Your product is dying. With the same inevitability that we humans move ever closer to death, so does every software application move towards its eventual demise.

The difference is that we have become increasingly competent at caring for ourselves and each other with the result that our chances of a longer and fuller life continue to increase with time. We have learned to recognise our own and each other's positions in the life cycle, and become aware that we have the means and ability to provide the care and environment necessary for our continued survival and prosperity. We nurture and care for our small children, and accept and encourage their ability to stand on their own two feet as part of their journey towards the day they will become are fully self-supporting. In due course, they will care for us when we become old, and in turn will one day be supported by their own children.

And so to software. A product's life cycle is not much different from our own, yet despite our ability to cater for our own changing needs, many of us are quite oblivious to the needs of our products and software as time goes on. The concept of the Product Life Cycle is a simple one, and allows you to see where your product stands at any one time, and to assess what circumstances lie ahead, by providing the information that you need in order to react accordingly. In much the same way that we do not wait for a child`s teenage years before starting their education, or for an older person to become so frail that they are unable to care for themselves, we should not wait for the negative points in a product's life cycle to be so obvious that it is too late to respond effectively.

There are four stages in the Product Life Cycle each with their own recognisable symptoms, threats and opportunities, all of which should be addressed individually.

The Early Days

Firstly, the Introduction stage. When a new product is introduced to the market, the initial impact is usually very slight, and spotting any emerging patterns is often close to impossible. You're likely to enter the market with only the barest of ripples, let alone a splash. There are exceptions to this. Large advertising budgets, hype, pre-launch public interest and new technologies may all increase the initial visibility of a product's launch. Yet even a high-visibility campaign will take time for customers to learn that a product is available, and time for a significant demand to build up and become apparent. For most of us, even with the most stringent of marketing budgets, viable profits at this stage are unlikely, and the possibility of actual short-term loss a very real one.

So how long should this stage last? The answer is almost impossible to estimate with any degree of accuracy, as there are so many variables involved. So much depends on the market demand for the software, the marketing budget, visibility and so on.The basic strategy at this stage is simply to get the product "out there", and draw as much attention to it as is possible.

Growing Up

Next in the product's life cycle is the Growth stage. If all goes according to plan, this stage should be easy to recognise both in terms of sales and profits. But the risk is that many companies will simply sit back and enjoy the ride and the success. Absolutely not! The growth cycle is the time to aggressively seek-out new opportunities, and to gain as much of the market share as possible. Some fairly clear patterns should start to emerge quite quickly at this stage, and it is usually obvious what is working and what is wasting your time. Look for three factors. The