{"id":83025,"date":"2024-10-08T13:36:22","date_gmt":"2024-10-08T12:36:22","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.prodpad.com\/?post_type=pp_glossary&#038;p=83025"},"modified":"2025-03-21T09:37:51","modified_gmt":"2025-03-21T09:37:51","slug":"product-management-lifecycle","status":"publish","type":"pp_glossary","link":"https:\/\/www.prodpad.com\/glossary\/product-management-lifecycle\/","title":{"rendered":"Product Management Lifecycle"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<section class=\"page-section content-dark page-section__main-content\" style=\"\"><div class=\"container\">\n<div class=\"row fd-row-lg\">\n<div class=\"col\"><\/div>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"col-6\">\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-what-is-the-product-management-lifecycle\">What is the Product Management lifecycle?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>The Product Management lifecycle is a framework that details the different phases of work involved in managing a product through each stage of its development &#8211; from inception right through to post-launch and onwards. It splits the Product Management process into different distinct phases, where each phase dictates what you should be focusing on. It\u2019s a logical step-by-step process that makes sure you\u2019re doing things the right way.<br><br>The Product Management lifecycle is the foundation of everything you do as a Product Manager. Actually, it\u2019s not even the foundations &#8211; it\u2019s the earth you lay your foundations into. It\u2019s a framework that should be so ingrained in the development of a product that you\u2019re probably not even thinking about it as you go about things.\u00a0<br><br>This framework is second nature for experienced Product Managers, wired into your thinking. It\u2019s like breathing &#8211; you\u2019re not stopping to think about it each time you exhale. But, say you\u2019re doing something really hard, like sprinting. Suddenly you\u2019re more conscious of your breathing to help you get more air in. The Product Management lifecycle is the same. When things get tricky, such as if a new feature isn\u2019t working out, you can think about the lifecycle to get you on track and make sure you\u2019re following best practices.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-what-does-the-product-management-lifecycle-look-like\">What does the Product Management lifecycle look like?\u00a0<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>Like many things in Product Management, it depends on who you ask. There\u2019s no one single uniform Product Management lifecycle that every product-led business follows. Instead, many companies and Product Leaders will have their versions with slight variations of each stage. Still, if you were to distill these unique frameworks to their essence, you\u2019d find a common thread and order of things that they all follow.\u00a0\u00a0<br><br>At the heart of every Product Management lifecycle (aside from perhaps <a href=\"https:\/\/www.prodpad.com\/glossary\/build-measure-learn\/\">Build-Measure-Learn<\/a>) you\u2019ll have the following stages:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>Discovery\/Ideation:<\/strong> Whatever you call it, this is early-stage identification of market needs or opportunities.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Validation\/Planning:<\/strong> Both concepts ensure that the product idea is viable before heavy investment.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Build\/Development:<\/strong> The creation of the product or <a href=\"https:\/\/www.prodpad.com\/glossary\/minimum-viable-product-mvp\/\">MVP<\/a>.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Launch:<\/strong> Bringing the product to market.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Evaluation\/Iteration:<\/strong> Post-launch feedback collection, data analysis, and improvement. This can be a single stage or broken up into two, depending on who you ask.\u00a0<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p>From here on, the Product Management lifecycle we\u2019re going to be focusing on will follow the structure above.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"633\" height=\"601\" src=\"https:\/\/www.prodpad.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/10\/Product-Management-Life-Cycle.png\" alt=\"The Product Management Lifecycle diagram\" class=\"wp-image-83026\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.prodpad.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/10\/Product-Management-Life-Cycle.png 633w, https:\/\/www.prodpad.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/10\/Product-Management-Life-Cycle-300x285.png 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 633px) 100vw, 633px\" \/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-what-is-the-difference-between-product-management-lifecycle-vs-product-lifecycle-management-nbsp\">What is the difference between Product Management lifecycle vs. Product lifecycle Management?