TABLE OF CONTENTS
Hardware development is difficult to manage because each stage depends on decisions made earlier in the process. By the end of conceptual design, 70% to 80% of manufacturing costs are already committed, even though only about 10% have been incurred.
A missed requirement, supplier issue, or design change can affect cost, timing, compliance, and product quality. When these problems are not identified early, they can delay the launch, increase rework, or lead to a product that does not meet customer needs. Clear processes and reliable product data help teams manage those risks before they affect production.
This guide explains the main stages of the hardware development lifecycle and how product lifecycle management software supports the process from concept through end of life.
Key Takeaways
- The hardware development lifecycle comprises six interconnected stages, from initial concept through product retirement and end-of-life planning.
- Decisions made early in development affect later costs, production schedules, compliance work, and the product’s ability to meet customer needs.
- Clear requirements, controlled product data, and defined review points help teams identify design, sourcing, and quality issues before production begins.
- Product lifecycle management software keeps engineering, supplier, release, and change data connected as the product moves through each stage.
- Managing the full lifecycle gives hardware companies more control over revisions, regulatory records, production handoffs, and end-of-life changes.
What is the Hardware Development Lifecycle?
The hardware development lifecycle is the process for moving a physical product from an initial idea through design, testing, production, launch, and retirement.
Each stage builds on the one before it. Product requirements guide the design, engineering data informs sourcing and manufacturing, and test results determine whether the product is ready to move forward.
Unlike software, hardware changes become more costly once tooling, materials, and production plans are in place. A defined lifecycle helps teams review decisions early, control revisions, and keep product data aligned as the design moves toward production.
The 6 Stages of Any Hardware Product Lifecycle
Product development requires more than strong functionality and visual appeal. Teams must also account for regulatory standards, manufacturing feasibility, supply constraints, service requirements, and end-of-life planning.
A closer look at hardware product development methodologies reveals a pattern. Most frameworks include the following core stages:
- Product requirements documentation (PRD)
- Engineering validation and testing (EVT)
- Design validation and testing (DVT)
- Production validation and testing (PVT)
- Mass production (MP)
- End-of-life (EOL)
The Hardware Development Lifecycle
Notice that while there’s a logical flow, these stages don’t always occur sequentially. You may need to loop back and repeat steps as testing reveals new information.
If you follow an agile hardware development process, similar to one used in software development, some stages may also overlap.
1. Product Requirements Documentation (PRD)
The first step in hardware product development is to define what you need. You do this in a product requirements document, or PRD.
The PRD captures your requirements, performance specifications, applicable standards, and market expectations in one place.
The PRD provides design, engineering, testing, and manufacturing teams a shared source for requirements, performance targets, applicable standards, costs, timelines, and market expectations.
A PRD can include:
- Complete list of product features
- Specific performance metrics each feature must meet
- Estimated production volumes
- Target costs
- Target release dates
- A product roadmap
The product manager usually leads PRD creation but should gather input from engineering, sales, QA, marketing, and executive leadership. These teams should also review and approve the final document. Once the PRD is approved, your later product decisions should follow its requirements.
As new information emerges, the PRD may need to change. Each revision should follow the same review and approval process to keep later decisions aligned with current requirements.
Start with Duro’s free PRD template or use PLM software to document, review, and manage requirements.
2. Engineering Validation and Testing (EVT)
The primary goal of EVT, sometimes referred to as prototyping, is to determine whether it’s possible to design and build a product instance that meets the functional requirements defined in the PRD. EVT entails identifying and resolving the technical challenges posed by the creation of physical prototypes.
The selected components and assembly processes at this stage can differ from what you’ll use in the final product. For example, duct tape and hot glue are acceptable, provided they allow you to construct something that functions and meets your specification metrics.
Reaching this stage often takes several iterations and may reveal requirements that are not feasible. In that case, revise the PRD before resuming EVT. An important principle is that the product doesn’t leave the EVT stage until all the functional requirements and performance metrics are satisfied.
3. Design Validation and Testing (DVT)
Having established how to meet functional requirements, this next stage is where detailed product design occurs. Your team develops mechanical designs and selects materials to meet the final form, fit, and aesthetic requirements outlined in the PRD.
As with EVT, this is usually an iterative process. The materials and components selected in these revisions are candidates for the final production version, but you may choose alternatives later.
This is a good time to solicit customer feedback and begin testing product-market fit. Doing this early reduces the risk of wasting money on materials, tools, and processes required to start manufacturing.
A product leaves the DVT stage once it meets all functional and aesthetic requirements in the PRD while using candidate designs and components for final production.
This version may be very close to, and visually indistinguishable from, the final version but possibly manufactured and assembled using lower volume processes.
4. Production Validation and Testing (PVT)
PVT determines whether you can produce your product at the volumes and target costs listed in the PRD. You may still make minor design changes or substitute components, but the focus moves to manufacturing and the supporting supply chain.
