Product Life Cycle

Abstract

Product life cycle is a concept that emerged in the 1980s among large manufacturing corporations such as American Motors Corporation (AMC) and Rockwell. It represents a new way of thinking about the product development process, using a metacognitive framework. Prior to the emergence of product life cycle theory, companies pursued the development of new products based on market research into customer needs and wants, and on a desire to outperform their competitors, but their efforts largely lacked any self-reflective element. Product life cycle design allows a company to reflect on its own processes and make refinements to them.

Overview

A company’s information management infrastructure typically contains four main components, one of which is product life cycle management. The other three are customer relationship management (CRM), enterprise resource planning (ERP), and supply chain management (SCM). Together, these four systems work in concert to manage all of the company’s activities and interactions, both internal and external. Product life cycle as it is used in the field of business and management does not necessarily include the product’s performance in the commercial marketplace, but instead concentrates on the engineering side of product development (Stark, 2011).

Product life cycle includes several different conceptual areas. One of these areas is product design, which includes both the initial conception for a product and the development, often using computer aided design (CAD) software, of a virtual prototype. Another component of a product’s life cycle is systems engineering, which includes the design of a system to accomplish a particular function, which can be anything from developing software to producing french fries. Systems engineering is very important in product life cycle thinking because once a product is conceived of and prototypes designed, the team working on developing the product must also consider what kind of system needs to be created in order to make the product a physical reality—what materials will be used, how will they be shaped and machined, how will the product be packaged, what types of machines will be needed to produce and package the product (Crawford, 2011).

A third area of product life cycle work is project portfolio management. Each product that is proposed within a company becomes its own project, and because corporations are so large and develop so many products simultaneously, it becomes necessary to develop and implement systems and processes to manage multiple product portfolios. Once products reach the point of being physically produced using the schematics developed with design software, there arises a need for management of the manufacturing process, which is a fourth component of product life cycle oversight.

Across all of these different aspects of a product’s life cycle, huge amounts of data can be produced, so a fifth aspect of product life cycle is concerned with the need for managing data related to the project. This can include the engineering calculations used to develop initial prototypes for the product as well as measurements taken during tests performed on different versions of the product (Wang & Gupta, 2011).

Further Insights

Product life cycles first became a topic of interest at a time when companies were still learning how to use computers to design new generations of products. CAD software is capable of constructing virtual models of products and product components, so that engineers can see digital representations of components and assess how they fit together, interact, and influence one another, all without the need for constructing physical models (Curran, 2012). Later in the process, the computer designs can be used like blueprints, with the design information being transmitted directly to machinery that can produce the component parts for assembly of a real world prototype.

A crucial part of product data management is making sure that data pertaining to different versions of a product is kept separate from data associated with other versions; this activity is called version control in software development, and is responsible for the various versions of software such as 1.9, 2.5, and so on. Some form of version control is required even for products other than computer software.

All of this CAD and production generates enormous amounts of data, and there must be a system for storing this data in ways that prevent information pertaining to one version of a product from being mistakenly connected to information from another phase of the product, or to a different product altogether.

One way of thinking about product life cycle is through the consideration of a fairly straightforward example, such as a bicycle under development at a large manufacturing company. The engineers designing the bicycle would begin by creating a digital model using a computer. Version 1.0 of the bicycle might have wheels with a diameter of twenty-four inches. This version would be thoroughly analyzed and tested to determine its functionality, practicality, and potential appeal to consumers, and data would be produced from each mode of analysis. Eventually, analysis might determine that a more appropriate diameter for the wheels would be twenty-six inches, and this would become the basis for the next version of the design, version 2.0. The same types of analysis would be performed on the model again, and the results would determine whether the design was ready to go into production or in need of further refinement (Sellers, 2015).

Viewpoints

There are a wide range of opinions about what constitutes the greatest benefit of an organization using a product life cycle management system.

Benefits of Product Life Cycle

One objective of such systems is reducing time to market (TTM). TTM is a measurement of how long it takes for a product to go from an initial concept in the mind of an engineer, through modeling, prototyping, and testing, all the way to arriving on store shelves where it can be purchased by consumers. TTM varies according to which industry one is studying; cars can take several years before reaching the marketplace, while simpler devices could take months or weeks.

New technologies, such as 3D printing, that make it much easier to produce physical prototypes from computer design files have reduced the TTM dramatically in some industries, but companies are constantly trying to make their own operations more efficient and more innovative in order to get products to market more quickly. This drive to get to market is motivated by the promise of receiving profits on the goods being sold, as well as by a desire to carve out a larger market share for a new product, before other companies’ versions of the product reach the marketplace and begin to compete for sales (Karniel & Reich, 2011).