&nbsp;<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>Product Management lifecycle. Product lifecycle management. Same words. Different order. And different definitions too. It\u2019s funny how unalike these concepts are with such a simple switch. But let\u2019s dive into the differences. To keep things clear, let\u2019s bold <strong>Product Management lifecycle<\/strong>, the framework we\u2019re talking about in this article.\u00a0<br><br>Your product lifecycle is the different stages your product goes through as it ages, with these stages being:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Introduction phase\u00a0<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Growth phase\u00a0<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Maturity phase\u00a0<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Decline phase<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p>It\u2019s kind of like watching your product grow up. When it\u2019s introduced into the world, it\u2019s new and fresh. Everyone wants a look at the newborn baby and speculate on its future. It then reaches growth and learns how to walk and talk a little bit, and the way you look after it will change.\u00a0<br><br>Soon it reaches maturity and has hit its stride, with its place in the world all settled. After a while, it gets old and hits the decline stage, where it\u2019s a slow journey towards death.\u00a0<br><br>Sorry, that got bleak.\u00a0<br><br>Product lifecycle management is all about how you manage your product in these different phases of its life. It details how you change your tactics to suit the maturity level of your product. A brand-new product will need a different approach from one that\u2019s been in the market for a few years and is firmly in its <a href=\"https:\/\/www.prodpad.com\/blog\/maturity-stage-product-life-cycle\/\">maturity stage<\/a>. Product lifecycle management is the practice of doing all that &#8211; managing the product through ITS lifecycle stages.\u00a0<br><br>As already discussed, <strong>the Product Management lifecycle <\/strong>focuses on the different stages <strong>you<\/strong> go through when creating a product. It\u2019s a tool to figure out what you need to be focusing on and doing as a Product Manager.\u00a0<br><br>So, <strong>the Product Management lifecycle <\/strong>is a framework for PMs to know what to do.\u00a0<br><br>Product lifecycle management (PLM) is about all the stages the <strong>product<\/strong> goes through.\u00a0<br><br>Got it? Cool. Glad to have that all cleared up. Check out this blog to learn more about the different stages of PLM and what you should be doing for each as your product grows old \ud83d\udd3d:<\/p>\n\n\n<div class=\"callout callout__inline-cta flex\">\n    <div class=\"callout__content\">\n        <p class=\"font-weight-bold\">Product Lifecycle Management \u2013 The 4 Stages and How to Manage Them.<\/p>\n    <\/div>\n    <div class=\"callout__cta btn-group\">\n        <a href=\"https:\/\/www.prodpad.com\/blog\/product-life-cycle-management-stages\/\" class=\"btn btn--cta\" rel=\"noopener\">Read now<\/a>\n    <\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-why-is-the-product-management-lifecycle-important-nbsp\">Why is the Product Management lifecycle important?&nbsp;<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>Product Managers tend to move at a million miles per hour. We move at light speed to get things done. This fast pace can lead to some PMs skipping over some vital steps in the Product Management process, like moving onto the build phase before discovery work has been properly done, or moving onto the next product after launch and ignoring evaluation and iteration.\u00a0<br><br>Essentially, without the step-by-step nature of this framework, you could fall into <a href=\"https:\/\/www.prodpad.com\/glossary\/feature-factory\/\">feature factory <\/a>mode. The Product Management lifecycle gives you a map to follow, keeping what you do rooted in best practices and always aligned with business goals.<br><br>But that\u2019s not all. By embedding this lifecycle into the way you operate, you can:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Get your product to market faster<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Create a higher-quality product\u00a0<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Increase sales opportunities<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Reduce errors and wasted time<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Build strategic alignment<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Foster continuous improvement<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Focus on customer-centric product production<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p>There\u2019s a reason why the Product Management lifecycle is so important. It\u2019s invaluable for new PMs to get to grips with the responsibilities of the role, and useful for experienced PMs to keep them grounded and not fly off too close to the sun and get burnt like Icarus.