The Internet of Things, a $486.7 billion tech, has stormed into our lives. It introduced numerous advances: smart homes, wearable devices, and industrial automation among them. Every successful IoT product takes a complex development process and a deep understanding of the IoT product life cycle.
The journey from conceptualizing an IoT idea to delivering a market-ready product may be challenging, particularly when you aim to tackle all facets of development simultaneously. On-site planning introduces many aspects that significantly impact the project, including resource allocation, technological choices, scalability, security, and, ultimately, the return on investment.
In this article, we’ll uncover the complexities of the IoT product development life cycle. WebbyLab, a professional Internet of Things development company, will guide you in this process, sharing expert tips from our own experience.
Let’s delve into the IoT product development process. It comprises the following seven stages:
In the vast landscape of IoT products, the first stage sets the foundation for success — coming up with an idea and defining a market. This phase involves thorough market research, a vital task before embarking on the development journey. It allows you to gain insights into:
At this stage, the WebbyLab team actively involves the client in product conceptualization and market research. We also leverage the experience of our business analysts.
How does this stage take place in our company?
Our team at WebbyLab implemented this stage for such IoT projects:
The ultimate goal of this step is to gain a deep understanding of your IoT niche, as each product has unique characteristics, be it a smart greenhouse or a smart home. WebbyLab has relevant expertise, as our company has been delivering IoT products for various clients for over five years.
We consider devising an idea and studying the market not a one-time task. It’s a continuous process that helps you keep up with emerging trends, technologies, and your audience’s evolving needs.
After conducting a thorough market assessment and defining your IoT product’s vision, it’s time for research and prototype development. This stage focuses on cost-effectively building your IoT product while increasing its chances of success in the market.
This stage typically includes:
It’s important to note that you can skip this stage if you already have clear requirements for your IoT product. WebbyLab experts sometimes omit it, as they have profound experience implementing Internet of Things solutions.
WebbyLab team developing a prototype of a home security robot.
Regulatory compliance is an integral part of the IoT product development cycle. The standards and certifications essential to consider during this stage are established, among others, by:
Complying with the above isn’t only a legal requirement but also a way to gain the trust of your customers and stakeholders. It shows your commitment to IoT product quality and adherence to industry best practices, while non-compliance may result in legal consequences and reputational damage.
Additionally, if you aim to build your IoT device or an entire network, WebbyLab experts suggest using pre-certified components as a more cost-effective and secure alternative.
The implementation stage of the IoT development life cycle is where the concept and prototypes take shape, and the actual product development occurs.
The WebbyLab team, at this point, typically launches the MVP as soon as possible. This way, you can accurately validate the idea and collect user feedback.
As a rule, we start with small batches of IoT devices and, even better — create a closed UAT for an affiliated group of users. After that, we run alpha and beta testing of the MVP to check whether the main IoT-related features of the product work correctly.
Once we validate the MVP and its viability, we develop a full-fledged IoT solution. This process can be divided into three parts:
Let’s talk about each of them in detail.
Hardware Development
The hardware development process focuses on designing and manufacturing the physical components of your IoT product. WebbyLab considers it the first mandatory step of the implementation stage. It covers:
At this step, our team can offer hardware development consulting services.
Firmware Development
Firmware development involves designing and coding the software which will run on your hardware components. This process requires expertise in low-level programming and optimizing code for resource-constrained environments that WebbyLab specialists can deliver. We also consider over-the-air updates functionality mandatory.
Software Development
During the software development process, the focus is on creating the application for your end users. Key activities in this step include:
As part of the fourth stage, implementation, the final product testing is mandatory. Our team checks everything: hardware, firmware, and software. We also conduct alpha testing with a group of real users. During this, our experts consider the customer identity since we typically get different feedback from tech-savvy people or regular users.
