A Practical Look at Product Lifecycle and Management Frameworks: Connecting Strategy, Execution, and Critical Decisions
Introduction
Every product — whether physical or digital — follows a journey from conception to eventual consolidation or discontinuation. Understanding this journey is essential for companies seeking sustainable innovation, risk reduction, and value maximization for customers and shareholders. Within this context arise the frameworks of Product Lifecycle Management (PLC) and Product Management (PM).
Classic Product Life Cycle (PLC)
The most traditional model, the Product Life Cycle divides the journey into four phases: Introduction, Growth, Maturity, and Decline. It is widely used in marketing and strategic analysis to show how revenue and market adoption evolve over time. While useful, this model offers a macro-level business perspective and is less suited to the operational management of product development.
Stage-Gate
Another well-known framework is Stage-Gate, which organizes development into sequential phases (stages) separated by decision points (gates). At each gate, leaders and managers decide whether the project should move forward, be revised, or be halted. This model is common in industries such as consumer goods, pharmaceuticals, and manufacturing, where R&D investments are high and each decision carries significant weight.
Lean Startup
With the rise of technology-based startups, the Lean Startup approach gained traction. It promotes short cycles of experimentation and learning through a simple logic: build, measure, learn. Instead of long-term plans, companies launch an MVP (Minimum Viable Product) to test hypotheses in the market and decide whether to persevere, pivot, or abandon the idea. This framework brought agility and waste reduction to product development.
Agile and Continuous Product Management
In software and digital technology companies, Agile frameworks such as Scrum and Kanban guide product teams. The focus is on incremental delivery, rapid adaptation to user feedback, and multidisciplinary collaboration. In this environment, the Product Manager (PM) plays a key role as the guardian of product vision — aligning customer needs, technical capabilities, and business objectives.
Beyond the Models: A 7-Phase Product Lifecycle
Although each of these frameworks contributes valuable insights, they tend to emphasize only parts of the journey. The model explored in this article expands that view, proposing seven phases a product goes through during its life:
- Conceive
- Plan
- Develop
- Iterate
- Launch
- Steady State
- Maintain or Kill
This model bridges the strategic perspective of lifecycle management with the practical execution of product management. Below, we explore each phase — outlining its objectives, key activities, tools, and practical examples.
1. Conceive
Every product journey begins with an idea — but ideas have no value unless connected to a real market need or a significant customer problem. The Conceive phase focuses on discovering opportunities, validating the problem, and determining whether there is room for a viable solution.
Main Objectives
- Identify unmet needs or problems.
- Understand customer pain points and context.
- Assess relevance and urgency.
- Draft initial hypotheses about the solution and its value proposition.
Typical Activities
- Market research, trend and competitor analysis.
- User interviews and observation.
- Persona definition.
- Ideation sessions.
- Preliminary feasibility assessment.
Useful Tools
- Design Thinking
- Lean Canvas
- Value Proposition Canvas
Example
A hospital network notices long reception lines causing patient dissatisfaction. The innovation team gathers data, interviews patients, and identifies the main pain point: lack of predictability in waiting times. The team hypothesizes a digital check-in app to improve the experience.
2. Plan
Once the opportunity is validated, the next step is to structure how the idea will become reality. The Plan phase transforms vision into a concrete execution plan, linking strategic goals to tactical initiatives.
Main Objectives
- Define product vision and scope.
- Establish goals and success metrics.
- Structure an MVP to validate hypotheses efficiently.
- Map risks, constraints, and resources.
- Create an initial roadmap.
Typical Activities
- Prioritize features based on business and user value.
- Define roadmap and delivery cycles.
- Allocate resources.
- Build a business case (costs, revenue potential, ROI).
- Identify and mitigate risks.
Useful Tools
- User Stories, Agile Roadmaps, OKRs, Prioritization Matrices (RICE, MoSCoW, Kano)
Example
For the hospital app, the MVP includes only pre-arrival registration and estimated wait time notifications. Integrations with health plans or EMRs are planned for later phases. A pilot will start in one unit, expanding after validation.