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-what-are-the-different-stages-of-the-product-management-lifecycle-nbsp\">What are the different stages of the Product Management lifecycle?&nbsp;<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>There are six stages of the Product Management lifecycle, all feeding into each other to create a loop that you\u2019ll typically follow in order. Once again, these stages are:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Discover\u00a0<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Validate\u00a0<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Build\u00a0<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Launch\u00a0<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Evaluate\u00a0<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Iterate<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p>Let\u2019s look deeper at these stages in turn.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-stage-0-outline-business-outcomes\">Stage 0: Outline business outcomes<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>Oh yes, a secret bonus stage, just like when collecting enough rings in Sonic the Hedgehog. However, unlike in Sonic where you can finish the game without playing the bonus stage, outlining your business outcomes is essential to a good Product Management lifecycle.\u00a0<br><br>This is because it gives you the groundwork. Identifying the business outcomes gives you the \u2018why\u2019 of what you\u2019re doing, and something to measure up against. When you build a new product or feature, or indeed improve one, you want it to do something. You\u2019re looking for it to leave a mark on your business. This stage helps you identify what it is you want it to do and aligns your product goals with business objectives. This is your <a href=\"https:\/\/www.prodpad.com\/glossary\/product-vision\/\">product vision<\/a>.<br><br>For example, you may already assume what you need to do to improve your product, but do you have any evidence? Is it aligned with business goals?\u00a0 Is it just a hunch? By putting this secret stage at the start of the process, you\u2019re flipping your way of thinking. You\u2019re identifying the impact you want your product to have, and from there are working out the best metrics and goals to target that dictate what you do.<br><br>Through this stage, you may learn that increasing retention is a strong business objective. From here you can then work out your product priorities, which may no longer be that shiny new feature but instead <a href=\"https:\/\/www.prodpad.com\/blog\/how-to-build-a-product-tour\/\">creating a better product tour experience<\/a> to boost adoption rates.\u00a0<br><br>Knowing your desired business outcome is like collecting the Chaos Emerald from the Sonic bonus stage &#8211; you can now go back and enter the Product Management lifecycle properly.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-stage-1-discover\">Stage 1: Discover<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>The <a href=\"https:\/\/www.prodpad.com\/glossary\/product-discovery\/\">discovery phase<\/a> is all about figuring out the best thing you should be doing with your product. It\u2019s your time to learn about the customers and the market you occupy. You\u2019re finding out the pain points of your users that your product should address. If you equate this stage to detective work, you\u2019re not yet trying to figure out who the murderer is, but instead deducing that there was murder in the first place.\u00a0<br><br>When in the discovery stage, there are two pillars to follow to help you find out what issues your product needs to solve. That\u2019s:\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Qualitative data\u00a0<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>User research<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p>Qualitative data helps give you the facts. It\u2019s things like performance metrics and analysis that shine a light on an issue, such as product usage data and the key metrics you\u2019re following on your dashboard. Alongside this, you can supplement your understanding with user research, digging into your <a href=\"https:\/\/www.prodpad.com\/glossary\/customer-feedback-loop\/\">customer feedback loop<\/a> to look under the surface.<br><br>Some of the tactics you can employ for your user research include user interviews where you ask open-ended questions in a one-on-one environment. Establishing a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.prodpad.com\/blog\/customer-advisory-board-best-practices\/\">Customer Advisory Board<\/a> is another option &#8211; and, although in the earliest days of discovery for a brand new product, you won\u2019t actually have customers per say, you can invite potential customers to get in at the very start of a cool new product idea.