The various phases involved in the product engineering process are:
- Product ideation: This is the innovation part of the process. Here, an innovative idea is brought out after brainstorming. The feasibility of the idea is examined to determine if the idea can be converted to a product. The idea is developed into the outlines of a product. The application of the products, features, and functionalities are created at this stage. Innovation is the key here. The product idea should be new, unique and have something which others don’t have. In today’s highly competitive world, innovation is the mantra to success.
- Product architecture: In this stage, the architecture of the product is worked. This is just like how an architect designs a building. The architecture process converts the idea into a workable product and outlines its features and functionalities. The architecture process also takes into account the need for resources, budget, timelines, and other related steps. The architecture is engineered keeping in mind the needs of the market or customer.
- Prototype: A prototype or a working model of the product would be prepared in many cases. This is a pilot project taken by the engineering company to create a product so that customers can understand how the end product would look it, what it would do, and how it would meet their requirements. Once the final architecture is ready, the prototype would be created. This would be used to get feedback from users. This feedback would then be made us of while developing the product before it is deployed or released in the market.
- Product Design: A good product is one that is designed well and whose design features ensure the innovation can be put into practice. Software engineering activity is carried out to develop the product. The designed product is developed to ensure that innovative ideas are actualized to create a product.
- Product Testing: The product that is designed needs to be tested to find out if it as per the requirements. Testing is one of the most important activities in the product engineering processes. Testing is done with the objective of making a product fail. The idea is to find out if the product is working perfectly well. Any errors or bugs in the product need to be fixed so that the product works without any problems. Multiple rounds of testing and different types of testing are conducted so that the product is of the best quality.
- Product Deployment: This involves ensuring that the product is put into use. In many cases, the work would be done manually. It needs to be shifted over to the IT domain. This deployment would be done by the development engineering services company. They would make a plan for deployment and ensure that the product is deployed and ready for use. This would involve training the users, and handholding until the process is complete.
- Product support: When a product is deployed there would be issues that users face while using the product. This can include technical issues, errors, as well as queries and clarifications. A support team of engineers needs to be in place to handle support issues and ensure users are comfortable with product usage. Support is a very important activity in the product life cycle. Without support, a product’s utility will be reduced.
A product engineering services company follows a structured approach to innovative an idea and create a product that meets market and customer needs.
What services do Product engineering services companies offer?
Product engineering companies offer a range of services for clients. These services focus on the following areas:
- Consulting: Engineering services companies carry out a range of consulting companies to help companies in their IT development. All activities in product development are covered under the consulting services scope. Right from the conceptualization process when product ideas are innovated until the product launch, consulting is offered for all activates. The consulting services are offered by experts who are experienced and well-versed in the engineering processes. They would be able to add value at all stages of the process.
- UX: UX stands for user experience. In today’s digital world the user is King. Total focus on meeting user requirements and giving the user the best is the focus of all companies. This is a must keeping in mind the highly competitive world we are in. The objective of any software product is to ensure users can use it effectively. Overall great experience for the user is what every organization aims to provide. The product developed should be intuitive, fast in response, easy to use, interactive and meet user needs. This is what user experience in all about. A good product engineering company would strive to incorporate all elements needed in the product that would ensure a great user experience.
- Technology: Technology is changing very fast. The use of the latest technology ensures that the product would have the best and latest features. Product engineering firms would ensure that they use the latest technology to ensure the best innovative practices are implemented in product development. Latest technologies ensure products built are scalable, fast, and are robust and reliable.
- DevOps: This is the latest set of concepts that involve a blending of development and operations. It is a cross-disciplinary function where the engineers and operations team work together at all stages of the service lifecycle. This ensures effective IT development in the organization. This is one of the best practices in the industry and leading product engineering companies follow this.
Methodologies followed by Product engineering services companies
Product engineering services companies follow the latest methodologies for the development process. The most powerful and common methodology used is Agile.
The top product engineering services companies would follow this development process. Some of the key concepts that would be implemented here include
- Use of discovery workshops at the ideation stage
- Iterative development as well as incremental development practices making use of sprint planning
- Continuous integration and continuous deployment to be followed at the product deployment stage.
- Focus on performance tuning at the product testing stage.
- Product improvisation and sprint retrospectives.
- Use of Scrum and Kanban frameworks as required
- Overall focus on improving the agility of the team and process.
Role of product engineering services companies in IT Development
Product engineering services companies can help clients implement IT effectively.
The software products engineered by these companies provide the perfect IT solution that can solve the business problems of the client.
The clients can get innovative solutions that can take care of their needs and help them offer value to their customers. These companies would make use of the latest technologies and the best practices to create a great product.
The product when used can address all needs of the client and can be used to automate their work and thus make use of IT in a highly effective way.
Product engineering services companies like Aptlogica would provide a range of services and consulting activities for the client. This would help the clients to create a top-quality product that meets their requirements.