Lifecycle Management 101: Overview + Tools
Lifecycle management is important in product development today. But how do you manage a lifecycle? And what are the different types — and lifecycle management tools — you need to know?
That’s what we break down in this blog.
What Is Lifecycle Management?
Back to topLifecycle management is the process of managing the lifecycle of a product. Lifecycle management starts at the very beginning of the product in the design phase and continues through end of life or retirement of the product.
Phases of Lifecycle Management
There are three key phases of lifecycle management:
Beginning of Life
The beginning of life is a critical phase in lifecycle management.
It starts with design and requirements. This can include creating a bill of materials (BoM). You need to know what you’re going to build before you build it — whether that is an application, asset, or API.
Next is development or creation. You have to actually build a product that matches the design and requirements laid out at the beginning.
Throughout the beginning of life, security and control are important considerations. Especially if you’re building a product that needs to comply with regulations.
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Middle of Life
The middle of life phase introduces your product to the customer/consumer.
This phase starts with the launch and distribution of your product. It’s where you get the product into the hands of the end users — and where you can collect their feedback on it.
In this phase, there will also be ongoing operations and maintenance of the product. Security remains critical in this phase, as a breach could be catastrophic to your business.
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End of Life
The end of life phase signals the end of development or support for your product.
This phase primarily includes retiring your product.
There are, of course, risks for when a product reaches end of life. Your customers and users will be left on their own for support and will often need to find an alternative product instead.
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Why Is Lifecycle Management Important?
Back to topLifecycle management is important to improve product quality, accelerate time-to-market, and ensure compliance in regulated industries. It gives you visibility into the development process. Whether you’re developing a medical device, semiconductor, or API, lifecycle management matters.
Types of Lifecycle Management
There are several types of lifecycle management that are critical in product development. Here, we break down three types of lifecycle management — application, IP, and API.
Application Lifecycle Management
Application lifecycle management (ALM) refers to the process of managing the lifecycle of an application from requirements through development to operations and maintenance.
ALM is especially important for ensuring quality and establishing traceability in the application development process.
👉 What Is Application Lifecycle Management?
IP Lifecycle Management
IP lifecycle management (IPLM) refers to the process of managing the lifecycle of IP from development through qualification, distribution, and integration.
Managing the IP lifecycle is especially important for establishing traceability in the semiconductor development process of the design and its associated metadata.
👉 IP Lifecycle Management
API Lifecycle Management
API lifecycle management refers to the process of managing the lifecycle of an API from creation through retirement.
In the enterprise, managing the API lifecycle has evolved to full lifecycle API management. That is, approaching managing the API lifecycle as part of your wider software delivery process, such as CI/CD. This is especially critical in API first development.
👉 API Lifecycle Overview
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Key Lifecycle Management Tools
There are manual ways to do lifecycle management. But the best way to succeed with lifecycle management is to choose the right tools.
Here at Perforce, we make lifecycle management tools that help you accelerate delivery and ensure quality.
These include:
Application Lifecycle Management Tools
ALM tools automate the process of managing the application lifecycle. And Helix ALM is one of the best ALM tools around.
Helix ALM enables you to ship high-quality products faster. And it establishes the end-to-end traceability you need across the lifecycle, so you don’t have to do it manually.
That’s why Helix ALM is a leading ALM tool for medical devices and embedded development.
“Helix ALM helped us go from Word docs to compliance and CE certification in record time.” — Ann Rossi, Senior Software Quality Assurance Manager, Fractyl Labs
Key Features
The Helix ALM suite includes three modules:
Plus, Helix ALM is seamlessly integrated with Jira. So, you can keep managing your issues in Jira — and connect them to your requirements and test cases in Helix ALM.
See for yourself how Helix ALM makes it easy to manage the application lifecycle.
IP Lifecycle Management Tools
IP lifecycle management tools help you gain control over the lifecycle of your IP, so you can enable reuse. And Helix IPLM (formerly Methodics IPLM) is one of the best tools around. Plus, it’s more than an IP lifecycle management tool. It’s a comprehensive IP lifecycle management platform.
Helix IPLM gives you complete control over IP from the time it enters the system until your system on a chip (SoC) is delivered. It ensures functional safety, assures IP security, and automates verification traceability.
That’s why Helix IPLM is a leading lifecycle management tool for semiconductor and embedded systems development.
“We realized that we needed a system that helps us manage the IP we have today and supports best practices for IP reuse moving forward. Helix IPLM offered a powerful solution by providing users with a collaborative platform to perform IP reuse more efficiently and in a sustainable, scalable way.” — Rick Stawicki, Executive Director, EDA Engineering, Maxim Integrated
Key Features
Helix IPLM is a unique all-in-one platform offering:
- IP lifecycle management
- Design data management
- Complete execution history
- Comprehensive quality management
Plus, Helix IPLM is seamlessly integrated with data management tools like Helix Core, further simplifying the traceability process.
Find out how Helix IPLM makes it easy to manage the IP lifecycle.
API Lifecycle Management Tools
API lifecycle management tools help you create, control, and deliver API products to your consumers. And Akana by Perforce is one of the best API lifecycle management tools around. Plus, it’s more than an API lifecycle management tool. It’s a complete API platform.
Akana makes it easy to create and deploy APIs, so you can beat your competitors to market. It offers powerful security at scale. And using Akana is one of the easiest ways to accelerate digital transformation in the enterprise.
That’s why Akana is a leading API platform for enterprises everywhere — from retail to insurance and healthcare to banking and beyond.
“Businesses want a seamless partnership. We were tasked with eliminating any resistance to leveraging our services. Our goal is to create a delightful, digital experience — and we’re doing it with Akana.” — Senior Vice President, North American Bank
Key Features
The Akana API platform offers:
Plus, Akana accelerates integration, enabling you to adopt cloud-native technologies and deploy across multicloud environments easily.
See for yourself how Akana makes it easy to manage the API lifecycle.
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