\u00a0<br><br>You can also make use of user surveys; more controlled questions that you can ask a wider group of users at once. There\u2019s also <a href=\"https:\/\/www.optimalworkshop.com\/101guides\/card-sorting-101\">card sorting<\/a> that helps you see how customers categorize information, giving you better insight into how to build features, menus, and any other form of content hierarchy.<br><br>Essentially, by the end of the discovery stage, you want to know what customers are trying to accomplish and what solutions you can offer to enable them to do this. You\u2019ll have a hypothesis of what this product discovery suggests is important. At this stage in the process, it\u2019s just a theory that needs to be validated and confirmed. You think your customers want this thing &#8211; the next stage is testing to make sure.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-stage-2-validate\">Stage 2: Validate\u00a0<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>If the first stage was about figuring out the problem you need to solve, this is where you work out what answer is best. Validation is all about testing the solutions you put forward to a problem and working out if it\u2019s actually the right idea to combat it.\u00a0<br><br>See, the solutions aren\u2019t always obvious. Say there\u2019s a house fire; your first instinct is to get a water hose on it. Oh no, that just made the flames bigger! Why? Because it was an electrical fire. If you took the time to validate the solution, you\u2019d learn BEFORE you used the hose that it wasn\u2019t right and instead have used the appropriate foam extinguisher.\u00a0<br><br>This is why the validation stage is so important. It helps ensure that you\u2019re investing the right resources down the line and better prioritizing the right solutions. It saves time and money and provides evidence to your stakeholders so that you can prove that your idea to solve the problem is the right call.\u00a0<br><br>Validation is the \u2018why\u2019 behind the decisions you make. Going back to the detective analogy, it\u2019s the evidence that points to who the killer is. Now validation and discovery have a fair bit of overlap, and an experienced Product Manager is likely validating while they discover the problem, but saying that, there are some unique things you can do.\u00a0<br><br>The most obvious is to simply talk to your users. Tell them about your potential solution and gauge what they think. Do they think it\u2019s the right one? This can be great when talking to customers you trust but can be limiting as it\u2019s slow progress to get a wide data set. You can use wider surveys to try and get a larger reaction, or make use of product usage data, more market research, and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.prodpad.com\/features\/customer-feedback\/\">feedback management platforms<\/a>.\u00a0<br><br>The latter can be really helpful when it comes to the validating Product Management lifecycle stage, especially if you <a href=\"https:\/\/www.prodpad.com\/blog\/better-feedback-training\/\">teach your Customer Success Teams to give valuable feedback<\/a>. If many customers are asking for the same thing, it suggests that that\u2019s the solution you should focus on.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-stage-3-build\">Stage 3: Build\u00a0<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>You know the problem you need to solve, you know the answer to that problem. Now it\u2019s time to build it. In the build phase of the Product Management lifecycle, the Product Manager takes a teeny weeny step back, allowing the rest of the Product Trio (the Designers and Engineers) from your <a href=\"https:\/\/www.prodpad.com\/blog\/product-management-team-structure\/\">Product Team Structure<\/a> to work their magic and get a version of the product live.\u00a0<br><br>Of course, a PM still needs to be involved to guide this build phase and ensure that these team members are on track to build the right solution aligned to the business outcomes identified in bonus stage 0. As the PM, you\u2019re not the person building (unless you\u2019re in a small team and need to muck in), you\u2019re the person leading effective execution. You\u2019re like a coach on a football team. You\u2019ve written up the plays and are maybe giving instructions from the sideline, but ultimately it\u2019s down to the superstars on the field to score the touchdown.\u00a0<br><br>One thing you\u2019re going to be doing in the build phase is creating a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.prodpad.com\/glossary\/product-requirements-document\/\">Product Requirements Document<\/a> (PRD) that details all your team needs to know to successfully get the product from a concept to a living and breathing solution. To help you write the best PRD possible, download our free, editable template:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.prodpad.com\/downloads\/product-requirements-document-prd-template\/\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" height=\"240\" src=\"https:\/\/www.prodpad.