The process and product life cycle is the time period over which items are developed, introduced to the market, and is eventually removed from these markets. The cycle often goes through four main stages.
Stages of a Life Cycle
The first stage of the life cycle is the introduction stage is the testing period of the process launching or product launching into the market. After the new product or process has entered the market, the introduction stage begins. During this stage of the life cycle, the quality of the project and process in the market is just small and customers are often not familiar with the processes or products.
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The second phase of the life cycle is the growth stage which follows the introduction stage. After the products or processes have successfully been introduced into the market, they then develop into the growth stage (Stark, 2015). The growth stage is where the product or process has passed the stage of testing the market which is evident from positive sales results. The customers gradually recognize and also accept the products and processes. In this stage, the product or process is said to have achieved their place in the market. In this phase, the common factor is that there is rapid growth in sales and demand. In this case, companies see a significant reduction in the cost and again in the profits. However, in this case, the competitors are likely to develop similar products or processes into the market after seeing the profitability of the market.
The third stage of the process or product lifecycle is the maturity stage where there is mass production and in this case, the market is considered to be stable. In this case, the market demand is often standardized and the distribution process is often established. During this stage, the production costs are often low. However, the rapid growth in sales often slow down and decrease. As a result of the increase in the competitive environment, the value of the product needs to be improved or modified.
The last stage of the cycle is the decline stage where the product or processes become obsolete. Changes in the consuming habit and technological development meant that the profits and sales declined. In this stage, the products and processes do not meet the needs of the customers.
Comparison
From the research of the article, some of the commonalities include the fact that the product life cycle consists of four stages. Thee stages include the introduction, growth, maturity, and the decline stage. It is evident from the article by Zammit (2016) which identified the fact that manufacturing companies often improve their position in the market by increasing their product development process. It further states that one method of doing this is by decreasing the time that it is taken to design, validate, and test the new processes and products so that the customers can get them before the competitors.
One of the differences in the key topic includes the importance of sharing information before the product has been introduced into the market. The general view indicates that the introduction stage of the life cycle acts as the point at which the company is able to know if the product would succeed in the market. However, Savino (2014) indicates that tracking the design information during the lifecycle can help in avoiding expensive modifications when the product is released to the market. In this case, the article indicates that information needs to be provided before the product is introduced into the market which is different from the general view that the introduction stage of the product determined its success.
Article Summary
The article that has been chosen for this study is “ Defining Product Lifecycle Management: A Journey across Features, Definitions, and Concepts ”. The article by Corallo (2013) states that product lifecycle management has become vital in businesses that provide methodologies and technologies to manage knowledge, data, and information along the product’s lifecycle. The article indicates that in recent years, many authors have argued about the product lifecycle management (PLM) using the technical or managerial view. This article aims at analyzing the studies on the issue and integrates the viewpoints from various authors through the use of face-to-face meetings, blogs, and focus groups in the university environment.
The article used three features that included the collaborative, technological, and managerial one. the features had been applied in reviewing the current definition which is shared between the industrial and academic ones in addition to proposing the extended definition of product lifecycle management while providing its main concepts. The analysis in the paper identified some gaps in the current definition. More specifically, there is a lack of the concepts of times and a unique source of data for the product. The proper proves to be a useful reference to academics and managers who want to have a critical and clear understanding of the concept using a unique source for collecting evidence on various PLM features, concepts, and definitions.
Biblical Integration
The concept of the product lifecycle is linked to God’s law where the scriptures say that people are in Christ based on the things that they do. It further indicates that the process of spirituality is linked with faithfulness during a journey that is ongoing as opposed to living from one product to the other. God’s law also indicates that the spiritual process concerns being alive at the present moment. It is also related to the step-by-step process of responding to the loving initiative of God in people’s lives (Boa, 2005). The scripture is in line with the concept of the product life cycle which is a step-by-step process that a product passes in its lifetime from when it is introduced into the market until when it leaves the market. Every step allows people to reflect the actions that need to be taken based on the requirements of every step of the lifecycle. The scriptures also indicate that life is a step by step journey and that believers are the followers of the way as indicated in Acts 9:2; 19:23; 22; 24:14.
Application
The product or process life cycle is often used in real-world businesses in terms of reducing the amount of effort needed to manage a project. More specifically, subdividing the project into smaller phases makes the projects manageable. Most of the projects usually have deliverables that are considered to be complex to the extent that they could not be efficiently managed at once.
The concept has also been applied in the real world by helping businesses to know the way in which they can act according to the stage of the lifecycle where the product is. for example, they often understand what they need to do in the decline stage. Often new products come into the market and lower prices are also introduced with the aim of meeting the needs of the customers. During this stage, products that have higher costs of production often stop being manufactured because there are no profits that come the market. In many cases, when the product reaches the end of their life cycle they are then withdrawn from the market. There are many articles that talk about the project lifecycle with the aim of helping organizations understand the concept.
Annotated Bibliography
Corallo, A., Et. Al. (2013). Defining Product Lifecycle Management: A Journey across Features, Definitions, and Concepts. ISRN Industrial Engineering , pp. 1-10.
According to the article, the project lifecycle management is considered to be vital in companies that are working towards managing information, knowledge, and data within the product’s lifecycle.
Savino, M. M. (2014). Product information traceability within product lifecycle design and development: The case of CE conformity for consumer devices. International Journal of Product Lifecycle Management , pp. 184-200.
The aim of this article is to address the problem of tracing the information for the product during the design and development phases of the project’s lifecycle.
Zammit, J., Et. Al. (2016). Development of a knowledge sharing framework for improving the testing processes in global product development. International Journal of Product Lifecycle Management , pp. 1-18.
According to the article manufacturing companies often improve their market position through the process of increasing their product development process. One of the methods of reducing this is through the process of decreasing the time that is taken to test, validate, design the new products with the aim of reaching the competitors before the competitors.
The persistent link between all the articles is that they indicate that the product lifecycle is a vital factor in determining the success of the product.
References
Boa, K. (2005, 25 03). Process Spirituality: Process Versus Product . Retrieved from Bible.org: https://bible.org/seriespage/1-process-spirituality-process-versus-product
Corallo, A., Et. Al. (2013). Defining Product Lifecycle Management: A Journey across Features, Definitions, and Concepts. ISRN Industrial Engineering , pp. 1-10.
Savino, M. M. (2014). Product information traceability within product lifecycle design and development: The case of CE conformity for consumer devices. International Journal of Product Lifecycle Management , pp. 184-200.
Stark, J. (2015). Product lifecycle management. Volume 1, 21st-century paradigm for product realization. Cham, Switzerland: Springer.
Zammit, J., Et. Al. (2016). Development of a knowledge sharing framework for improving the testing processes in global product development. International Journal of Product Lifecycle Management , pp. 1-18.
