Pre-Launch
- ☐ Feature freeze
- ☐ QA sign-off
- ☐ Docs ready
- ☐ Comms drafted
Launch Day
- ☐ Feature flag flip
- ☐ Monitor dashboards
- ☐ Support team briefed
- ☐ Announce externally
Post-Launch
- ☐ Track key metrics
- ☐ Gather user feedback
- ☐ Fix critical bugs
- ☐ Team retrospective
Rollback Plan
- ☐ Trigger criteria
- ☐ Rollback steps
- ☐ Communication plan
- ☐ Incident response
Launch Checklist Overview
A successful product launch requires coordination across engineering, marketing, sales, support, and leadership. This checklist ensures nothing falls through the cracks by breaking the launch into four phases: pre-launch, launch week, launch day, and post-launch.
Customize this checklist based on your launch size. Not every item applies to every launch—a small feature update doesn't need PR coordination, while a major product launch might need additional items. The key is having a systematic approach that you adapt over time.
Small Feature Launch
- • 1-2 week prep time
- • Focus on eng + support items
- • In-app announcement only
- • Skip external marketing
Major Product Launch
- • 4-6 week prep time
- • Full cross-functional team
- • Multi-channel marketing
- • Phased rollout recommended
Pre-Launch (2-4 weeks before)
| Checkbox | Task | Owner | Critical |
|---|---|---|---|
| Define launch success metrics and targets | PM | ||
| Create launch brief/one-pager for stakeholders | PM | ||
| Set launch date and communicate to all teams | PM | ||
| Complete feature flag setup for controlled rollout | Engineering | ||
| Finalize QA testing and bug fixes | Engineering | ||
| Create rollback plan and test it | Engineering | ||
| Draft marketing copy and landing page | Marketing | ||
| Create demo video or GIFs | Marketing | ||
| Prepare email announcement content | Marketing | ||
| Design in-app announcements and tooltips | Design | ||
| Update help documentation | Support | ||
| Create support FAQ and troubleshooting guide | Support | ||
| Train support team on new feature | Support | ||
| Brief sales team and update sales materials | Sales | ||
| Legal/compliance review (if needed) | Legal | ||
| Accessibility audit completed | Design |
Launch Week (Final prep)
| Checkbox | Task | Owner | Critical |
|---|---|---|---|
| Final stakeholder sign-off received | PM | ||
| Staging environment tested and verified | Engineering | ||
| Monitoring dashboards configured | Engineering | ||
| On-call schedule confirmed for launch day | Engineering | ||
| Marketing assets finalized and approved | Marketing | ||
| Email campaigns scheduled | Marketing | ||
| Social media posts drafted and scheduled | Marketing | ||
| Internal announcement prepared | PM | ||
| Customer success team briefed | Support | ||
| Launch day runbook created | PM |
Launch Day
| Checkbox | Task | Owner | Critical |
|---|---|---|---|
| Deploy to production | Engineering | ||
| Verify deployment successful | Engineering | ||
| Enable feature flag for target users | Engineering | ||
| Monitor error rates and performance | Engineering | ||
| Send launch announcement email | Marketing | ||
| Publish blog post/landing page | Marketing | ||
| Post on social media channels | Marketing | ||
| Send internal announcement | PM | ||
| Monitor support channels for issues | Support | ||
| First-hour health check completed | PM | ||
| Go/no-go decision for wider rollout | PM |
Post-Launch (First 2 weeks)
| Checkbox | Task | Owner | Critical |
|---|---|---|---|
| Daily metrics monitoring | PM | ||
| Collect and respond to user feedback | PM | ||
| Triage and prioritize bug reports | PM | ||
| Gradual rollout to remaining users | Engineering | ||
| Support ticket analysis and trends | Support | ||
| Update documentation based on feedback | Support | ||
| D7 metrics review | PM | ||
| Launch retrospective meeting | PM | ||
| Update launch checklist with learnings | PM | ||
| Share launch results with stakeholders | PM |
Launch Brief Template
Use this one-pager to align stakeholders on what's launching, why, and how success will be measured. Share it in your launch kickoff meeting.
