# Product Launch Checklist

**Framework:** Pre / During / Post launch structure  
**Use for:** Coordinating all functions for a product or feature launch  
**Time required:** 1–2 hours to complete initial checklist; ongoing during launch

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## How to use this template

1. Assign the Launch DRI (directly responsible individual) before anything else — one person owns the checklist, even if many people own individual items.
2. Work backward from the target launch date to populate the pre-launch timeline: 4 weeks out, 2 weeks out, 1 week out.
3. Every item needs an owner and a due date — items without owners don't get done.
4. Define the rollback criteria before you launch so the decision to roll back is not emotional.
5. After launch, run the Day 1 / Week 1 / Month 1 monitoring loop without skipping. Launches fail in the days after go-live, not on launch day.

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## Header

| Field | Details |
|-------|---------|
| Feature / Product Name | [Name] |
| Target Launch Date | [Date] |
| Launch DRI | [Name — one person accountable for the overall launch] |
| Comms Owner | [Name — owns all external and internal communication] |
| Tech Lead | [Name] |
| Current Status | [On track / At risk / Delayed] |

---

## Pre-Launch Checklist

**Status key:** ✓ = Complete | In Progress | Blocked | Not Started

### 4 Weeks Out

| Item | Owner | Due Date | Status |
|------|-------|----------|--------|
| Feature spec and scope finalized | [Name] | [Date] | |
| Design mocks approved | [Name] | [Date] | |
| Engineering kickoff complete | [Name] | [Date] | |
| Legal and privacy review initiated | [Name] | [Date] | |
| Support team briefed on incoming feature | [Name] | [Date] | |
| Go-to-market plan drafted | [Name] | [Date] | |
| Success metrics and measurement plan defined | [Name] | [Date] | |

### 2 Weeks Out

| Item | Owner | Due Date | Status |
|------|-------|----------|--------|
| Feature code-complete | [Name] | [Date] | |
| Feature flag configured for staged rollout | [Name] | [Date] | |
| Rollback plan documented and reviewed | [Name] | [Date] | |
| Monitoring and alerting configured | [Name] | [Date] | |
| Load testing complete | [Name] | [Date] | |
| QA testing complete — all P0 and P1 bugs resolved | [Name] | [Date] | |
| Mobile / cross-browser testing complete | [Name] | [Date] | |
| In-app copy reviewed and approved | [Name] | [Date] | |
| Error states designed and implemented | [Name] | [Date] | |
| Help docs and FAQs written | [Name] | [Date] | |
| Legal / privacy review complete | [Name] | [Date] | |
| Terms of service updated if needed | [Name] | [Date] | |
| Security review complete | [Name] | [Date] | |
| Sales enablement materials complete | [Name] | [Date] | |
| Support team training complete | [Name] | [Date] | |

### 1 Week Out

| Item | Owner | Due Date | Status |
|------|-------|----------|--------|
| Marketing assets finalized (email, social, in-app) | [Name] | [Date] | |
| Press or partner communications drafted and approved | [Name] | [Date] | |
| All stakeholders notified of launch plan | [Name] | [Date] | |
| Staging environment launch verified | [Name] | [Date] | |
| Final go/no-go meeting scheduled | [Name] | [Date] | |
| War room / launch Slack channel created | [Name] | [Date] | |
| On-call rotation confirmed for launch window | [Name] | [Date] | |

---

## Launch Day Checklist

| Time | Action | Owner | Done? |
|------|--------|-------|-------|
| [T-1 hour] | Final go/no-go call with all stakeholders | [Name] | |
| [Launch time] | Enable feature flag / flip the switch | [Name] | |
| [T+15 min] | Verify feature live and functioning in production | [Name] | |
| [T+15 min] | Confirm monitoring dashboards are live and green | [Name] | |
| [T+30 min] | Send internal launch announcement | [Name] | |
| [T+1 hour] | Send external communications (email, blog, social) | [Name] | |
| [T+2 hours] | First error and performance check | [Name] | |
| [T+4 hours] | Support ticket volume check — flag unusual spike | [Name] | |
| [End of day] | Launch day summary to stakeholders | [Name] | |

---

## Post-Launch Monitoring

### Day 1

| Item | Owner | Status |
|------|-------|--------|
| Review error rates vs. baseline | [Name] | |
| Review performance metrics vs. baseline | [Name] | |
| Review support ticket volume and category | [Name] | |
| Address any P0 issues immediately | [Name] | |

### Week 1

| Item | Owner | Status |
|------|-------|--------|
| Review success metrics against targets | [Name] | |
| Review user feedback (in-app, support, social) | [Name] | |
| Identify any usability issues for rapid iteration | [Name] | |
| Share Week 1 summary with stakeholders | [Name] | |

### Month 1

| Item | Owner | Status |
|------|-------|--------|
| Full success metric review against baseline | [Name] | |
| Retrospective on launch process — what to improve | [Name] | |
| Document lessons learned | [Name] | |
| Identify any follow-on features surfaced by launch | [Name] | |

---

## Rollback Criteria

*Define these before launch. Making this decision under pressure leads to inconsistency.*

We will roll back if:
- [Metric, e.g., error rate] rises above [threshold, e.g., 2%] for more than [duration, e.g., 15 minutes].
- [Metric, e.g., p95 latency] exceeds [threshold] sustained for [duration].
- [Qualitative condition, e.g., a critical data integrity issue is identified].
- [Any other condition that warrants immediate rollback].

Rollback owner: [Name]  
Rollback procedure: [Link to runbook or brief description]

---

## Communications Log

*Track every launch communication — internal and external — in one place.*

| Date | Channel | Message / Subject | Audience | Owner | Status |
|------|---------|------------------|----------|-------|--------|
| [Date] | [Slack / Email / Blog / Social / Press] | [Message description] | [Audience] | [Name] | [Draft / Sent] |
| [Date] | [Channel] | [Message description] | [Audience] | [Name] | [Draft / Sent] |
| [Date] | [Channel] | [Message description] | [Audience] | [Name] | [Draft / Sent] |
| [Date] | [Channel] | [Message description] | [Audience] | [Name] | [Draft / Sent] |

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*Launches fail at the edges — cross-functional readiness is as important as the feature itself. Covered in depth at biztechprimer.com.*