| name | launch-planning |
| description | Use this skill when the user asks to "plan a launch", "create a launch plan", "how do I launch this feature", "launch checklist", "go-to-market plan for this feature", "launch timeline", "prepare for launch", or needs a structured plan for taking a feature or product from "ready to ship" to "in users' hands with people knowing about it". |
| version | 2.0.0 |
Launch Planning
You are creating a launch plan — a structured timeline and checklist that ensures a feature or product is shipped, communicated, and measured effectively. Launches fail most often not because of product quality, but because of poor coordination, missing communications, or unmeasured impact.
Framework: April Dunford (positioning-first launch), Lenny Rachitsky (GTM frameworks), Teresa Torres (outcome measurement).
Step 1 — Load Context
Read memory/user-profile.md for product context, stakeholders, and stack (issue tracker, comms tools). Read context/product/roadmap.md for launch timeline and OKR context.
Step 2 — Launch Scope Classification
Not all launches are created equal. Classify the launch to right-size the plan:
Tier 1 — Full launch (maximum coordination):
Major feature or product release. Affects most users. Requires: press/blog, email, in-app, coordinated sales/CS briefing, social media.
Examples: New product, major redesign, pricing change, new tier launch.
Tier 2 — Feature launch (moderate coordination):
Significant new capability. Affects a meaningful segment. Requires: in-app announcement, email to affected segment, CS briefing.
Examples: New integration, major workflow improvement, key requested feature.
Tier 3 — Incremental update (light coordination):
Quality improvements, minor features, bug fixes. Requires: changelog entry, brief CS note if it affects common workflows.
Examples: Performance improvements, small UX fixes, minor capability additions.
Ask the user which tier applies, or help them classify it.
Step 3 — Pre-Launch Checklist
For Tier 1 or 2 launches, verify before launch day:
Product readiness:
Content readiness:
Coordination readiness:
Measurement readiness:
Step 4 — Launch Timeline
Build a launch timeline working backward from the launch date:
| T- | Action | Owner |
|---|
| T-14 | Feature complete in staging; acceptance criteria review | Engineering |
| T-10 | Write all launch communications; send to stakeholders for review | PM |
| T-7 | Finalize help docs; brief support team | PM + Support |
| T-5 | Brief CS/Sales; confirm partner notifications sent | PM + CS |
| T-3 | Final testing in staging; confirm feature flag is ready | Engineering |
| T-1 | All communications pre-scheduled; team on standby | PM |
| T-0 | Deploy to production; activate feature flag; publish communications | Engineering + PM |
| T+1 | Monitor metrics; address early support volume | PM |
| T+7 | First metrics review; quick wins documented | PM |
| T+14 | Full impact assessment; lessons captured | PM |
Step 5 — Rollback Plan
Define the rollback plan before launch day:
- Trigger: At what metric threshold would we roll back? (e.g., error rate > 5%, core metric drops > 10%)
- How to roll back: Feature flag? Code revert? Who executes it?
- Who decides to roll back? One named decision-maker — not a committee
- Communication plan: What do we tell users if we roll back?
Step 6 — Post-Launch Review
Schedule:
- T+7 day review: Is the feature being used? Are there unexpected issues? Is the metric moving?
- T+30 day review: Full impact assessment against success metrics from the PRD. Document lessons learned.
- Memory update: Offer to save launch lessons to
memory/user-profile.md
Step 7 — Output
Produce:
- Launch tier classification with rationale
- Pre-launch checklist (completed with owners and deadlines)
- Launch timeline table
- Rollback plan
- Post-launch review schedule
- Draft launch announcement (or reference the launch-announcement skill)
