Inaugural EventJune 19, 2010

Building the Product ChecklistTim Courtney and Peter Morano

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Introductions

• Tim Courtney (@timcourtney)– Tireless customer and user experience advocate.– Director, Marketing and Brand Strategy at

KeyLimeTie– Co-Chair SocialDevCamp Chicago

• Peter Morano (@petermorano)– Developing software for 15 years– CIO at KeyLimeTie

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Overview

• A product’s success has as much to do with the quality of the launch as it does with the quality of the product.

• Using a checklist increases the likelihood of a successful launch.

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The Checklist

• The checklist itself is nothing more than a bulleted list of tactics that have to happen or be in place prior to throwing the switch.

• It might include:– Outreach to influencers– Documentation, tutorials– Support resources designated (with SLAs)

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Seriously?

• Seems so intuitive!– In many cases, teams are focused on developing the

product, and launch becomes an afterthought.– Talented companies and people fall short of executing

a great product launch because of the things they overlooked.

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Mistake 1

• If you don’t have a product manager, who’s watching the list?– Developers like to think project managers will do this.– Project managers like to think marketing will do this.– No one likes to talk to QA!– Business owners want to get the stuff out there to

start seeing revenue.

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Lesson 1

• Every team member is responsible for seeing that this list is used.– Project Managers, Developers, QA, Business

Sponsors

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Mistake 2

• Not designating a list owner

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Lesson 2

• Designate a Product Manager, even if that is not their actual title– It’s a role, not necessarily a position.– Make someone accountable.– Give them authority over the launch schedule.– Don’t penalize them for making the right call.

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Mistake 3

• Not treating each item on the list like any project requirement.

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Lesson 3

• Track checklist items in the same task management system you use for any work item– Provide estimates early so stake holders understand

the true cost of a launch.– Each item should have an assigned resource.– Track progress of work items, and throw up flags

when something is not done.

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Discussion

• Your thoughts and experience.

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