When I started my career and was a software developer, we used to joke that if the schedule was compressed, you simply cut back on testing and/or training and documentation in order to make a deadline. That was an acceptable practice, albeit an improper one. I'm glad to say that software development practices have evolved, and with the adoption of agile and scrum methodologies, the instances of these types of situations have waned.
However, with shorter release cycles and a focus on the "next production release," the bigger picture of organizational readiness can sometimes be forgotten -- especially in lean/operationally-focused organizations.
I cannot underestimate the importance of launch planning and org-readiness. Large releases. Small releases. Each needs to be acknowledged and appropriately managed.
Here are a few things to keep in mind for your launch planning. I call them the "Five Rights of Product Launch."
The Right Audience - Launch planning is not only for end users/customers. Every constituent's needs must be considered. As an example: Have you armed your Support team with the training to address possible issues? Have you updated your IVR/Ticketing systems to accommodate your needs? Do your account managers know how to talk about any impacts with the customers?
The Right Message - What exactly does each stakeholder need to know? What is new or changing? When will that be seen? Are there migration paths? Decision trees? Escalation processes? What do these stakeholders *need* to know in order to minimize churn?
The Right Medium - How are you communicating to each stakeholder? Internal stakeholders have different needs than external stakeholders. Email? Face to Face? Texting? Training website? In-app guidance and chat-bots? Your goal is to ensure that the audience is presented with the information in a means that is most appropriate to their needs and desires. (And remember... Communication Preference Management is your friend!)
The Right Timing - Make sure to let stakeholders know what's coming, as soon as you know it's coming. Anticipate that stakeholders might not fully comprehend the message first time. Having a Communications Plan to define each stakeholder's (a) messaging, (b) medium, and (c) timing will be critical to ensuring minimal churn. Leverage your MarComm teams. And consider the impact to other, possibly competing, activities and messaging -- you don't want your message to be lost or deprioritized.
The Right Measurement - Always "close the loop" to measure the efficacy of your launch plans. Always. Always. Always. Whether you leverage NPS surveys, in-app reviews, or some other way to capture feedback, the only way to get better is to measure what you do and use that as input to future activities.
Some may argue that in agile/scrum environments, you don't need to consider this. I would disagree - else you'll experience lots of unneeded stakeholder frustration.
Sure, this is a very simple cheat sheet and you'll expand and adapt to suit your specific needs. But by keeping these tenets in mind, you should be well on your way to a successful launch.
And by the way... this applies not just to software, but to a launch of new services or processes as well.
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