# Feature Launch Brief ## Overview **Feature Name:** [Name] **Launch Date:** [Date] **PM Owner:** [Name] **Eng Lead:** [Name] ## What's Launching [2-3 sentence description of the feature] ## Why Now [Business context and motivation] ## Success Metrics | Metric | Current | Target | Timeline | |--------|---------|--------|----------| | [Metric 1] | X% | Y% | D30 | | [Metric 2] | X | Y | D30 | ## Rollout Plan - **Phase 1:** [X]% of users (Date) - **Phase 2:** [X]% of users (Date) - **Phase 3:** 100% of users (Date) ## Risks & Mitigations | Risk | Likelihood | Impact | Mitigation | |------|------------|--------|------------| | [Risk 1] | Med | High | [Plan] | ## Dependencies - [ ] Dependency 1 (Owner, Date) - [ ] Dependency 2 (Owner, Date) ## Communication Plan - Internal: [Channel, Date] - Email: [Segment, Date] - Social: [Platforms, Date]
Launch Best Practices
Do This
- +Define success metrics before launch
- +Always have a rollback plan
- +Use feature flags for controlled rollout
- +Over-communicate with stakeholders
- +Hold a post-launch retrospective
Avoid This
- -Launching on Fridays (no one to monitor)
- -Big bang releases without phased rollout
- -Skipping support/sales enablement
- -Launching without monitoring in place
- -Announcing before confirming deployment
Launch Day Golden Rule
Never send the marketing announcement until engineering confirms the deployment is successful and stable. Create a clear handoff: Eng says "go", then Marketing sends. This prevents announcing features that aren't actually live.
Frequently Asked Questions
How far in advance should I start launch planning?
For major launches, start planning 4-6 weeks ahead. This gives time for marketing content creation, sales enablement, support training, and coordination across teams. For smaller feature launches, 1-2 weeks is often sufficient. The key is working backwards from the launch date to ensure all dependencies are covered.
Who should be involved in launch planning?
Core team: PM (owns checklist), Engineering (technical readiness), Marketing (GTM), Design (assets). Extended team: Sales (enablement), Support (training), Legal (compliance review), PR/Comms (external messaging). Hold a kickoff meeting with all stakeholders to align on timeline and responsibilities.
What's the difference between a soft launch and hard launch?
Soft launch: Limited release to a subset of users (beta, specific regions, percentage rollout) to validate before wider release. Lower risk, allows iteration. Hard launch: Full release to all users with marketing push. Higher visibility, more coordination required. Many teams do soft launch first, then hard launch once confident.
How do I handle launch delays?
Communicate early and often. As soon as risk emerges, flag it to stakeholders. Have a clear decision framework: What conditions would trigger delay? Who makes the final call? When is the new target date? Update all dependent teams immediately. Post-mortems are more important than blame—learn and improve the process.
What should be in a launch email to users?
Key elements: (1) What's new in plain language, (2) Why it matters to them (benefits, not features), (3) How to access/try it, (4) Where to get help or give feedback. Keep it concise—link to detailed documentation. Consider segmenting emails based on user type or usage patterns for more relevant messaging.
How do I measure launch success?
Define success metrics before launch: (1) Adoption metrics—% of users trying the feature, (2) Engagement metrics—usage frequency, depth, (3) Quality metrics—error rates, support tickets, (4) Business metrics—impact on north star. Set targets for D1, D7, D30 post-launch. Compare to pre-launch baseline and similar past launches.
What's a launch retrospective?
A launch retro is a post-launch meeting to discuss what went well, what didn't, and what to improve. Hold it 1-2 weeks after launch when you have initial data. Include all launch stakeholders. Focus on process improvements, not blame. Document learnings and update your launch checklist for next time.
Should I have a rollback plan?
Yes, always. Before launch, document: (1) What conditions trigger rollback? (2) Who makes the decision? (3) What's the technical rollback process? (4) How do we communicate to users? For major launches, do a practice rollback in staging. Having a clear rollback plan reduces launch anxiety and enables faster decisions if issues arise.
About the Author
Aditi Chaturvedi
·Founder, Best PM JobsAditi is the founder of Best PM Jobs, helping product managers find their dream roles at top tech companies. With experience in product management and recruiting, she creates resources to help PMs level up their careers.