Feature launch checklist
Everything a feature launch needs, in the order it needs it. The one sentence that names the moment, the four rungs from feature to proof, the story in five beats, the launch kit, and the owner and measure, decided before anything goes out.
Free to use and adapt. No email needed. Opens in Word, Google Docs and Pages.
Everything in the file, readable here.
Use it for every launch, before anything is made. It starts from the moment the feature matters, tells it in five beats, and ends with the owner who signs it off and the measure decided in advance.
The one sentence
For [who], when [the moment], [the product] now [does what], so [what changes for them].
- Our sentence
- To fill in
Feature to moment
| Rung | For this feature |
|---|---|
| Feature: what it is | |
| Benefit: what it does for them | |
| The moment it matters | |
| Proof: what they can see |
The story, in five beats
| Beat | For this launch |
|---|---|
| Problem | |
| Stakes | |
| Product moment | |
| Proof | |
| Ask (one) |
The launch kit
- A short clip of the moment on real screens, watchable without sound
- An in-product announcement, shown where users hit the moment
- An email to existing users, on the same five beats
- A launch page or changelog entry, readable without scripts
- Posts for the channels we actually use
- Updated help docs, in the same words
- The support team briefed before users see it
Before it goes out
- Every piece repeats the one sentence
- Every piece of proof is labelled by where it comes from
- Existing users reached first
- The launch page, docs and product use the same words
- The measure, decided before launch
- To fill in
- Owner who signed it off
- To fill in
- Launch date
- To fill in
Four things that make it work.
Start from the sentence
Agree the one sentence before anyone makes an asset. Everything else repeats it.
Climb to the moment
Fill in all four rungs; launch from the third.
Build the kit once
One clip and one set of words, packaged for every channel.
Decide the measure first
Read it from the product, not from the posts.
Read with it: Launching features people notice and Feature-to-Moment, and The Narrative Spine.
Published 28 September 2026. Free to use and adapt.