Product Go Live: Checklist for a Successful Launch

Launching a new product can be an exciting and nerve-wracking experience. It requires months of preparation and intense planning to ensure a successful go-live. It may seem simple, but it involves intense planning and organization to launch successfully. The items and checklist listed below will help you launch your product more efficiently and stay on top of the game. 

The following is a list of items that need to be ready and monitored before the product goes live: 

Set Clear Goals

Before you begin planning, setting clear goals for the launch is essential. 

• What do you want to achieve?

• What are the key metrics you want to track?

• Who are the associates involved in the product launch?

• Who are the stakeholders who need to be informed?

A clear goal will help you stay focused and organized throughout the process. To be an efficient product manager, having a clear plan, staying organized, and prioritizing tasks are essential.  

Create a Timeline

Once you have your goals in place, create a timeline for the launch. This timeline should include key milestones and deadlines for each process step. This will help you stay on track and ensure everything is completed on time. Creating a detailed tracker with the list of all items required for launch, their owners whom you need to follow up with, and the date by when you need that completed, along with a status column, will help the tracking process. You can use this tracker during the weekly status meeting to follow up on the progress. 

Gather Resources

You'll need to gather the necessary resources to ensure a successful launch. This includes personnel, materials, and equipment. Make sure you have everything you need before the launch date. Communicate with all the people involved and clarify the role they play and what is expected from them. 

Product Development Readiness

This is the most crucial step in the product go-live process. All product features and functions must be tested and validated to ensure they work correctly. This includes testing for bugs, compatibility with other systems, and user experience. In addition to the engineering and testing teams giving the signal, the product teams need to conduct an in-depth user-accepting testing session to ensure the product works how it is intended and designed to work. But, remember, things will not always go as planned, so if any issues arise at the last moment, be ready to analyze if it is critical and will impact the launch or can the product go live even without the problem being fixed.

• What is the severity of the issue?

• What is the priority of the issue fix?

• Will it impact the launch?

• Should the launch be delayed?

• Did the launch have a pre-pilot or beta testing? 

• If yes, then were the metrics successful?

• If not, then what was causing it to fail? Were they addressed and fixed?

You can't launch a product with critical issues, so make sure your product is well-designed, easy to use, and meets the needs of your target market. Before you launch your product to the public, it's important to test it thoroughly and, if possible, get feedback from a sample set of customers.

Create a Launch Plan

Once your product is ready, creating an outline is time. The launch plan should start at least two months before the launch. This plan should include everything from the date and time of your launch to the content you'll share on media, the company website, internal circulation emails, etc. Schedule a weekly meeting with all the stakeholders involved in the launch to track the success.

Launch Promotion Readiness

Once the product is ready, it's time to start marketing it. This includes creating a marketing plan, developing promotional materials, and setting up a website or online presence. Once you have a launch plan, it's time to start creating promotional materials, launch emails, flyers/posters, etc. 

Sales (optional)

If your product involves monetization and is time to sell, it is important to involve the sales team in the launch plan meetings. This includes setting up a sales team, tracking the creation of sales materials, and setting up a sales process.

Legal/Compliance

Get a final sign-off from your legal/compliance team to ensure the product communications and promotional materials adhere to the government (if applicable), third-party, or company guidelines.

Promote the Launch

Launch promotions can be shared with the stakeholders at least two weeks before the launch. Start sharing promotional content on social media, company website, customer emails, posters, etc. 

Training Videos

Training videos are a great way to ensure customers understand how to use the product. They should be created before the product goes live to ensure customers can use it properly. The training materials should be illustrated in simple language without high technical jargon and easy to follow, keeping the new customers to the product/technology in mind. 

Customer Support

Customer support is essential for any product launch. This includes setting up a customer service team, creating a customer service process, and setting up a system. Also, plan how the customers will report issues, the medium they will use, how often the feedback will be reviewed, and how/who will respond to customers. 

Analytics

Product launch is the first step towards success, but tracking the right metrics to retain success and growth is essential. This includes setting up analytics tools, tracking customer usage, and analyzing customer feedback. The list of metrics that matter (core metrics), performance metrics, vanity metrics, etc., should be decided before launch. In addition to identifying the metrics, it is also important to understand where this data will be tracked from, if there is an already ready dashboard, or if it needs to be built new/ modify existing.

Be Flexible

Things don't always go according to plan, so be prepared to make necessary changes and have a backup plan.

Launch and Celebrate

After all your hard work, it's important to celebrate your success. Launch your product and celebrate your success! Take some time to reflect on what went well and what you can do better next time.

Appreciation Email

Launching a product is exciting, but once successfully launched, do not forget to thank everyone who has worked for its success. Include all their names in the appreciation email and send it across the organization to motivate the team and the individuals who have worked hard. Appreciation goes a long way!

By following this checklist, businesses can ensure their product goes live successfully. It is important to remember that product go-live is just the beginning of the journey and that ongoing maintenance and support are essential for long-term success.