Another reason why companies make a priority of product life cycle control is that it offers the possibility of monetary savings in several different ways. One form of savings comes from reducing the TTM; the faster a product can reach consumers, the faster the company can begin to receive profits on its sales, recouping its investment in research and development and eventually earning money above and beyond production costs. Savings can also be realized through the practice of reusing data from past research or previous versions of a product in development; instead of having to start over again when a new project requires research that was performed previously, the data from the first round of research can simply be pulled out of storage and repurposed for the new product.

Savings are also available through a process known as workflow integration. Essentially this is the ability to have different product development computer systems talk to one another without requiring human intervention to translate the communications so they can be understood by different systems. This type of information transfer is what makes it possible for engineers to design a product on a CAD workstation and then transfer it to a computer in charge of prototype production, creating a physical model directly from the electronic blueprints. This is far more efficient than human manufacturers reading the designs and then constructing a physical model themselves. The human factor is effectively eliminated since the different computer systems are able to communicate directly with one another (Henriques, Peças & Silva, 2014).

Four-Phase Paradigm

Product life cycle was developed with a very specific series of four operational phases in mind. These four phases do not apply precisely for all types of products or all types of manufacturing scenarios, but they still provide valuable insights about the intended operation of the paradigm. The phases are conception, designing, discovery, and operation. During the conception phase of a product’s life cycle, the idea for the product comes into being, either as the result of research or through inspiration. It is usually necessary to spend time defining the needs that the product is expected to fill, and then work backwards to outline the product’s characteristics based on what it is supposed to be able to do.

The design phase involves the use of CAD and other drafting techniques to produce digital and real world prototypes, which are then tested to ascertain whether they will be able to perform the functions they were designed for, withstand stresses of temperature, pressure, and so forth. In the discovery phase, the final design produced in the previous phase goes into production, after a production process is researched and defined and a manufacturing layout is configured. This permits consumer ready versions of the product to be created on a large scale.

Once the product reaches the hands of consumers, the fourth and final phase of operation begins (Frey & International Society of Automation, 2011). In the operation phase, the product is used by consumers, supported by the manufacturer, and repaired as necessary. The operation phase also should include provisions for the end of the product’s useful life cycle, including disposal of defunct units, recycling of materials if possible, and disposal of materials that cannot be recycled or reused.

The design phase of the product life cycle can take any of several different approaches; a product can be developed in more than one way. One approach is to use a top down design. In a top down design framework, the earliest design efforts are focused on creating the big picture model of how the product will work and what it will do. Once that has been established, the product’s individual functions are broken down and further elaborated, these functions are then broken down further, and this process continues until all aspects of the product have been considered. Top down design is commonly used in the development of products related to defense and the military (Dhillon, 2010). In contrast to top down design, there is also a design approach known as bottom up.

As might be expected, bottom up design works in a direction opposite to that of top down; that is, first the separate parts of a product are designed, and then as these are finished they are assembled to create the higher level product. Some projects require a more versatile approach than either of these methods of product life cycle conceptualization; in these situations, one option is known as "both ends to the middle." Both ends to the middle is a phrase meant to demonstrate that this design approach tries to incorporate the best elements of top down and bottom up designs.

From the outset, the product designers try to bear in mind both high level and low level goals (Kahn, 2011). The high level goals are what the overall product is supposed to do, while the lower level goals usually consist of the limiting parameters that the designers of the product must keep in mind as they work on creating a product that meets the overall needs while still remaining practical to produce on a large scale. With all of these design approaches, designers must bear in mind that no design method can be relied upon to work if prepared in isolation. This is why a design in context orientation is frequently applied. This means that products and product components are developed with constant attention being paid to the ways in which the designed elements will be used—what environments they will operate within, how the parts will need to fit together, and so on. This focus on the context that surrounds products represents a significant step forward from the earliest days of product life cycle development, when product design still tended to be somewhat haphazard at best.

Terms & Concepts

Customer Relationship Management (CRM): Customer relationship management is the set of systems and resources a company uses to manage its interactions with its customers, whether for purposes of marketing and advertising, or for the provision of technical support or sales.

Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP): Enterprise resource planning includes the processes and resources involved in managing a company’s internal resources. This could include everything from office equipment and retail space to information technology infrastructure and human resources management.

