Woohoo ... You are about to enter digital immortality ...
All your (and your team’s) hard work over the last few weeks are about to be rewarded with a launch.
...Finally your product (or service) will be released to the world, which will transform your company to Unicorn status.
Hang on tiger, we need to have a successful launch first. Here are some crucial steps to have a good launch:
1. Stakeholders management
Having a successful launch is highly dependent on ensuring different stakeholders are in sync. This means that different teams are aware of:
What is the launch about?
When is it happening?
The impact on their respective teams.
This means discussing these topics with different teams to inform them, and also hear their concerns. Some of these concerns are potential problems you want to avoid so these analyses are important. These are some key teams that should be involved (to different degrees) of the upcoming launch.
Tech team
Customer support
Sales
Marketing
Legal
Finance
At Tektit, we offer our clients this template* to help them create an effective Stakeholder management plan.
2. Release plan
There should be clear tasks and names of people responsible for them, along with the following information:
Project / Launch name
Date and Time
Responsibilities and Names
Dedicated channel for release e.g. Slack channel, Whatsapp group etc.
Phone numbers (only for emergencies)
This should be documented and shared with the project team.
3. Communication plan (internal & external)
Different messages have to be sent internally to people at the Company, informing them about the proposed release. This could also include Contractors or Vendors that have some dependency on the product launch.
Also crucial is the communication sent to customers (or potential customers), investors, regulators etc about the impending launch. The information should be concise and including the following details at a minimum:
What is the launch about?
The impact of the launch
Possibility of downtime?
Customer Support information
4. There will be problems - don’t panic.
Despite your best plans, there will be problems. Even Superman with his all-conquering powers faces problems. Having this mindset means a more proactive mindset in anticipating issues; and a quick turnaround time in resolving problems. To be best prepared, set up the following:
Dedicated channel for Customer support
Rollback plan
Extensive testing post-launch
BONUS
5. Never have big launches on Fridays
Weekends are for resting, not for troubleshooting...
Despite the potential pressure from your Board, Management, Investors or Customers - Save yourself, your team and your Company from the potential headaches and embarrassment when trying to resolve issues on Friday night, or worse - Saturday or Sunday. There are usually difficulties in reaching the right person to resolve issues outside working hours, so avoid this by releasing between Monday to Thursday.
After your launch, remember to pat yourself on the back, acknowledge your team's efforts - before jumping into the next set of challenges.
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