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Product Development Lifecycle

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Overview

This framework defines our end-to-end process for taking a product idea from discovery through delivery and iteration. We follow an iterative, agile approach while ensuring proper governance for financial services.

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Lifecycle Stages

Discovery → Planning → Design → Development → Testing → Launch → Iterate
     ↑                                                              ↓
     └──────────────── Feedback & Learning ────────────────────────┘

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Stage 1: Discovery

Goal: Validate that we’re solving the right problem Activities:
  • Customer research and interviews
  • Problem definition (JTBD framework)
  • Market and competitive analysis
  • Opportunity sizing
  • Technical feasibility assessment
Key Artifacts:
  • Research report
  • Problem statement
  • Opportunity brief
Exit Criteria:
  • Clear problem definition
  • Target users identified
  • Business value quantified
  • Technical feasibility confirmed
Responsible: CPO with input from CTO, UX Designer, CMO Framework: See /frameworks/discovery.md

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Stage 2: Planning

Goal: Define what we’re building and how we’ll measure success Activities:
  • Write Product Requirements Document (PRD)
  • Define user stories and acceptance criteria
  • Identify technical architecture approach
  • Set success metrics and goals
  • Estimate effort and resources
  • Prioritize using RICE framework
  • Plan phased rollout if needed
Key Artifacts:
  • PRD (product requirements document)
  • User stories with acceptance criteria
  • Technical design document
  • Success metrics dashboard spec
  • Project plan and timeline
Exit Criteria:
  • PRD reviewed and approved
  • Success metrics defined
  • Technical approach agreed
  • Resource capacity confirmed
  • Roadmap slot allocated
Responsible: CPO (PRD), CTO (tech design), UX Designer (user flows) Templates: /templates/prd-template.md, /templates/user-story-template.md

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Stage 3: Design

Goal: Create user experience that solves the problem elegantly Activities:
  • User flow mapping
  • Wireframing and prototyping
  • Visual design
  • User testing with prototypes
  • Design review and iteration
  • Accessibility review
  • Compliance review (financial services specific)
Key Artifacts:
  • User flows and journey maps
  • Wireframes
  • High-fidelity designs
  • Interactive prototypes
  • Design system components
  • Accessibility checklist
Exit Criteria:
  • User flows validated with customers
  • Designs meet accessibility standards
  • Compliance requirements addressed
  • Development-ready design specs
  • Design review approved by CPO
Responsible: UX Designer with input from CPO and compliance Collaboration: Weekly design reviews with product and engineering

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Stage 4: Development

Goal: Build the product with quality and security Activities:
  • Sprint planning
  • Feature implementation
  • Code reviews
  • Unit and integration testing
  • Security review
  • Compliance controls implementation
  • Documentation
Key Artifacts:
  • Working code in version control
  • Automated tests
  • API documentation
  • Security audit report
  • Compliance checklist
  • User documentation
Exit Criteria:
  • All user stories completed
  • Code review passed
  • Automated tests passing (>80% coverage)
  • Security review completed
  • Compliance requirements met
  • Documentation complete
Responsible: CTO and engineering team Methodology: Agile/Scrum with 2-week sprints

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Financial Services Requirements

Must-haves for every feature:
  • Audit trail - All actions logged for compliance
  • Access controls - Role-based permissions
  • Data encryption - At rest and in transit
  • Input validation - Prevent injection attacks
  • Error handling - Graceful failures, no data corruption
  • Transaction integrity - ACID compliance for financial operations

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Stage 5: Testing

Goal: Ensure quality, reliability, and compliance before launch Activities:
  • Functional Testing - Feature works as specified
  • Integration Testing - Works with existing systems
  • Performance Testing - Meets SLA requirements
  • Security Testing - Penetration testing, vulnerability scan
  • Compliance Testing - Regulatory requirements verified
  • User Acceptance Testing (UAT) - Real users validate the feature
  • Regression Testing - Existing features still work
Key Artifacts:
  • Test plans and test cases
  • UAT results
  • Performance benchmarks
  • Security scan reports
  • Compliance sign-off
  • Bug reports and resolutions
Exit Criteria:
  • All critical bugs resolved
  • UAT approved by business stakeholders
  • Performance meets SLA targets
  • Security review passed
  • Compliance approved
  • Rollback plan documented
Responsible: QA team, compliance team, CPO (UAT coordination)

