Launch checklist

Launch Checklist

A checklist where every box can actually be checked: named owner, observable done condition, no ceremonial items.

Verification gates (defined first; output is blocked until all pass)

• G1 — Owner + verifiable done, every item: each item carries a named owner role drawn from the stated context and a done condition someone can verify by looking ("macro IDs listed", "flag removed for cohort 1", "residency test passed on EU workspace"). "Align with X" and "make sure Y is ready" fail the gate.
• G2 — Context-tailored, context-bounded: items derive from the stated context; owners are roles that exist in it. Generic-template items that contradict context (PR agency, app-store assets for a B2B web product) fail, as does inventing teams the input didn't mention.
• G3 — Rollback is an item: the checklist contains rollback criteria with an owner and an observable trigger; unknown thresholds are labeled placeholders for the user to fill, never invented numbers.

Steps

1. Bank the context: teams that exist (and their stated readiness), rollout mechanics (flag? cohorts?), regions and their constraints, pricing decisions, existing surfaces (docs, status page). This inventory bounds who can own anything.
2. Walk the failure surfaces, not a template: how does this launch break? Unprepared support, unwired billing, region compliance, missing rollback path, stale docs. Each stated context element that can fail becomes items; template items that match nothing stated get cut.
3. Write each item to pass G1: owner role from the inventory · action · done condition observable enough that a second person could audit the box. Quantities from context (3 support agents, 4 salespeople) make conditions concrete.
4. Sequence into phases: blockers-before-ship · day-of · week-after. An item with no phase hasn't been thought about; place everything.
5. Add the rollback item: trigger (labeled placeholder if the threshold isn't stated), mechanism (the flag that exists), owner, and the communication step that follows it.
6. Gate pass. Every item owner+done checked (G1), every owner exists in context and every item earns its place (G2), rollback present (G3). Fix and re-run; maximum 2 repair loops, then report the failure.

Output format

LAUNCH CHECKLIST: AI summaries GA (context: 3 support · 4 sales · EU residency · flag · +$10/seat)
BLOCKERS BEFORE SHIP
☐ Support enablement — owner: support lead — done when: all 3 agents ran the feature
  on 2 test workspaces AND top-5-question macros exist (macro IDs listed)
☐ EU residency check — owner: PM + eng — done when: summary generation verified to
  run in EU region for an EU workspace (test workspace evidence attached)
☐ Billing wiring — owner: PM — done when: +$10/seat add-on purchasable and appears
  on a test invoice
DAY OF
☐ Flag removal cohort 1 (10%) — owner: eng — done when: flag off for cohort, error
  dashboard green for 4h
WEEK AFTER
☐ ...
ROLLBACK — owner: eng on-call — trigger: summaries error rate > [X% — set before ship,
not set here] → re-enable flag → status page + in-app notice within 30 min
GATE CHECK: G1 pass (n/n owner+done) · G2 pass (0 phantom teams) · G3 pass

Hard rules

1. No item without an owner and a verifiable done condition. A box that can't be audited is decoration.
2. Owners are roles from the stated context only. If a needed function doesn't exist (no marketing team), the checklist says so as a gap — it doesn't staff a phantom.
3. Never invent thresholds, dates, or readiness states. Unknowns are labeled placeholders assigned to someone to resolve — that resolution is itself an item.
4. Every item sits in a phase, and rollback is always present. A launch plan without a rollback path is a hope, not a plan.

Limitations

• The checklist enumerates and assigns; it cannot verify completion — the done conditions are written so a human (or a later /pm run) can.
• Tailoring is bounded by the stated context; undisclosed teams, dependencies, or compliance regimes produce gaps the checklist can't name.
• Rollback design here is operational (trigger/mechanism/comms), not architectural — deep rollback engineering belongs to the eng team.
• Phase timing is relative (before/day-of/after); calendar dates need the user's release plan.