Skip to main content

Product Lifecycle

Every product built by EGI follows the same lifecycle, regardless of size or client. This structure ensures consistent quality, clear expectations, and smooth transitions between teams.

Lifecycle Phases​

Discovery → Design → Build → Test → Launch → Handoff → Maintain

Each phase has defined deliverables and a go/no-go gate that must be cleared before moving to the next phase. The project lead is responsible for confirming the gate criteria are met.

Phase 1: Discovery​

Duration: 1--2 weeks typical

Purpose: Understand the problem, define the scope, and confirm feasibility before committing to design and development.

Deliverables:

  • Problem statement and success criteria documented
  • User stories or jobs-to-be-done defined
  • Technical feasibility assessment (key risks, unknowns, dependencies)
  • High-level scope and timeline estimate
  • Stakeholder alignment confirmed (client sign-off on scope)

Go/No-Go Gate:

  • Scope is documented and agreed upon by all stakeholders
  • No unresolved feasibility blockers
  • Timeline and resource allocation confirmed

Phase 2: Design​

Duration: 1--3 weeks typical

Purpose: Define the solution in enough detail that engineering can build it without ambiguity.

Deliverables:

  • Information architecture and user flows
  • Wireframes or high-fidelity mockups for key screens
  • Data model and API contract design
  • Third-party integration requirements identified
  • Design review completed with stakeholders

Go/No-Go Gate:

  • Designs approved by the client (or internal stakeholder)
  • Data model reviewed by engineering
  • No open design questions that would block development

Phase 3: Build​

Duration: Varies by project (typically 4--12 weeks)

Purpose: Implement the solution following the approved design. This is where the majority of engineering work happens.

Deliverables:

  • Working application matching approved designs and scope
  • Unit and integration tests for all critical paths
  • Analytics instrumentation configured (see Analytics Instrumentation)
  • Feature flags in place for any phased rollout functionality (see Feature Flags)
  • Environment configurations for staging and production
  • Technical documentation (README, architecture overview, environment setup)

Go/No-Go Gate:

  • All sprint stories for the release scope are complete and meet the Definition of Done
  • CI pipeline passing on main
  • Staging environment deployed and functional

Phase 4: Test​

Duration: 1--2 weeks typical

Purpose: Validate the product against requirements, catch defects, and confirm production readiness.

Deliverables:

  • End-to-end test suite passing on staging
  • Performance testing completed (load time targets met, no memory leaks)
  • Security scan completed and critical/high findings resolved
  • User acceptance testing (UAT) completed by the client or product owner
  • Bug triage completed (no open P0/P1 issues)

Go/No-Go Gate:

  • All P0 and P1 bugs resolved
  • Client has signed off on UAT
  • Performance benchmarks met
  • Security scan clean (no critical or high severity findings)

Phase 5: Launch​

Duration: 1--3 days typical

Purpose: Deploy to production and confirm the product is live, stable, and monitored.

Deliverables:

  • Launch Checklist completed in full
  • Production deployment executed
  • Smoke tests passing in production
  • Monitoring and alerting confirmed active
  • Client notified of go-live
  • Launch retrospective scheduled (within 1 week)

Go/No-Go Gate:

  • Launch Checklist is 100% complete with no open blockers
  • Project lead has given explicit approval to deploy

Phase 6: Handoff​

Duration: 2--4 weeks (overlaps with stabilization)

Purpose: Transfer operational ownership from EGI to Anchor MSP so the product is sustainably supported long-term.

Deliverables:

  • Runbook delivered to Anchor (operational procedures, troubleshooting steps)
  • Architecture diagram current and shared
  • Monitoring dashboards and alert rules transferred to Anchor
  • Access and credentials provisioned for Anchor team
  • Known issues log shared
  • Handoff walkthrough meeting completed (recorded)
  • Anchor shadow period completed (minimum 2 weeks)

Go/No-Go Gate:

  • Anchor team confirms they can independently handle routine operations
  • No critical escalations to EGI for 2 consecutive weeks
  • Handoff sign-off from both EGI and Anchor leads

See the Ownership Model for full details on the handoff process.

Phase 7: Maintain​

Duration: Ongoing

Purpose: Keep the product running, secure, and up to date. Handled primarily by Anchor MSP with EGI available for application-level escalations.

Ongoing responsibilities:

  • Anchor: Infrastructure monitoring, incident response, patching, backups, certificate renewals
  • EGI: Bug fixes, feature enhancements (scoped as new projects or change requests), application-level troubleshooting when escalated
  • Mast: Quarterly optimization reviews

Review cadence:

  • Monthly operational review (Anchor)
  • Quarterly optimization review (Mast)
  • Ad-hoc feature requests scoped through EGI's standard discovery process

Phase Summary​

PhaseOwnerTypical DurationKey Gate
DiscoveryEGI1--2 weeksScope agreed, feasibility confirmed
DesignEGI1--3 weeksDesigns approved, data model reviewed
BuildEGI4--12 weeksDefinition of Done met, staging deployed
TestEGI1--2 weeksUAT signed off, no P0/P1 bugs, security clean
LaunchEGI1--3 daysLaunch Checklist complete, lead approval
HandoffEGI + Anchor2--4 weeksAnchor independent, sign-off complete
MaintainAnchor (primary)OngoingMonthly and quarterly reviews