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/04\/PRD-banner_Blogs-1280x300-v1.1-1024x240.png\" alt=\"Free PRD template from ProdPad product management software\" class=\"wp-image-80388\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.prodpad.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/04\/PRD-banner_Blogs-1280x300-v1.1-1024x240.png 1024w, https:\/\/www.prodpad.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/04\/PRD-banner_Blogs-1280x300-v1.1-300x70.png 300w, https:\/\/www.prodpad.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/04\/PRD-banner_Blogs-1280x300-v1.1-768x180.png 768w, https:\/\/www.prodpad.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/04\/PRD-banner_Blogs-1280x300-v1.1.png 1280w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" \/><\/a><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>Another crucial, imperative, critical, vital, pivotal, significant, &#8211; and all the other synonyms for important &#8211; thing you need to do in the build stage is to create your roadmap and manage the build progress on it.\u00a0<br><br>Now, we\u2019d hope that you\u2019d know what a roadmap is. Read our <a href=\"https:\/\/www.prodpad.com\/guides\/product-roadmaps\/\">ultimate guide to product roadmaps<\/a> if not. We\u2019re not going to waste time telling you what it is. But we are going to highlight that you need to protect it in this phase and properly manage it.\u00a0<br><br>Far too often an internal stakeholder could come in and demand something be moved to a higher priority on the roadmap, throwing everyone off plan. Or, someone in a role with less visibility on the product might have no idea what\u2019s going on and do something that doesn\u2019t align with the product vision. To combat both of these situations, you need to create visibility to your product roadmap, letting the wider organization see the process and the source of truth for what you\u2019re doing.\u00a0<br><br>Consider putting your roadmap on a roadshow to justify your approach to your wider team. A well-protected and managed roadmap will help you better manage your sprint backlog and the build process, helping you to get it out of this stage faster with fewer issues.<br><br>Need to know the difference between the sprint and product backlog? Learn it in the article below:\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n<a href=\"https:\/\/www.prodpad.com\/blog\/product-backlog-vs-sprint-backlog\/\" rel=\"noopener\" class=\"callout callout__inline-cta-secondary flex inline-cta--link\">\n    <div class=\"callout__content\">\n        <p class=\"font-weight-bold\">Product Backlog vs Sprint Backlog \u2013 The Grand Strategy and the Battle Plan. <\/p>\n    <\/div>\n    <div class=\"callout__cta btn-group\">\n        <span class=\"btn btn--arrow\"><\/span>\n    <\/div>\n<\/a>\n\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-stage-4-launch\">Stage 4: Launch\u00a0<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>You\u2019ve done it. Your product or feature is ready, now it\u2019s time to get it out there baby. Now many think that launching a product is more marketing or sales-driven, but the Product Manager plays a critical role in this phase. To start, you\u2019ll be working out the timing of when to launch and the product positioning of it: where it\u2019ll sit in the market.\u00a0<br><br>You\u2019re also going to be deciding the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.prodpad.com\/blog\/product-pricing-strategies\/\">product pricing strategy<\/a> and working to determine what <a href=\"https:\/\/www.prodpad.com\/blog\/saas-pricing-models\/\">pricing model<\/a> and approach is right for your market and your objectives.\u00a0<br><br>There\u2019s a lot that goes into a successful launch and how you get your product to market. You can find out more about it in the article below:<\/p>\n\n\n<div class=\"callout callout__inline-cta flex\">\n    <div class=\"callout__content\">\n        <p class=\"font-weight-bold\">Product-Led GTM: Letting Your Product Lead Your Launch.<\/p>\n    <\/div>\n    <div class=\"callout__cta btn-group\">\n        <a href=\"https:\/\/www.prodpad.com\/blog\/product-led-gtm\/\" class=\"btn btn--cta\" rel=\"noopener\">Read now <\/a>\n    <\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n\n<p>Now, you don\u2019t want to launch a product and not have anyone know about it. That&#8217;s like hosting a party without inviting anyone, or not telling them the address. As a Product Manager, there are things you can do in this stage to influence early product adoption. One of your main goals is to help users know how to use the next feature and reach an activation point. You can do this by offering in-app <a href=\"https:\/\/www.prodpad.com\/blog\/how-to-build-a-product-tour\/\">product tours<\/a> and onboarding or using tooltips to announce new features.