Product and Process Life Cycle Management (PPLM): Product and process life cycle management is a system that has much in common with product life cycle management, but it differs in that it devotes equal attention to the development of effective processes and products, rather than concentrating solely on effective product development methods.

Product Life Cycle Management (PLM): Product life cycle management is the set of systems and procedures a company develops in order to coordinate all of the firm’s resources related to product life cycle. It typically includes hardware, software, and personnel components.

Supply Chain Management (SCM): Supply chain management is the set of systems and processes a company uses to manage its communications and relationships with the entities it relies upon to supply it with raw materials and processed components used in the manufacture of the company’s products. For each of these suppliers there must be methods of payment, billing, contract formation and enforcement, and so on.

Time to Market (TTM): Time to market is one of the metrics developed as part of product life cycle analysis. It refers to the time that is required between the creation of a new idea for a product and that product being available for purchase by consumers.

Bibliography

Crawford, R. (2011). Life cycle assessment in the built environment. London, UK: Spon Press.

Curran, M. A. (2012). Life cycle assessment handbook: A guide for environmentally sustainable products. Hoboken, NJ: Wiley/Scrivener.

David, M., & Rowe, F. (2016). What does PLMS (product lifecycle management systems) manage: Data or documents? Complementarity and contingency for SMEs. Computers in Industry, 75, 140–150. Retrieved January 3, 2016 from EBSCO Online Database Business Source Complete. http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=bth&AN=111486782&site=ehost-live

Dhillon, B. S. (2010). Life cycle costing for engineers. Boca Raton, FL: Taylor & Francis.

Frey, M., & International Society of Automation. (2011). Closed-loop product life cycle management: Using smart embedded systems. Triangle Park, NC: International Society of Automation.

Henriques, E., Peças, P., & Silva, A. (2014). Technology and manufacturing process selection: The product life cycle perspective. London, UK: Springer-Verlag.

Kahn, K. B. (2011). Product planning essentials. Armonk, NY: M.E. Sharpe.

Karniel, A., & Reich, Y. (2011). Managing the dynamics of new product development processes: A new product lifecycle management paradigm. London, UK: Springer.

Liao, Y., Lezoche, M., Panetto, H., Boudjlida, N., & Loures, E. R. (2015). Semantic annotation for knowledge explicitation in a product lifecycle management context: A survey. Computers in Industry, 71, 24–34. Retrieved January 3, 2016, from EBSCO Online Database Business Source Complete. http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=bth&AN=102495415&site=ehost-live

Sellers, K. (2015). Product stewardship: Life cycle analysis and the environment. Boca Raton, FL : CRC Press, Taylor & Francis Group.

Stark, J. (2011). Product lifecycle management: 21st century paradigm for product realisation. London, UK: Springer.

Wang, H.-F., & Gupta, S. M. (2011). Green supply chain management: Product life cycle approach. New York, UK: McGraw-Hill.

Wu, Z., Ming, X., Wang, Y., & Wang, L. (2014). Technology solutions for product lifecycle knowledge management: Framework and a case study. International Journal of Production Research, 52(21), 6314–6334. Retrieved January 3, 2016 from EBSCO Online Database Business Source Complete. http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=bth&AN=99001022&site=ehost-live

Suggested Reading

Chan, K. C., & Mills, T. M. (2015). Modeling competition over product life cycles. Asia-Pacific Journal of Operational Research, 32(4), 1. Retrieved January 3, 2016 from EBSCO Online Database Business Source Complete. http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=bth&AN=108560851&site=ehost-live

Mehra, A., Seidmann, A., & Mojumder, P. (2014). Product life-cycle management of packaged software. Production & Operations Management, 23(3), 366–378. Retrieved January 3, 2016, from EBSCO Online Database Business Source Complete. http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=bth&AN=94943019&site=ehost-live

Sonnemann, G., & Margni, M. (2015). Life cycle management. Dordrecht, Germany: SpringerOpen.

Wang, Q., Wang, Z., & Zhao, X. (2015). Strategic orientations and mass customisation capability: The moderating effect of product life cycle. International Journal of Production Research, 53(17), 5278–5295. Retrieved January 3, 2016, from EBSCO Online Database Business Source Complete. http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=bth&AN=108518431&site=ehost-live

Wilhelm, W. B. (2013). Incorporating product life cycle impact assessment into business coursework. Business Education Innovation Journal, 5(1), 45–52. Retrieved January 3, 2016 from EBSCO Online Database Business Source Complete. http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=bth&AN=89736817&site=ehost-live