Product Launch Checklist Generator

You are a product launch specialist. Create a comprehensive pre-launch checklist to ensure nothing is forgotten.

**Product Details:**
- Product: {name and brief description}
- Launch Type: {MVP/major feature/new product/redesign}
- Target Audience: {who it's for}
- Launch Date: {when}
- Team Size: {people involved}

**Comprehensive Launch Checklist:**

**8 Weeks Before Launch:**

**Product Readiness:**
□ Core features complete and tested
□ Performance benchmarks met ({specify targets})
□ Security audit completed
□ Accessibility standards met (WCAG 2.1 AA)
□ Mobile responsiveness verified
□ Browser compatibility tested (Chrome, Firefox, Safari, Edge)
□ API documentation complete
□ Error handling and edge cases covered
□ Load testing completed (expected traffic + 30%)
□ Backup and rollback plan prepared

**Technical Infrastructure:**
□ Production environment configured
□ SSL certificates installed
□ CDN configured
□ Database backups automated
□ Monitoring tools set up (uptime, errors, performance)
□ Analytics tracking implemented
□ A/B testing framework ready (if needed)
□ Feature flags in place
□ Staging environment mirrors production
□ DNS propagation started

**6 Weeks Before Launch:**

**Content & Messaging:**
□ Value proposition clearly defined
□ Product positioning statement finalized
□ Key messages for different segments documented
□ Elevator pitch (30-second version) ready
□ FAQ page created (minimum 20 questions)
□ Press release drafted
□ Launch blog post written
□ Demo video scripted and filmed
□ Screenshots and assets prepared (2400x1600 minimum)
□ Customer testimonials gathered (if applicable)

**Marketing Assets:**
□ Landing page designed and developed
□ Email sequences written (pre-launch, launch, post-launch)
□ Social media calendar for 2 weeks (all platforms)
□ Paid ad creative and copy ready
□ Product Hunt submission prepared
□ Reddit/community launch posts drafted
□ Influencer/partner outreach list created
□ Press kit assembled (logo, screenshots, description)

**4 Weeks Before Launch:**

**Legal & Compliance:**
□ Terms of Service updated
□ Privacy Policy compliant with regulations (GDPR, CCPA)
□ Cookie consent banner implemented
□ Data processing agreements signed (if applicable)
□ Trademark search completed
□ Domain ownership verified
□ Backup email domain configured
□ DMCA agent registered (if needed)

**Support Readiness:**
□ Help center articles written (minimum 15 articles)
□ Support ticket system tested
□ Chatbot or live chat configured
□ Support team trained on new features
□ Canned responses prepared for common questions
□ Escalation process documented
□ Support hours and SLAs defined
□ Onboarding flow user-tested
□ Tutorial videos created

**2 Weeks Before Launch:**

**Beta Testing:**
□ Beta users recruited (target: {number})
□ Beta feedback collected and analyzed
□ Critical bugs from beta fixed
□ Beta tester testimonials gathered
□ Product refined based on feedback
□ Final UAT (User Acceptance Testing) completed

**Pre-Launch Marketing:**
□ Email list warmed up (send 2-3 value emails first)
□ Waitlist created and promoted
□ Teaser content posted on social media
□ Product Hunt page set up (ship date scheduled)
□ Press outreach sent (embargo details if applicable)
□ Partnership announcements coordinated
□ Early access or beta program closed
□ Launch day influencer posts scheduled

**1 Week Before Launch:**

**Final Testing:**
□ Full regression testing completed
□ Payment processing tested (if applicable)
□ Email deliverability tested
□ Mobile app submitted to stores (if applicable)
□ Signup/onboarding flow tested end-to-end
□ All CTAs work correctly
□ Analytics events firing properly
□ Social share buttons functional
□ Forms submitting correctly
□ 404 and error pages designed

**Team Preparation:**
□ Launch day responsibilities assigned
□ Communication channels set up (Slack, etc.)
□ War room scheduled (if needed)
□ Customer support shifts planned
□ Backup contacts identified
□ Celebration plan made! 🎉

**24 Hours Before Launch:**

**Final Checks:**
□ Code freeze implemented
□ Staging environment final check
□ Database migration rehearsed
□ Rollback procedure documented and tested
□ On-call schedule confirmed
□ Server capacity verified
□ Rate limiting configured
□ DDoS protection active
□ Backup systems tested

**Marketing Activation:**
□ Email blast scheduled
□ Social media posts scheduled
□ Paid ads set to activate
□ Product Hunt launch time confirmed
□ Press release ready to send
□ Affiliate links generated
□ Discount codes created (if applicable)
□ Announcement banner ready for website

**Launch Day:**

**Morning (Before Launch):**
□ Final team sync call
□ All systems green check
□ Support team online and ready
□ Coffee acquired ☕
□ Deep breath taken

**Launch Moment:**
□ Deploy to production
□ Monitor error rates for 15 minutes
□ Smoke test critical user flows
□ Send launch email blast
□ Publish social media announcements
□ Submit to Product Hunt
□ Send press release
□ Update website with announcement banner
□ Notify waitlist
□ Post in relevant communities (Reddit, forums, etc.)

**First 4 Hours:**
□ Monitor server performance
□ Respond to social media mentions
□ Answer support tickets < 1 hour response time
□ Track signups and conversions
□ Fix any critical bugs immediately
□ Engage with Product Hunt comments
□ Thank early adopters publicly
□ Monitor analytics dashboard

**First 24 Hours:**
□ Publish launch day recap (quick stats)
□ Thank partners and supporters
□ Respond to all feedback
□ Address any issues that arose
□ Collect user testimonials
□ Monitor media coverage
□ Start A/B tests (if planned)

**Week 1 Post-Launch:**

**Optimization:**
□ Analyze analytics data
□ Review support tickets for patterns
□ Fix non-critical bugs
□ Optimize conversion funnel
□ Adjust messaging based on feedback
□ Iterate on onboarding based on drop-off points

**Communication:**
□ Send thank you email to supporters
□ Publish case studies or success stories
□ Share metrics (if comfortable)
□ Respond to all reviews and feedback
□ Plan follow-up marketing campaigns

**Team Review:**
□ Post-mortem meeting (what went well/wrong)
□ Document lessons learned
□ Celebrate wins with team 🎊
□ Plan next iteration/features
□ Update roadmap based on feedback

**Ongoing (Weeks 2-4):**
□ Weekly metrics review
□ Continue content marketing
□ Nurture early users
□ Gather detailed feedback
□ Plan first major update
□ Monitor churn and retention
□ Build referral program (if applicable)

**Launch Day Emergency Kit:**

**If Site Goes Down:**
1. Activate status page
2. Post on social media
3. Send email to active users
4. Implement rollback if needed
5. Fix and redeploy ASAP

**If Critical Bug Found:**
1. Assess impact
2. Hot-fix if < 100 users affected
3. Rollback if > 100 users affected
4. Communicate transparently

**If Overwhelming Traffic:**
1. Monitor servers
2. Activate auto-scaling
3. Implement rate limiting
4. Add caching layers
5. Graceful degradation of non-critical features

**Success Metrics to Track:**

**Day 1:**
- Signups: {target}
- Conversions: {target}
- Social mentions: {target}
- Product Hunt ranking: {target}
- Error rate: < {threshold}

**Week 1:**
- Active users: {target}
- Feature adoption: {target}%
- Support tickets: trend
- NPS score: {target}

**Month 1:**
- Revenue (if applicable): ${target}
- Retention: {target}%
- Churn: < {threshold}%
- User satisfaction: {target}/5

Launch successfully. Nothing forgotten. Ship with confidence.