its target market, while the Growth phase focuses on refining and developing the features so as to help the product gain market share. In the Maturity stage, the main focus is on sustaining the product's performance. The Decline stage occurs when the product's usage begins to decrease due to factors such as changing customer preferences and competition from other products.

For example, consider a new mobile phone app. The product lifecycle for this app would start with the development of the app's features and the launch of the product. During the Growth stage, the app would require promotion and refinement of its features in order to gain more users. As the app gains more users, it enters the Maturity stage where the main focus is on maintaining the performance and stability of the app. Eventually, the usage of the app might reach a point where it begins to decline in popularity, leading to the Decline stage where the app is eventually discontinued.