Products tend to go through five stages: which are product development stages?

Answer 1

1.New product development stage
very expensive
no sales revenue
losses
2.Market introduction stage
cost high
sales volume low
no/little competition - competitive manufacturers watch for acceptance/segment growth
losses
3.Growth stage
costs reduced due to economies of scale
sales volume increases significantly
profitability
public awareness
competition begins to increase with a few new players in establishing market
prices to maximize market share
4.Mature stage
costs are very low as you are well established in market & no need for publicity.
sales volume peaks
increase in competitive offerings
prices tend to drop due to the proliferation of competing products
brand differentiation, feature diversification, as each player seeks to differentiate from competition with "how much product" is offered
very profitable
5.Decline or Stability stage
costs become counter-optimal
sales volume decline or stabilize
prices, profitability diminish
profit becomes more a challenge of production/distribution efficiency than increased sales

Answer 2

There are several stages in the new product development process...not always followed in order:

1. Idea Generation (The "fuzzy front end" of the NPD process, see below)
Ideas for new products can be obtained from customers (employing user innovation), the company's R&D department, competitors, focus groups, employees, salespeople, corporate spys, trade shows, or through a policy of Open Innovation. Ethnographic discovery methods (searching for user patterns and habits) may also be used to get an insight into new product lines or product features.
Formal idea generation techniques can be used, such as attribute listing, forced relationships, brainstorming, morphological analysis and problem analysis

2. Idea Screening
The object is to eliminate unsound concepts prior to devoting resources to them.
The screeners must ask at least three questions:
Will the customer in the target market benefit from the product?
Is it technically feasible to manufacture the product?
Will the product be profitable when manufactured and delivered to the customer at the target price?

3. Concept Development and Testing
Develop the marketing and engineering details
Who is the target market and who is the decision maker in the purchasing process?
What product features must the product incorporate?
What benefits will the product provide?
How will consumers react to the product?
How will the product be produced most cost effectively?
Prove feasibility through virtual computer aided rendering, and rapid prototyping
What will it cost to produce it?
test the concept by asking a sample of prospective customers what they think of the idea

4. Business Analysis
Estimate likely selling price based upon competition and customer feedback
Estimate sales volume based upon size of market
Estimate profitability and breakeven point

5. Beta Testing and Market Testing
Produce a physical prototype or mock-up
Test the product in typical usage situations
Conduct focus group customer interviews or introduce at trade show
Make adjustments where necessary
Produce an initial run of the product and sell it in a test market area to determine customer acceptance

6. Technical Implementation
New program initiation
Resource estimation
Requirement publication
Engineering operations planning
Department scheduling
Supplier collaboration
Resource plan publication
Program review and monitoring
Contingencies - what-if planning

7. Commercialization (often considered post-NPD)
Launch the product
Produce and place advertisements and other promotions
Fill the distribution pipeline with product
Critical path analysis is most useful at this stage

These steps may be iterated as needed. Some steps may be eliminated.

ALSO VISIT http://instruct1.cit.cornell.edu/courses/cuttingedge/productDev/08prodDev.htm