????一家公司宣布將砍掉一款流行一時的產品。高管們將問題怪罪于銷量下滑和運營重點調整。這樣的決定是公司運營的正常組成部分。但它們還需要足夠深謀遠慮，以避免疏遠顧客、違反合約和承擔額外開銷。

????一個最好的例子就是谷歌（Google）上周宣布即將關閉Reader。谷歌稱還有三個月才會關閉這項供人們創建博客和更新文章的服務。這段時間內，用戶可以尋找替代性產品，也可以把Reader中的數據導出。

????Reader的粉絲仍然在網上批評谷歌，希望他們收回決定。不過谷歌業務范圍廣泛，至少給它提供了一些掩護。

????公司在決定產品命運時，通常遵循標準的流程。針對特殊目標對收入、利潤、客戶互動程度等重要指標進行分析——這些都是常規手段。這項工作被稱為“產品壽命周期分析”，或者更直白的說法——“死亡分析”。它的關鍵在于不帶感情地給出如何繼續工作的公正建議。

????計算公司在某款產品上的花銷是一項復雜的事。任何嘗試都需要考慮到銷售和客戶支持等大量部門的員工薪水。涉及到在線產品，帶寬成本可能相當巨大。更新升級、修復漏洞，讓產品能夠與新技術潮流，比如最新的平板電腦兼容，同樣耗費不菲。如果在做決定時感情用事，或是受公司政治左右，將會十分危險。不過這種情況非常普遍。公司創始人可能對某款產品產生依戀，拒絕將其淘汰。產品經理則可能害怕承認失敗將影響自己的職業生涯。

????Apartments.com是網絡分類巨頭Classified Ventures旗下的在線公寓租賃清單服務提供商。公司產品管理副總裁克里斯?布朗說：“毫無疑問，如果決定砍掉的產品出自創始人之手，牽扯到感情的羈絆時，你需要做足功課，解釋清楚，為什么要做出這個決定。”

????大多數情況下，“生命周期”檢測都顯示可以維持某款產品。其他情形下，分析可能會得出結論：公司需要在投資上有所傾斜，開發新產品或改進產品特色。

????實際上，被認為徹底失敗的產品相對容易解決。幾乎沒人會捍衛大量虧損的項目。而處理那些盡管贏得了一些顧客、但發展卻陷入停滯或者衰退的產品則要復雜得多。許多高管不愿意犧牲短期收入，盡管這么做對公司的長遠發展有利。布朗說：“告訴CEO你要把這桌上的收入拿掉一部分，這太艱難了。”多年來，布朗已經淘汰了大量產品，砍掉了許多產品功能。

????A company announces plans to kill a once-popular product. Executives lay the blame on slumping sales and changing priorities. Such decisions are a routine part of doing business. They also require ample forethought to avoid alienating customers, violating contracts, and racking up extra costs.

????Google's (GOOG) announcement last week that it would shutter Reader, a service for creating a feed of blog posts and news articles, is a prime example. To minimize the impact on users, Google said it would wait more than three months before pulling the plug. During that time, users can find an alternative service. Those who want to export their data from Reader can do so.

????Fans still went online to criticize Google's decision and ask that it be rolled back. But the company's outreach at least gave it some cover.

????In deciding the fate of their products, companies generally follow a standard process. Analyzing important metrics like revenue, profit, and customer engagement against specific goals is routine. "Product life cycle analysis" or, more informally, "kill analysis" are just some of the names for the job. The point is to come up with a dispassionate, unbiased recommendation about how to proceed.

????Calculating how much a product costs a company can be complex. Any attempt must factor in employee salaries across a number of departments like sales and customer support. Bandwidth costs can be sizeable for an online product. So can upgrades, fixing bugs, and making products compatible with new technology such as the latest tablets. Basing decisions on emotions and internal corporate politics is dangerous. But it is all too common. A founder may feel an attachment to a product and resist shutting it down. Product managers may fear that admitting failure will hurt their careers.

????"Without a doubt, when you have products that are the babies of the founder -- that come with an emotional attachment -- those are the ones you really have to come in having done your homework about why you're making the decision," says Chris Brown, vice president of product management for Apartments.com, an online apartment rental listing service that is owned by online classified giant, Classified Ventures.

????In most cases, "life cycle" reviews show that sustaining a product is fine. In others, the analysis may conclude that the company needs to ramp up investment for new or improved features.

????Products deemed outright failures are, in fact, relatively easy to deal with. Big money losers have few defenders. Things get more complicated with products that have gained some customers but are nonetheless stagnant or in decline. Many executives dislike sacrificing short-term revenue, even if it is for the long-term good of the company. "Boy is it tough to tell a CEO that you want to take revenue off of the table," says Brown, who has shut down a number of products and features over the years.