<br><br>You also don\u2019t want to release everything at once. If you open the floodgates, you might drown your audience. If you\u2019ve made sizable changes to your product, you\u2019re going to want to release it incrementally to a smaller audience to test it and make sure that it works. There are four ways to do this:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ol class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.prodpad.com\/glossary\/feature-flag\/\"><strong>Feature flags<\/strong><\/a>: Here you can turn certain features on and off during a release to control what users have access to.\u00a0<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Opt-in<\/strong>: This is where you give users the ability to choose if they want to try a new feature. This is good to test if the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.prodpad.com\/glossary\/value-proposition\/\">value proposition<\/a> is clear early on for them to want to try it.\u00a0<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Pilot period<\/strong>: Here a set group of users have a limited time to test a version of the newly built product to then give feedback.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>1\/10% tests<\/strong>: This is where you test new functionality with a percentage of your active user base. For smaller products, this would be 10%, for larger adoption it\u2019ll be 1%.\u00a0<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n\n\n\n<p>The reason you\u2019re doing this incremental launch is to give you an opportunity to make changes and tweaks to the product based on feedback from this smaller group without impacting your entire audience.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-stage-5-evaluate\">Stage 5: Evaluate\u00a0<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>Next, up in the Product Management lifecycle, it\u2019s time to see how well your new product or feature has done. If it was all worth it, and if not, what you can learn and do to improve it.\u00a0<br><br>Now a lot of PMs can fall into the trap of ignoring this phase and the one after it, especially if your definition of success is simply shipping a release. It\u2019s easy to be tempted to just move on to the next product and start to <a href=\"https:\/\/www.prodpad.com\/glossary\/feature-creep\/\">feature creep<\/a>, not making this one the best it can be. If this has been you, pause to stop and reflect on what you\u2019ve produced to see if it\u2019s really met the mark. This is the difference between being <a href=\"https:\/\/www.prodpad.com\/blog\/output-vs-outcome\/\">output-focused or outcome-focused<\/a>.\u00a0<br><br>The methods behind your evaluation are pretty similar to your discovery. You\u2019re collecting both quantitative and qualitative data to build a story of how the new release was received. Let\u2019s quickly go over some of the ways you can evaluate your efforts.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h4 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-quantitative-evaluation\">Quantitative evaluation<\/h4>\n\n\n\n<p>This is all about diving into the numbers and using performance metrics to paint a picture. There\u2019s lots and lots of metrics you can use, perhaps too many, but three of the best include:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Tracking your <a href=\"https:\/\/www.prodpad.com\/glossary\/adoption-rate\/\">adoption rate<\/a>. This tells you how many users have tried out the new feature.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Looking at feature usage and engagement. This lets you know if users are interested in what you\u2019ve created and if they\u2019ve dropped off once they\u2019ve tried it.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Conversion rate. This looks at how many people have seen some promotional material for the feature and from there converted into a user.\u00a0<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p>Beyond metrics, you can also measure how users engage with your product through things like following paths, funnels, and action replays.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h4 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-qualitative-evaluation\">Qualitative evaluation<\/h4>\n\n\n\n<p>As well as looking at the cold hard numbers, you can also evaluate with qualitative data. This can give you clear insight into what\u2019s going down. Some forms of qualitative data include:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Leveraging user surveys and interviews to get opinions and insight<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Using in-app feedback from a chat widget or poll\u00a0<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Getting insight from Customer Support Teams to learn about recurring problems<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Tracking social media or review sites to understand how the new product has been received<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p>By the end of the evaluation stage, you\u2019ll know if you need to tweak your product and your goals and if you\u2019ve actually created the right product. If not, you\u2019ll move on to the iteration stage.