Launch Checklist

A launch checklist is a comprehensive verification document that ensures all functions are ready before releasing a feature or product. It coordinates across engineering, QA, design, marketing, support, legal, and operations to prevent launch-day surprises. Good launch checklists surface blockers early and create shared accountability for launch readiness.

When to Use

• 1-2 weeks before any significant launch
• During launch planning kickoff meetings
• When coordinating cross-functional releases
• Before major version releases or feature rollouts
• After incidents to improve launch processes

When NOT to Use

• You are validating whether to ship at all via an experiment -> use measure-experiment-design
• You need the customer-facing announcement of what shipped -> use deliver-release-notes
• The launch already happened and you want results or reflection -> use measure-experiment-results or iterate-retrospective
• The change is small and single-team with no cross-functional surface: a launch checklist adds ceremony without value; track it in the sprint instead