Summary

The period of time, consisting of phases, that begins when a product or service is conceived and ends when the product or service is no longer available for use.

Since an organization can be producing multiple products or services for multiple customers, one description of a product lifecycle may not be adequate. Therefore, the organization can define a set of approved product lifecycle models. These models are typically found in published literature and are likely to be tailored for use in an organization.

A product lifecycle could consist of the following phases: (1) concept and vision, (2) feasibility, (3) design/development, (4) production, and (5) phase out.