UX: Product Development Life Cycle

I have always been interested in UX design. Hence, I decided to enrol in the Google UX Design Professional Certificate. I took up the online course on Coursera, and I am studying alone. To keep me motivated and accountable, I shall announce the news on my blog! I am going to put up my notes on this website too. Hopefully, you have a better understanding of UX. At the same time, if anyone of you is taking up the course and need a buddy, feel free to drop me a note! Let’s help one another!

Product Development Life Cycle

Product development life cycle is a process that takes a product from an idea to reality. Think Disney’s motto - Where Dreams Come True!

There are five stages in the life cycle - brainstorm, define, design, test, and launch. The success of each stage depends on the previous stage’s completion so it’s important to move in order.

Stage 1: Brainstorm

As the title suggests, this is the stage where the team starts thinking of an idea for a product. You voice out all the problems, user feedback, survey results, etc. It is also a good time to check up on your competitors. Are there similar products in the market? What are the pain points that the users are facing?

Find out all the pain points.
Figure out the gap.
How do you solve the users’ problems?

Stage 2: Define

During the define stage, the whole point is to focus on your idea. You can’t solve everything. You can’t please everyone. Set your priorities.

Narrow the focus
List the goal
List the primary features
List the target audience
Etc.

You are preparing and planning during Brainstorm and Define stages.

Stage 3: Design

In this stage, you start to develop the ideas for the product. UX Designers start to draw wireframes, product sketches, before moving on to create the prototypes. At this stage, UX designers will need to include all of the product specifications that were listed in Stage 2: Define. You need to check all the design fits together, the usability, clarity, and if it’s easy to understand.

Implement insights into the design
Create storyboard and wireframes
Create and check prototype

Stage 4: Test

Now, UX designers work with engineers to develop the product. It’s when the engineers start to code or build the product. You would be working on details and features that fit the company’s branding.

There are at least three stages of testing:

Test within your company to look out for technical glitches and usability problems
Test with stakeholders (eg. your boss, your client) to ensure that the product aligns with the company’s vision, corporate branding, legal guidelines, etc.
Test with potential users to see if the product provides a positive user experience

It is crucial to gather feedback during the testing phase too. Then, UX designers can make adjustments or create new versions of the design. The design would be tested until there’s little to no friction between the user and product.

Test
Gather feedback
Refine the design
Test again till little to no friction

Stage 5: Launch

Tadah! Your product is released!

At this stage, managers may call for a debrief to reflect on the goals, areas of improvement, the timeline of project work, etc. Constructive feedback can improve the process moving forward.

Although you might have launched your products, work did not stop here. New users may find problems that no one realised. With the new input, the team have to cycle back to Design and Testing stages.