1. Purpose of the gate
A system on sale changes even when its design does not. Parts become scarce or obsolete, suppliers change processes, field issues accumulate, security vulnerabilities are found in its software, and the market moves. The lifecycle review steps back from day-to-day support and asks whether the system is still meeting its plan, and what should happen next.
The options are broad: continue as is; make a change, such as a component substitution or a feature update; reduce cost through a redesign; start a successor; or begin planning discontinuance. Each has a cost in engineering time, certification and customer communication. The review weighs them against the evidence of how the system is actually doing.
For systems, the update load is a telling measure. A system that needs frequent field updates for defects, or carries many open security issues, costs more to support than planned, and that cost should inform whether to keep investing in it.
The criteria are: field quality and update history reviewed; component obsolescence risks reviewed; and a decision to continue, change or plan discontinuance. The gating work product is the lifecycle review record at updated maturity, produced by product management from the field issue log and update release notes. Field support issues the field quality summary at final maturity beside it.
12 more sections for registered members.