Technology Development Life Cycle

The Technology Development Lifecycle

The technology development lifecycle is a model that depicts a project’s gain and return at various stages of its life cycle. The numerous components involved with the technology development lifecycle model include development time and cost, time necessary to recover costs, and return on investment.

The Lamborghini Urus

The Lamborghini Urus is a sports utility concept automobile that Lamborghini unveiled. The Lamborghini Urus’ development phase is the most delicate. It is primarily the stage of research and development. This stage is frequently linked to the product’s inception. It is the most dangerous and readily crippled. It is worth noting that Lamborghini specializes in the making of sports cars. As such, a sports utility vehicle is a relatively new realm for it. Poor research and development can mean that the vehicle may not make it to the market. It could die before it was ever really born.

Development Phase of the Urus

The Urus took a little over 3 years in the research and development phase before it was unveiled at the Beijing auto show in 2012 as a concept car (Hope, 2015). The Urus is a high-class sports utility vehicle, as such, the time required to recover the costs that were put in to produce it and make it market ready is about three years. This is considering the speculation by Lamborghini of selling 3000 vehicles per year. This means that after the Urus hits the markets, it shall take about three years to recover the costs of developing it. After the vital phase of the Urus, it shall deteriorate in sales and reach a plateau phase. The plateau phase indicates that the product is no longer marketable and has exceeded its stay on the market. The company expects to net a profit of approximately, 11.9 billion dollars from the sales of the vehicle. At this point, it is important to note that these are speculations, the Lamborghini Urus is scheduled for production in 2018 (Beck, 2013).

Product Development Life Cycle

The development life cycle for the Lamborghini Urus consists of virtually every step that is characteristic of a product life cycle model. The Urus concept had to be conceived first. This was done by the company engineers in conjunction with the directors. This is where the idea was popped up and tested for feasibility. After the idea had been tested using various feasibility criteria, the design phase commenced. The design phase is principally concerned with turning the idea into a working prototype. The prototype is then tested and notes taken on how it can be improved. After the prototype has been tested, it returns to the design board. The undesirable aspects of the prototype are analyzed and the stakeholder contributions weighed and included where pertinent. After this stage, the production of the Urus is started with a few sample vehicles. The production is done based on the final prototype. It is important to note that changes can still be made to the prototype at this point. After the first few vehicles have been manufactured without glitches and tested, the mass production begins.

During production, every unit is produced uniformly. The process of production is standardized; there is no indicated provision for customization by Lamborghini. After the production of the first batch, the Urus is ready for marketing and distribution. Marketing and distribution is the process of getting the product to the market and ensuring that it reaches the final consumer. Marketing involves aspects such as advertising and branding. It is largely pegged on the creation of consumer awareness of the product. Marketing can be done over the internet, by use of traditional newspaper advertising, through television commercials and through films and movies. After the consumers have been made aware of the product, it is then bought and sales revenue begins to accumulate. At this point, the company shall be keen on the maintenance and support operations that regard the Urus. The customer care department shall be ready to answer questions that the consumers may have with their products. This shall begin in earnest until the product fades out of the market or is replaced by a new, better product. At this point, the new product shall receive the urgent attention in order to spur its growth (Stark, 2011).

Acceptance Process as it Relates to Technology or Product Life Cycle

The acceptance process involves the consumers of a brand getting acquainted with a new product developed by the brand. In this case, the consumers of Lamborghini vehicles and automobiles, in general, have to learn to accept having the power of a sports car in their luxury vehicle. This is essentially a hybrid and as such, the consumers are the final decision makers. Product acceptance and technology acceptance can have a big impact on the marketability of the product. A poor acceptance index shall leave the product abandoned on the market and the company’s warehouses. A positive acceptance shall result in a product that shall be adopted by the market and customers (Pearson Education, Inc., 2010).

Works Cited

Beck, D. F. (2013). Technology Development Life Cycle Processes. New Mexico: Sandia

National Laboratories.

Hope, G. (2015, December 1). Lamborghini Urus will go into production in 2018, powered by a

4.0-litre twin turbo V8. Retrieved Janury 20, 2017, from autoexpress.co.uk: http://www.autoexpress.co.uk/lamborghini/86856/lamborghini-urus-suv-will-use-the-brands-first-turbo-v8

Pearson Education, Inc. (2010). Production Acceptance. Pearson Education, Inc.

Stark, J. (2011). Product Lifecycle Management: 21st Century Paradigm for Product Realisation

(Decision Engineering) 2nd ed. Springer; 2nd ed. 2011 edition.