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-stage-6-iterate\">Stage 6: Iterate<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>So you\u2019ve found through evaluation that your release has a weakness. It&#8217;s not doing what you wanted. That\u2019s okay, no product is ever perfect the first time around, but you\u2019ll find that by following this framework it would have been closer to being perfect than if you didn\u2019t use the Product Management lifecycle at all. Plus, by identifying that it needs to improve, you\u2019re already proving that you\u2019re a diligent Product Manager. So good job.\u00a0<br><br>This stage is all about working out why it\u2019s not performing. What\u2019s causing the issue? In this stage, you need to ask yourself \u201cDid we build something that produced the business outcome we thought it would?\u201d<br><br>You\u2019re not finding the solution just yet, you\u2019re just making it clear that a solution needs to be found. You\u2019re a doctor diagnosing an illness. You haven\u2019t prescribed medicine yet &#8211; that comes later.<br><br>By looking at your evaluation and iteration, it should become clear that you need to tweak something to align with your business goals. So what do you do now? Well, this is a cycle after all so you\u2019re going back to the discovery phase to figure out what needs to be done to improve things. What\u2019s the right medicine for this problem?<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-around-and-around-we-go\">Around and around we go<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>There you have it. The Product Management lifecycle. A merry-go-round that with each rotation you create a product that\u2019s closer and closer to perfection. This framework is all about building a mindset of continuous improvement. Your product is never done, just one step closer to getting done.\u00a0<br><br>The Product Management lifecycle is a fundamental blueprint for success, and as you grow as a Product Manager, you\u2019re probably going to iterate off it and develop your own process tailored to your team, product, and users.\u00a0<br><br>But no matter how you tweak it, the core principles remain the same &#8211; discovery, validation, building, launch, and iteration are your compass points. Each phase brings its own challenges and rewards, but ultimately, it\u2019s about delivering the right product to the right people at the right time. And remember, the ride never really stops: it just gets more exciting with every spin, So, buckle up, keep learning, and enjoy the journey! Each time around helps you stay glued to Product Management best practices.\u00a0<br><br>Alongside this, what if there was a tool that had best practices built in? That helped you get the best out of your ideas, your roadmap, and your backlog management. Well, with ProdPad, you can be sure best practice principles are being followed by the whole team. With effective prompts and functionality, our tool helps you become an even better Product Manager. Give it a try today to see how it can support you and your teams.<\/p>\n\n\n<div class=\"callout callout__inline-cta flex\">\n    <div class=\"callout__content\">\n        <p class=\"font-weight-bold\">Try ProdPad for free, no credit card required. <\/p>\n    <\/div>\n    <div class=\"callout__cta btn-group\">\n        <a href=\"https:\/\/app.prodpad.com\/register\" class=\"btn btn--cta\" rel=\"noopener\">Start now<\/a>\n    <\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n<aside class=\"social-sharing\">\n    <h2 id=\"social-heading\" class=\"social-sharing__heading\">Share: <\/h2>\n    <ul aria-labelledby=\"social-heading\" class=\"social-sharing__list\">\n        <li>\n            <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"\n                data-tracking-key='{\"label\":\"Twitter button\",\"action\":\"clicked\",\"category\":\"button\",\"location\":\"footer\"}'\n                href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.prodpad.com%2Fglossary%2Fproduct-management-lifecycle%2F&#038;text=Product+Management+Lifecycle\"\n                class=\"twitter\" aria-label=\"Share on Twitter\">\n                <img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.prodpad.com\/wp-content\/themes\/pp_2020\/assets\/img\/icons\/social-squircles\/Twittersquirc.svg\"\n                    alt=\"\" width=\"32\" height=\"32\">\n            <\/a>\n        <\/li>\n        <li>\n            <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"\n                data-tracking-key='{\"label\":\"Linkedin button\",\"action\":\"clicked\",\"category\":\"button\",\"location\":\"footer\"}'\n                