3. Develop
With vision and plan in place, the product starts to take shape. The Develop phase combines design, engineering, and technical validation — transforming hypotheses into a usable product.
Main Objectives
- Build the first functional version (MVP or prototype).
- Ensure quality, usability, and adherence to the plan.
- Validate critical requirements and reduce technical risks.
- Prepare for user testing.
Typical Activities
- UI/UX design, prototyping, development, integration, and testing.
- Implement DevOps practices (CI/CD, automated deployment).
Useful Tools
- Figma, Miro, InVision, GitHub, GitLab, Jenkins, Azure DevOps
Example
The hospital app’s first version focuses on simplicity and accessibility for elderly users. Integration with reception systems and internal testing ensure the app supports at least 500 simultaneous check-ins.
4. Iterate
No product is perfect at launch. The Iterate phase emphasizes learning — testing, measuring, and adjusting continuously to meet user and market needs.
Main Objectives
- Validate value and usability.
- Gather real customer feedback.
- Identify and correct issues.
- Make data-driven adjustments.
Typical Activities
- User testing, A/B experiments, metric analysis (engagement, churn, conversion).
- Continuous learning and incremental releases.
Useful Tools
- Mixpanel, Amplitude, Optimizely, LaunchDarkly, Hotjar
Example
Users report difficulty finding the notification button in the hospital app. The team analyzes heatmaps, adjusts the UI, and boosts usage by 40% within two weeks.
5. Launch
After validation and refinement, it’s time to go to market. The Launch phase includes not just technical release but also communication, marketing, and operational readiness.
Main Objectives
- Put the product in customers’ hands.
- Ensure adoption and awareness.
- Gather initial metrics and feedback.
Typical Activities
- Go-to-market planning, marketing campaigns, team training, pricing definition, and early monitoring.
Useful Tools
- HubSpot, RD Station, Google Ads, LinkedIn Ads, New Relic, Datadog
Example
The hospital network launches the app across three hospitals, with campaigns and training. Within 30 days, 60% of patients used digital check-in, reducing average wait times by 25%.
6. Steady State
When a product stabilizes and achieves predictable operations, it enters the Steady State phase. The focus shifts to optimization, scalability, and maintaining relevance.
Main Objectives
- Ensure technical and operational stability.
- Scale sustainably.
- Improve efficiency and user experience.
- Strengthen competitive differentiation.
Typical Activities
- Customer support, incremental improvements, infrastructure scaling, financial monitoring.
Useful Tools
- Power BI, Mixpanel, Zendesk, AWS CloudWatch, Kubernetes
Example
With thousands of daily users, the app becomes part of the hospital journey. The team focuses on infrastructure optimization and adds new features, like automatic exam reminders.
7. Maintain or Kill
Eventually, every product reaches a point where leaders must decide whether to keep investing or sunset it. The Maintain or Kill phase centers on strategic evaluation and resource reallocation.
Main Objectives
- Monitor performance and relevance.
- Decide whether to maintain, evolve, pivot, or discontinue.
- Reallocate resources effectively.
- Ensure transparent communication.
Typical Activities
- Analyze adoption decline, maintenance costs, and ROI.
- Review strategic alignment.
- Plan transition or discontinuation.
Useful Tools
- BCG Matrix, ROI and portfolio analysis frameworks.
Example
After several years, the hospital’s EMR vendors embed check-in functionality. Maintaining a proprietary app is no longer viable, so the company discontinues it with a smooth migration plan for users.
Conclusion
Product development is far more than building and launching — it’s a continuous journey of discovery, execution, and strategic decision-making.
The 7-phase model — Conceive, Plan, Develop, Iterate, Launch, Steady State, and Maintain or Kill — extends traditional frameworks with a practical, end-to-end view particularly relevant for digital and innovation-driven businesses. It connects long-term strategy to daily execution, balancing creativity, agility, and value management.
Most importantly, this cycle is not linear. Products often loop back to earlier stages — iterating post-launch, pivoting during stability, or even being reborn after discontinuation.
By mastering these phases, organizations and product teams gain clarity on where they stand, what decisions to make, and how to align efforts to deliver real market impact and lasting value for customers and stakeholders.