The manufacturing stage involves the physical production of your IoT product. The WebbyLab team proceeds to this phase only after completing the IoT hardware development life cycle and its thorough testing, as the price of an error is high. We also frequently provide the manufacturer with ready-made firmware for automated installation on the production line.
What else is critical at this stage?
The product launch stage is a significant milestone in the IoT development process, marking the introduction of your IoT solution to the market. It involves activities focused on preparing for a successful product launch, generating market awareness, and ensuring smooth deployment.
Key elements of the product launch stage include:
During this stage, WebbyLab typically works with clients to establish an SLA. This agreement ensures that everyone is prepared for the ongoing support phase, clarifies responsibilities, and outlines the process for resolving any problems that may arise.
In addition, before the launch stage, we usually conduct a UAT during which the client checks the product according to the agreed criteria and confirms the functionality of the received solution. As part of this process, our team also provides results in the form of a standard (or custom) product performance checklist.
Finally, ongoing support and maintenance ensures your product’s long-term success and enhances customer satisfaction. It involves implementing constant improvements to your deployed IoT solutions.
As a rule, WebbyLab notices the need for improvements, revisions, and constant monitoring to solve various issues and support users. Usually, we provide tools, algorithms, and instructions for ongoing support, as well as transfer all the necessary data for the client’s independent project development. In other cases, we handle these tasks ourselves.
Key elements of the ongoing support and maintenance stage include the following:
Remember, your journey doesn’t end with the initial deployment. Ongoing support and improvements is an opportunity to strengthen your customer relationships, refine your product offerings, and stay ahead in the dynamic IoT landscape.
In terms of WebbyLab’s experience in IoT, we have gone through all the mentioned stages and followed this plan in all our projects.
It is also worth noting that the breakdown of the development process into stages allows for the involvement of different vendors that specialize in each of them.
However, it’s also necessary to save the result at the end of each phase in documents or ready-made software solutions. Owing to that, you’ll be able to transfer this information to other contractors or return to a particular stage to complete it.
You may also be interested in learning about how to manage project step-by-step. Find all the necessary information in our recent post.
The IoT product development life cycle is a complex process that involves multiple stages, from idea generation to ongoing support and maintenance. Each step is crucial in bringing IoT products to market and ensuring your long-term success.
We at WebbyLab are well-equipped to provide a deeper consultation on this topic or deliver IoT firmware and software for you. With our profound experience building IoT products, we can offer valuable insights to help you navigate the challenges of the development life cycle. Contact us today to learn how we can assist you in your IoT projects.
Written by:
Head of IoT at Webbylab
Kostiantyn started his career in IT at Webbylab, where he quickly grew from the position of a tester to the role of a manager and business analyst. When the company’s management decided to develop the IoT direction, Kostia became one of its key figures.
The main stages of the IoT product development life cycle include:
Product concept and market definition — find an idea and determine the target market for your IoT solution
Research and prototype development — work on your product’s tech part and create prototypes
Regulatory checks — ensure compliance with regulatory standards and certifications, such as FCC, CE, and UL
Implementation — develop hardware, firmware, and software
Manufacturing — mass-produce your IoT product
Product launch — introduce your IoT product to the market
Ongoing support and maintenance — provide customer support, monitor performance, and continuously improve your product
The IoT development life cycle is the end-to-end process of delivering ready-made IoT solutions. It encompasses various stages, including idea generation, market research, prototyping, regulatory compliance, software and hardware development, manufacturing, product launch, and ongoing support and maintenance.
Regulatory compliance is crucial in the IoT product development cycle for several reasons:
Compliance with regulatory standards and certifications is often mandated by law of specific countries market
Regulatory standards ensure IoT products meet specified safety, quality, cyber security, and performance standards
Compliance helps build customer trust by demonstrating your commitment to delivering reliable solutions
The IoT development life cycle’s duration varies because of several factors. Those are IoT product complexity, the type of IoT solution, the scope of work, the availability of resources, and additional requirements. Simple projects may take several months, while complex may last for a year and more.
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