Template
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
How to use this template
- Assign the Launch DRI (directly responsible individual) before anything else — one person owns the checklist, even if many people own individual items.
- Work backward from the target launch date to populate the pre-launch timeline: 4 weeks out, 2 weeks out, 1 week out.
- Every item needs an owner and a due date — items without owners don't get done.
- Define the rollback criteria before you launch so the decision to roll back is not emotional.
- 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.
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] |
Launches fail at the edges — cross-functional readiness is as important as the feature itself. Covered in depth at biztechprimer.com.