Product Artifact Lifecycle¶
Relationship to the company-level lifecycle¶
This document applies the company-level artifact lifecycle defined in ../../../../docs/architecture/artifact-lifecycle.md specifically to how a Digital Products product idea moves from a backlog entry to a released product. It does not define a competing lifecycle; it's the venture-specific instantiation of the company one.
Stages¶
1. Backlog¶
A product idea exists as an entry in ../../portfolio/product-backlog.md: a target customer hypothesis, a problem hypothesis, a product concept, and a set of open research questions. Nothing has been built or committed. This is the state of all 28 current backlog entries.
2. Research¶
The idea's open research questions (tracked collectively in ../../portfolio/research-backlog.md) are investigated: is the problem real, is the target customer reachable, is a structured tool the right shape of solution, what would differentiate this product. Research findings are recorded, and market/customer claims are cited, not asserted.
3. Product specification (Definition)¶
Once research provides reasonable confidence, the idea moves to a formal product
specification under products/<slug>/, built from products/_template/. This
includes, at minimum: a product brief, a data dictionary, a calculation specification
(if the product does calculations), a test plan, and tab specifications. This is the
gate past which the idea has a real, addressable artifact.
4. Build¶
The product is constructed against its specification, following ../standards/workbook-architecture-standard.md and the other standards in ../standards/, using components from the catalog where they genuinely fit (see component-architecture.md).
5. Test¶
The product is validated against its test plan: calculation accuracy (including edge cases), input validation behavior, navigation/UX, print layout, and any stated compatibility targets (see ../standards/compatibility-standard.md). Untested claims are not carried into release materials.
6. Release¶
The product ships with its included instructions, changelog, and version number (see ../standards/documentation-and-packaging-standard.md), and, where applicable, a marketplace listing that matches its tested capability (see ../standards/marketplace-listing-standard.md).
Reversibility¶
An idea can be sent back to an earlier stage at any point — e.g., research surfacing that the problem isn't real should return the idea to the backlog (or remove it), rather than being pushed forward past a gate it hasn't actually cleared.