What are the Phases of Digital Product Development?

Stage 1: Research, Analysis, and Preparation

Before you start a significant project, you should think about whether it's even worthwhile. Is there an audience for your digital product? What needs does it meet? How does it help you achieve your company goals? Who is your user, and what are their primary concerns? Market research can help you find answers to these questions. Some information may already be available from your current client base or statistics from comparable digital products. Research during this time may involve... 

• Website data
• Focus groups
• Surveys of your current customer base
• Ad campaigns to gauge early interest

Other methods of research, such as A/B design tests and beta testing of initial prototypes, can benefit you in the long run. However, for the time being, this preliminary research might help you determine which features are most important to your target user and how much (or not) they are willing to pay for them. During this stage, you'll need to conduct an internal audit using your objective goals and market research data to determine the project's budget and timetable where product development services company can help you out there. 

Pro tip: If you just have time and money for limited market research, concentrate on your ideal consumer, perhaps using a contact list you already own. Once you have a prototype and MVP, you may discover fresh details about how unexpected users are putting your product to use. Meanwhile, focusing on a more familiar user base allows you to collect consistent feedback and launch from a solid support platform. 

Stage 2: Strategy and Ideation

Use all of the information you've acquired so far to create a minimum viable product (MVP). This allows you to define the product's success and determine which features are critical if you run into financial or scheduling issues. An MVP is not the same as a final product. Rather, it is a version of your product that allows you to collect as much information as possible with the least amount of work. It could be the first phase of your product's deployment or a prototype utilized to secure the next round of funding. As we progress through the ideation phase, we define audience types and develop a user roadmap to anticipate requested features and measure them against the effort required to achieve them. Stage two will also include future planning, such as developing ideas for features that can be incorporated into the next edition of your digital product.  Collaborate with your project manager to develop a product brief that contains a description of team roles, project deadlines, and milestones along the way. It may also include contingency plans in case of unexpected events, as well as synchronized start and stop points for dovetailing tasks like ongoing market research and pre-launch marketing strategies. 

Pro tip: Take specific note of the times in the product brief when your team is expected to examine and provide comments. During these times, the most important thing your team can do to expedite the process is to provide timely and detailed feedback.

Stage 3: Design and Development

When the rubber hits the road, things begin to feel real. UX designers take your idea and generate design concepts for the user interface. Typically, you may anticipate a round of designs, a time of feedback and critique, and then more precise design mockups for various stages of the user journey. As the overarching structure develops, the appearance and functionality you see will become more refined. You'll find there are additional perspectives to design, micro-interactions to add, and potential gaps in your initial strategy. 

Stage 4: Prototyping and Validation

Now that we have a functional basic product, we can test the entire structure and gather input from all parties involved. A prototype should be the most simple version of your product. It will help you to gather input from stakeholders and beta testers before launching the final round of implementation. It also allows us to verify that all product integrations, cloud storage, and API keys are working properly. 

Pro tip: There are several simple ways to create a variety of prototypes for A/B testing. For example, you may test a few various color palettes or light mode versus dark mode and get feedback from your market.

Stage 5: Agile Implementation

Once the design is accepted, the project will be handed over totally to the development and programming teams. Although each company's demands are unique, we typically recommend agile adoption for the majority of your development process. Most agile teams divide development into sprints. This means that, rather than a linear, waterfall hierarchy in which one step or feature must be finished before moving on to the next, features are broken down into several jobs that can be worked on simultaneously. It enables us to have all hands on deck at the same time and complete work considerably more quickly. 

Stage 6: Launch and Maintenance 

The launch stage can appear extremely different to different people. Whether you're testing a new product or expanding your reach with an upgraded version of your tool, your launch marketing strategy should be properly planned throughout stage two. Even after the launch, digital product development is never truly "complete". To respond to changing customer wants, business changes, and new technological capabilities, your product should be updated and rolled out on a regular basis. Maintenance will involve security patches and the solution of various bugs that happen when consumers engage with your product in unexpected ways. However, it will also include plans for new product versions with all-new features and capabilities for your users. 

Pro tip: 24/7 DevOps support for business-critical apps and services is frequently required for a new deployment, and choosing a company that continues to serve you after your launch demonstrates their commitment to your long-term success.