product-lifecycle

name	Product Lifecycle
description	Track and manage products through lifecycle stages - IDEA → DRAFT → ACTIVE → INACTIVE → ARCHIVED
version	1.0.0
dependencies	none

Product Lifecycle Management

Skill for tracking CircleTel products through their lifecycle stages, generating transition checklists, and managing sunset plans.

When This Skill Activates

This skill automatically activates when you:

• Want to see product lifecycle status
• Need to move a product between stages
• Plan a product sunset or retirement
• Say /product-lifecycle or ask about product status

Keywords: product lifecycle, lifecycle status, product stage, sunset product, retire product, activate product, archive product

Lifecycle Stages

┌─────────┐     ┌─────────┐     ┌─────────┐     ┌──────────┐     ┌──────────┐
│  IDEA   │ ──▶ │  DRAFT  │ ──▶ │  ACTIVE │ ──▶ │ INACTIVE │ ──▶ │ ARCHIVED │
└─────────┘     └─────────┘     └─────────┘     └──────────┘     └──────────┘
     │               │               │               │                │
     ▼               ▼               ▼               ▼                ▼
 Concept         In Admin       Live in         Paused/           End of
 stage only      Products       catalogue       Hidden            life

Stage Definitions

Stage	Status Code	Description	Visibility
IDEA	—	Concept only, not in system	Internal only
DRAFT	draft	In admin products, not live	Admin only
ACTIVE	active	Live in product catalogue	Public
INACTIVE	inactive	Temporarily paused	Admin only
ARCHIVED	archived	End of life, retained for history	Admin only

Integration with Admin Products

Viewing Lifecycle Status

Portfolio Dashboard: /admin/products → Portfolio tab → Lifecycle

The existing portfolio dashboard shows:

• Products by status (draft, active, inactive, archived)
• Low margin products requiring attention
• Duplicate products to clean up

Lifecycle Stepper Component

components/admin/products/ProductLifecycleStepper.tsx displays visual lifecycle progress on product detail pages.

Status Management

Change status via Admin:

1. Go to /admin/products/[id]/edit
2. Update status field
3. Save changes

Change status via API:

PATCH /api/admin/products/[id]
Content-Type: application/json

{ "status": "active" }

Transition Checklists

IDEA → DRAFT

Prerequisites:

• Market-fit analysis completed (/product-analyze)
• GO or CONDITIONAL decision documented
• Pricing approved by CFO
• Technology capability confirmed

Actions:

• Create product in /admin/products/new
• Set status to draft
• Fill required fields (name, SKU, category, pricing)
• Attach to product line

---

DRAFT → ACTIVE

Prerequisites:

• CPS documentation complete
• BRD documentation complete (for complex products)
• Pricing verified against costs
• Support team briefed
• Sales materials prepared

Actions:

• Change status to active in admin
• Verify appears in public catalogue
• Test ordering flow
• Announce to sales team
• Update /products/README.md index

---

ACTIVE → INACTIVE

Reasons for Inactivation:

• Temporary stock outage
• Pricing review required
• Competitive repositioning
• Seasonal pause

Prerequisites:

• Reason documented
• Estimated reactivation date (if temporary)
• Customer communication plan (if impactful)

Actions:

• Change status to inactive in admin
• Product hidden from public catalogue
• Existing customers unaffected
• Set calendar reminder for review

---

INACTIVE → ACTIVE

Prerequisites:

• Original issue resolved
• Pricing re-verified
• Stock/capacity confirmed
• Support team notified

Actions:

• Change status to active
• Verify appears in catalogue
• Consider promotional announcement

---

ACTIVE/INACTIVE → ARCHIVED

This is a sunset decision. Use sunset planning workflow.

Sunset Planning

When to Sunset

Consider archiving when:

• Product has zero active customers
• Technology is end-of-life
• Margin is unsustainable (<15%)
• Better alternative exists
• Regulatory/compliance issue

Sunset Checklist

## Product Sunset Plan: [Product Name]

**Date**: [YYYY-MM-DD]
**Reason**: [Why sunsetting]
**Target Archive Date**: [YYYY-MM-DD]

### Customer Impact
- Current active customers: [X]
- MRR at risk: R[Y]
- Recommended migration path: [Product Z]

### Migration Plan
- [ ] Identify all affected customers
- [ ] Draft migration communication
- [ ] Set migration incentive (if applicable)
- [ ] Establish migration deadline

### Execution Timeline
| Date | Action | Owner |
|------|--------|-------|
| [D-60] | Notify customers of sunset | Support |
| [D-30] | Follow-up migration offer | Sales |
| [D-7] | Final reminder | Support |
| [D-0] | Archive product | Product |

### Post-Sunset
- [ ] Change status to `archived`
- [ ] Update documentation (mark superseded)
- [ ] Remove from marketing materials
- [ ] Brief support team on legacy inquiries

Dashboard View

Lifecycle Status Summary

## Product Lifecycle Dashboard

**As of**: [YYYY-MM-DD]

| Stage | Count | Products |
|-------|-------|----------|
| Draft | [X] | [List or "None"] |
| Active | [X] | [Summary] |
| Inactive | [X] | [List with reasons] |
| Archived | [X] | [Summary] |

### Attention Required

**Low Margin (<25%)**: [X] products
**Duplicates**: [X] products
**Inactive >30 days**: [X] products
**Draft >90 days**: [X] products

### Recent Transitions
| Date | Product | From | To | By |
|------|---------|------|----|----|
| ... | ... | ... | ... | ... |

Reporting Queries

Products by Status

SELECT status, COUNT(*) as count
FROM products
GROUP BY status
ORDER BY
  CASE status
    WHEN 'active' THEN 1
    WHEN 'draft' THEN 2
    WHEN 'inactive' THEN 3
    WHEN 'archived' THEN 4
  END;

Stale Drafts (>90 days)

SELECT id, name, created_at
FROM products
WHERE status = 'draft'
  AND created_at < NOW() - INTERVAL '90 days';

Inactive Products Needing Review

SELECT id, name, updated_at
FROM products
WHERE status = 'inactive'
  AND updated_at < NOW() - INTERVAL '30 days';

Related Skills

• /product-browse — Find new product candidates
• /product-analyze — Market-fit before adding to draft
• /product-docs — Documentation for draft → active transition

Admin Pages Reference

Page	URL	Purpose
Products List	/admin/products	View all products with status filters
Portfolio Dashboard	/admin/products → Portfolio tab	Lifecycle overview, margin health
Product Detail	/admin/products/[id]	View single product with lifecycle stepper
Edit Product	/admin/products/[id]/edit	Change status, update details
New Product	/admin/products/new	Create draft product
Approvals	/admin/products/approvals	Pending approval queue

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Version: 1.0.0 Last Updated: 2026-03-08 Maintained By: CircleTel Product Strategy