You can reduce production costs through Design for Manufacturing, Design for Assembly, and Design for Testing. Together, these methods are often called DFX. Applying DFX requires input from engineering, purchasing, suppliers, and in-house manufacturing specialists.
The changes identified at this stage are often small, but they can have a significant effect on production costs or reliability.
Examples include:
- Replacing a part with a lower-cost, pin-compatible version
- Changing a draft angle so a molded part releases more reliably from its injection-molding tool
During PVT, you move from planning how production should work to testing how it works under real manufacturing conditions. A pre-production run can reveal problems in your production process or supply chain before you begin manufacturing at volume.
PVT is complete when the product meets the performance and quality standards in the PRD, and you have established the supply chain.
At this point, you can order parts at acceptable prices and lead times. Your assembly and testing procedures should also produce repeatable results.
5. Mass production (MP)
When a hardware product reaches mass production, you’re producing and selling customer-ready versions of your product at some meaningful quantity. Depending on the product and market, production is carried out in batches, with each batch typically increasing in volume.
At this stage, the manufacturer handles procurement, assembly, and testing, while engineering continues to support design and development. The engineering team also helps ensure quality and yields stay high while reducing costs.
This may include working with procurement teams to help your supply chain keep costs and lead times low and supporting your manufacturing team by identifying improvements.
6. End-of-life (EOL)
A well-managed EOL process gives customers time to place final orders, obtain spare parts, or transition to a newer product. It should also account for recycling requirements, regional disposal rules, and the cost of retiring the product responsibly.
The United Nations Institute for Training and Research found that the world generated 62 million tonnes of electronic waste in 2022, but only 22.3% was formally collected and recycled.
These disposal realities are design inputs, not just end-of-life concerns. The materials you specify, the packaging you choose, and how easily the product can be disassembled or recycled are often decided years earlier during development. Those choices can affect regulatory compliance, recovery costs, and the amount of waste generated when production ends, which is why a strong lifecycle process plans for EOL from the start.
Where PLM Fits in the Hardware Development Lifecycle
PLM connects the information created at each stage of the hardware development lifecycle. It gives you one place to manage requirements, parts, bills of materials, revisions, approvals, supplier data, and supporting documents.
During the early stages, PLM helps you keep the PRD, design decisions, and test results aligned. As the product moves into DVT and PVT, it helps you control revisions and confirm that sourcing and manufacturing teams are working from approved data.
Once production begins, PLM continues to track changes, quality records, and supplier updates. At end of life, it preserves the product history you need to manage final orders, spare parts, inventory, and regulatory records.
PLM is not limited to fixing isolated problems at one stage. It provides a continuous record of the product from the first requirement through its final release and retirement.
How AI is Changing Each Stage of the Hardware Development Lifecycle
AI can help you review product data, find inconsistencies, and reduce repetitive work across the hardware development lifecycle. Its role changes as your product moves from requirements to production and retirement.
- PRD: AI can organize customer feedback and technical inputs into structured requirements. It can also flag missing details or conflicting specifications before development begins.
- EVT: AI can compare prototype test results with the PRD and help you find patterns across failures. Your engineers still decide what to test or change next.
- DVT: AI can review part and design data for missing attributes, inconsistent records, or unmet requirements.
- PVT: AI can compare bills of materials, supplier records, and test results to identify revision mismatches or incomplete production data.
- Mass production: AI can help you review quality data, supplier changes, and recurring defects to investigate their sources.
- EOL: AI can identify products and assemblies affected by obsolete parts, changing regulations, or declining component availability.
AI is most useful when it works from controlled product data and links its findings to the original records for review.
Hardware Development Lifecycle Challenges and Solutions
Successful hardware development involves more than fitting a PCB into a housing. You must consider how the product will be designed, built, tested, supported, and eventually retired.
The main challenges usually involve complexity, cost, time, manufacturing constraints, and changing requirements.
1. Complexity
Modern hardware products can contain hundreds or thousands of parts, along with fasteners, adhesives, cables, packaging, instructions, and warranty materials.
That level of detail often results in multiple bills of materials, including an engineering BOM, a manufacturing BOM, and a sales BOM. As the product changes, each version must remain aligned.
Without the right system, tracking parts, revisions, documents, and dependencies becomes a significant administrative burden.
Duro consolidates this information into a single cloud-native PLM platform. It connects product data across CAD, ERP, and MES systems, so you can manage changes without relying on manual transfers or a dedicated PLM administrator.
Its out-of-the-box setup also reduces the need for systems integrators or lengthy configuration work.
2. Cost
Hardware development usually requires significant spending on labor, prototypes, tooling, materials, software, licensing, and intellectual property support.
