What is a product launch brief? 

This product launch brief outlines the key information and plans for launching a new product or major feature. It serves as a single source of truth that aligns all teams involved in the launch. 

This should communicate and align employees around: 

  • The problem you’re trying to solve
  • The solution (aka feature or product) you’re proposing
  • What’s next, including goals for the product, what it’ll be, and how you’ll create it.

Use this to plan out a smooth, painless launch. You can (and should) customize this brief for your own company, and modify sections to make this your own.

Product launch briefs vs. product requirements document (PRD) 

The brief differs from your product requirements document (PRD) because it focuses specifically on the launch execution, rather than product requirements. 

Product launch briefs are more tactical and time-bound, serving as a roadmap for the weeks or months surrounding the launch, while ensuring all teams understand their roles and responsibilities in making the launch successful.

How to use this product launch brief template

Product managers (PMs) should create a product launch brief during the planning phase of development. We recommend using this: 

  • Before launch for planning and preparation
  • During launch as a coordination guide
  • After launch for evaluation and learning

What’s inside this launch brief template?

We’ve broken this product launch brief up into two core sections: Launch TL;DR, and beta program planning. 

Part one, Launch TL;DR, includes: 

  • What you’re building. Why is this feature important? Who cares about it? What value is this adding to your users? 
  • Timing. List out your key dates and milestones, like your closed beta launch and general availability (GA). This should serve as your single source of truth across all other product GTM documents.
  • Launch level and type. Is this a major, tier-1 launch? Or is this a minor feature? Determining this will help you prioritize investments, roadmap items, and marketing investments. 
  • Customer impact assessment. How many accounts will this impact? What’s the associated revenue with these customers? Is this an investment in one business area (commercial vs. enterprise)?
  • Other important resources. Link out to your Jira epic, slack channels, adoption metrics, dashboards, and other relevant docs. 
  • Core team members. Who is participating in this launch, and what are their roles?  

Part two, Launch Planning, includes: 

  • Beta program phases. List out forecast dates, goals of each phase, and other details. 
  • Beta program responsibilities. Detail each teammate’s responsibilities during the beta program. 
  • Beta program activation. These 16 questions will help you give customers a seamless, delightful beta experience. 
  • Customer details. Here, you can track every customer in the beta program. 
  • GA launch checklist. This should include relevant information for each phase of your launch. Pull information from your PRD template for this. 

This is your source of truth for all teams (Marketing, Sales, Product, Support, etc.). Make a copy, rename it, and share it with your teammates.