Ship a product launch without missing critical steps
Use a structured launch checklist to coordinate every team, task, and dependency in the final stretch before launch. Never forget a step, miss a deadline, or scramble at the last minute.
Categories: launch, ship, go live
Tools that power the Ship a product launch without missing critical steps stack
Notion — Master launch checklist
Build and maintain a living checklist that covers every team, dependency, and go/no-go criteria before launch
Linear — Launch milestone tracking
Mirror launch checklist items as Linear issues so engineering and product tasks stay tracked alongside business tasks
Slack — Launch day coordination
Create a dedicated launch channel where all real-time updates, escalations, and decisions happen on the day
Setup guide
- Notion: Create a Notion database called Launch Checklist with columns for Task, Owner, Status (Not Started, In Progress, Done, Blocked), Due Date, and Category (Engineering, Marketing, Legal, Support, Ops). Populate it with every task needed before launch including final QA, security review, press embargo timing, and support documentation. Set the database to table view grouped by Category so each team lead can filter to their own section. Share the page with the entire company with comment permissions so anyone can flag a blocker. (Open Notion instructions)
- Linear: Create a Linear project for launch work, add project milestones for major deliverables, and assign issues to the relevant project and milestone. Set owners and dates, then check the project timeline. Use a test issue to confirm the team can find and update its assigned work. (Read official instructions)
- Slack: Create a launch coordination channel and pin the checklist, owners and launch schedule. Record decisions and link incidents to the tracker. For a post-launch review, summarize the relevant decisions; export channel history only if your workspace role, plan and data-sharing rules allow it. (Open Slack instructions)
Check: Every launch-blocking item has an owner and status; a reviewer can find unresolved blockers, open linked issues and identify the launch decision owner.