A PLM system can help control those costs by centralizing requirements, BOMs, documents, and revisions in one place. This reduces duplicated work and lowers the risk of mistakes caused by outdated information.
It also gives managers more visibility into product status, so they can identify delays or unresolved work before costs increase.
Duro supports this process by automating routine data entry and reducing the effort required to manage the PLM system. You do not need a dedicated administrator or a large implementation team to keep the system running.
3. Time
Product development includes several design, testing, and validation cycles, so delays can quickly affect launch plans and project returns.
Agile development can shorten some cycles, but overlapping work also makes coordination more difficult. You still need to know which data is current, which changes are approved, and what each team is working from.
A PLM system provides that visibility by tracking product data, revisions, and release status throughout development.
Duro reduces manual data entry and keeps information aligned as it moves between design and manufacturing. Its cloud-native setup also avoids the lengthy onboarding and integration work required by heavier PLM systems.
4. Manufacturing constraints
A design may look complete on paper and still be difficult or expensive to manufacture.
Your supplier may lack capacity, a required machine may be unavailable, or a component may not be available in the quantity or quality you need. Production steps may also take longer than expected.
DFX reviews can help identify some of these risks, but you still need current supplier, sourcing, and BOM data when making design decisions.
Duro connects engineering and procurement through shared product records. Its sourcing capabilities also give you visibility into supplier options, part availability, and pricing while the design is still being developed.
This makes it easier to evaluate alternatives before a manufacturing constraint delays production.
5. Changing Requirements (Change Management)
As new information becomes available during the project, you may need to update the design, BOM, and manufacturing processes. To minimize wasted time and money, you’ll incorporate these changes quickly and modify plans accordingly.
Duro gives you a controlled record of changes throughout design and development. You can review revisions, see where a component is used, and trace each approved change back to the related product data.
That visibility helps you update plans without creating conflicting records across engineering, sourcing, and manufacturing.
6. Regulatory compliance
Products in aerospace, medical devices, and other regulated industries must meet specific documentation, testing, and approval requirements.
Leaving compliance work until late in development can force you to repeat tests, revise the design, or delay production. Your PLM system should support compliance from the first requirements through each release.
Duro keeps BOMs, revisions, approvals, and supporting documents together, so you can find the records needed for an internal review or external audit.
- Space technology: Gilmour Space used Duro to manage design baselines, revisions, and product documentation during the development of Australia’s first three-stage rocket. This traceability helped its engineers surface the data regulators required for launch permission.
- Medical hardware: Opentrons develops laboratory automation systems used in scientific and healthcare settings. After adopting Duro, its engineers redesigned parts and found alternative suppliers, saving about $50,000 within the first month.
Managing the Hardware Lifecycle with PLM
Bringing a hardware product to market is difficult because each stage depends on the decisions and data generated earlier. A change to the PRD can affect testing, sourcing, manufacturing, and the final BOM.
PLM gives you one system for managing that information from the first requirements through EVT, DVT, PVT, mass production, and end-of-life. It keeps product records, revisions, approvals, supplier data, and supporting documents connected as the product moves through each stage.
Duro is an AI-native, cloud-based PLM platform built for hardware teams. It gives engineers access to current BOMs, revisions, and supply chain data, so they can work from approved information and avoid duplicated effort.
Duro also offers out-of-the-box functionality, reducing setup time and eliminating the need for systems integrators. You can begin managing product data without a long implementation project or a dedicated PLM administrator.
Hardware Development Lifecycle FAQs
What is the hardware development lifecycle?
The hardware development lifecycle is the process you follow to move a physical product from an initial idea through design, testing, production, and retirement.
It provides a structured way to manage product requirements, technical risks, manufacturing decisions, and product data as the design evolves.
What are the phases of the hardware development lifecycle?
The six main phases are:
- Product requirements documentation
- Engineering validation and testing
- Design validation and testing
- Production validation and testing
- Mass production
- End of life
The process is not always linear. Test results, supplier issues, or changing requirements may require you to return to an earlier stage.
What does "agile hardware development" mean?
Agile hardware development applies short, iterative development cycles to physical product design. You build, test, and refine the product in smaller steps instead of completing each stage before reviewing the result.
Some activities may overlap, but hardware teams still need to account for tooling, materials, supplier lead times, and physical testing.
What is the difference between hardware and software development?
Hardware development creates a physical product, while software development creates digital applications or systems.
Software can usually be updated after release without changing a physical item. Hardware changes become harder and more expensive once you order parts, build tooling, or begin production.
Hardware development also depends on suppliers, manufacturing processes, inventory, safety testing, and regulatory requirements.
Who provides hardware development services?
Hardware development services may be provided by product design firms, engineering consultancies, contract manufacturers, original design manufacturers, and independent specialists.
The right provider depends on the support you need. Some focus on industrial design or engineering, while others manage prototyping, sourcing, testing, certification, and production.