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Financial Services Testing Standards

Critical path testing:
  • Money movement and transactions
  • Calculation accuracy (returns, fees, taxes)
  • Reporting accuracy
  • Data integrity
Compliance testing:
  • Regulatory reporting requirements
  • Audit trail completeness
  • Access controls functioning
  • Data retention policies enforced

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Stage 6: Launch

Goal: Deploy to production with controlled rollout Activities:
  • Deployment Planning - Timing, rollback plan, monitoring
  • Phased Rollout - Start with internal users or beta customers
  • Feature Flags - Control who sees the new feature
  • Monitoring Setup - Dashboards, alerts, error tracking
  • Communication - Announce to users, train support team
  • Documentation - Release notes, user guides, API docs
Key Artifacts:
  • Deployment checklist
  • Rollout plan
  • Monitoring dashboard
  • Release notes
  • User communication
  • Support team training materials
Rollout Strategy: 
Phase 1: Internal users (10%)
Phase 2: Beta customers (25%)
Phase 3: General availability (100%)
Monitoring Windows:
  • 24 hours post-deployment (intensive monitoring)
  • 1 week post-deployment (daily review)
  • 30 days post-deployment (success metrics review)
Exit Criteria:
  • Successfully deployed to production
  • No critical issues in monitoring
  • Support team trained
  • Users communicated
  • Rollback plan ready
Responsible: CTO (deployment), CPO (communication), CMO (marketing)

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Stage 7: Iterate

Goal: Learn, measure, and improve continuously Activities:
  • Monitor Metrics - Track success criteria from PRD
  • Gather Feedback - User interviews, surveys, support tickets
  • Analyze Usage - Feature adoption, engagement, retention
  • Identify Improvements - Bug fixes, UX refinements, enhancements
  • Plan Next Iteration - Prioritize improvements using RICE
Key Artifacts:
  • Success metrics dashboard
  • User feedback summary
  • Usage analytics report
  • Iteration backlog
  • Retrospective notes
Review Cadence:
  • Daily: Monitor critical metrics and errors
  • Weekly: Review user feedback and support tickets
  • 30 days: Success metrics review meeting
  • 90 days: Feature retrospective and iteration planning
Success Criteria Review:
  • Are we meeting the success metrics defined in the PRD?
  • Is the feature being adopted by target users?
  • What unexpected issues or opportunities emerged?
  • What improvements should we prioritise?
Responsible: CPO with input from entire product team Framework: See /frameworks/metrics.md

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Cross-Stage Activities

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Compliance & Security (Continuous)

  • Security review at planning, development, and testing
  • Compliance check at planning, testing, and launch
  • Regular security audits post-launch

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Documentation (Continuous)

  • PRD during planning
  • Technical docs during development
  • User docs before launch
  • Update docs during iteration

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Stakeholder Communication (Continuous)

  • Weekly updates during development
  • Demo sessions after key milestones
  • Launch communications
  • Post-launch metrics sharing

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Process Governance

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Stage Gates

Each stage requires explicit approval before moving forward:
  • Discovery → Planning: CPO approves opportunity
  • Planning → Design: CPO approves PRD
  • Design → Development: CPO + CTO approve designs
  • Development → Testing: CTO approves code complete
  • Testing → Launch: CPO + Compliance approve UAT
  • Launch → Iterate: CPO confirms successful rollout

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Decision Authority

  • CPO: Product scope, priorities, launch timing
  • CTO: Technical approach, architecture, deployment
  • Compliance: Regulatory requirements, launch approval
  • CEO: Strategic direction, major investments

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Templates & Tools

  • PRD template: /templates/prd-template.md
  • User story template: /templates/user-story-template.md
  • Test plan template: /templates/test-plan-template.md
  • Launch checklist: /templates/launch-checklist.md
  • Retrospective template: /templates/retrospective-template.md

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Metrics

Process Health:
  • Cycle time (discovery to launch)
  • On-time delivery rate
  • Defect escape rate
  • Time to recovery from incidents
Product Health:
  • Feature adoption rate
  • User satisfaction (NPS, CSAT)
  • Success metrics achievement rate
  • Customer retention impact