href=\"https:\/\/www.linkedin.com\/shareArticle?mini=true&#038;url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.prodpad.com%2Fglossary%2Fproduct-management-lifecycle%2F&#038;title=Product+Management+Lifecycle\"\n                class=\"linkedin\" aria-label=\"Share on LinkedIn\">\n                <img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.prodpad.com\/wp-content\/themes\/pp_2020\/assets\/img\/icons\/social-squircles\/Linkdinsquirc.svg\"\n                    alt=\"\" width=\"32\" height=\"32\">\n            <\/a>\n        <\/li>\n        <li>\n            <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"\n                data-tracking-key='{\"label\":\"Facebook button\",\"action\":\"clicked\",\"category\":\"button\",\"location\":\"footer\"}'\n                href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer\/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.prodpad.com%2Fglossary%2Fproduct-management-lifecycle%2F&#038;quote=Product+Management+Lifecycle\"\n                class=\"facebook\" aria-label=\"Share on Facebook\">\n                <img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.prodpad.com\/wp-content\/themes\/pp_2020\/assets\/img\/icons\/social-squircles\/FBsquirc.svg\"\n                    alt=\"\" width=\"32\" height=\"32\">\n            <\/a>\n        <\/li>\n        <li>\n            <a href=\"mailto:?subject=Product Management Lifecycle&#038;body=Here's a blog that I thought you might find interesting... https%3A%2F%2Fwww.prodpad.com%2Fglossary%2Fproduct-management-lifecycle%2F\" \n            data-tracking-key='{\"label\":\"Email button\",\"action\":\"clicked\",\"category\":\"button\",\"location\":\"sidebar\"}'\n                class=\"email\" aria-label=\"Share via Email\">\n                <img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.prodpad.com\/wp-content\/themes\/pp_2020\/assets\/img\/icons\/social-squircles\/Mailsquirc.svg\"\n                    alt=\"\" width=\"32\" height=\"32\">\n            <\/a>\n        <\/li>\n    <\/ul>\n<\/aside><\/div>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"col\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div><\/section>\n\n\n\n<section class=\"related-terms-section pp-blocks-section page-section content-dark has-text-align-center\">\n    <div class=\"container\">\n        <div class=\"row\">\n            <div class=\"col\"><\/div>\n            <div class=\"col-6\">\n                                <div class=\"header\">\n                    <h2 class=\"has-text-align-center\">Related terms<\/h2>\n                <\/div>\n                <div class=\"related-terms\">\n                                        <div class=\"related-term\">\n                        <h3><a href=\"https:\/\/www.prodpad.com\/glossary\/build-measure-learn\/\">Build-Measure-Learn<\/a>\n                        <\/h3>\n                        <p>The Build-Measure-Learn loop is a Product Management process that focuses on minimizing the time it takes to get your product into the hands of your users, and maximizing your opportunities for learning.<\/p>\n                    <\/div>\n                                        <div class=\"related-term\">\n                        <h3><a href=\"https:\/\/www.prodpad.com\/glossary\/product-roadmap\/\">Product Roadmap<\/a>\n                        <\/h3>\n                        <p>A product roadmap is, above all, a communication tool. It is used to describe what you are working on, why you are working on it, and what the benefits of this work are. ProdPad CEO and Co-founder Janna Bastow describes the roadmap as a \u201cprototype for your strategy\u201d.<\/p>\n                    <\/div>\n                                    <\/div>\n                <a class=\"btn btn--small btn--text go-back\" href=\"\/glossary\/\">\n                    <svg xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" width=\"16px\" height=\"16px\" fill=\"none\" viewBox=\"0 0 16 16\">\n                        <path fill=\"#1B7FA6\" fill-rule=\"evenodd\"\n                            d=\"M6.199.95a.75.75 0 1 1 1.057 1.065L2.82 6.42H15a.75.75 0 0 1 0 1.5H2.82l4.436 4.405a.75.75 0 0 1-1.057 1.065L.479 7.709a.748.748 0 0 1 0-1.078l5.72-5.68Z\"\n                            clip-rule=\"evenodd\" \/>\n                    <\/svg>\n                    <span>Back to glossary<\/span>\n                <\/a>\n            <\/div>\n            <div class=\"col\"><\/div>\n        <\/div>\n    <\/div>\n    <\/section>","protected":false},"author":46,"menu_order":0,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":true,"pp_exclude_from_search":false},"class_list":["post-83025","pp_glossary","type-pp_glossary","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","glossary-categories-p"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO Premium plugin v27.4 (Yoast SEO v27.4) - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-premium-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>What is the Product Management Lifecycle? 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