Universal Principles of Design, Revised and Updated

Life Cycle

All products progress sequentially through four stages of existence: introduction, growth, maturity, and decline.

All products progress through stages of existence that roughly correspond to birth, life, and death. For example, a new type of electronic device is envisioned and developed; its popularity grows; after a while its sales plateau; and then finally, the sales decline. Understanding the implications of each of the stages allows designers to prepare for the unique and evolving requirements of a product over its lifetime. There are four basic stages of life for all products: introduction, growth, maturity, and decline.1

Introduction

The introduction stage is the official birth of a product. It will at times overlap with the ...