technical-launch-planner

What this skill does

# Technical Launch Planner

## Overview

Plan and execute successful launches for technical products, developer tools, APIs, SDKs, and platforms. This skill provides frameworks, checklists, and templates specifically designed for technical audiences and developer-focused products.

**Built for:**
- Developer tools and platforms
- APIs and SDKs
- Technical infrastructure products
- B2D (Business-to-Developer) products
- SaaS with technical buyers

---

## Quick Start

### 1. Assess Your Launch Tier

Run the interactive assessment:

```bash
scripts/assess_launch_tier.sh
```

This determines if your launch is:
- **Tier 1** (Major/GA) - New product, major version, significant expansion
- **Tier 2** (Standard) - New features, integrations, regional expansion
- **Tier 3** (Minor) - Updates, improvements, small features

### 2. Generate Launch Plan

Create your comprehensive launch plan:

```bash
scripts/generate_launch_plan.sh
```

Provides structured plan with:
- Timeline and milestones
- Stakeholder responsibilities
- Developer enablement checklist
- Go-to-market activities
- Launch day playbook

### 3. Validate Readiness

Before launch, check readiness:

```bash
scripts/validate_readiness.sh
```

Validates:
- Documentation completeness
- Technical assets ready
- Stakeholder alignment
- Messaging finalized
- Metrics instrumentation

---

## Core Launch Framework

### Launch Tiers

Different launches require different levels of investment:

| Tier | Type | Examples | Investment |
|------|------|----------|------------|
| **Tier 1** | Major | GA launch, new product, major version | Full GTM, events, PR |
| **Tier 2** | Standard | New features, integrations, SDKs | Selective GTM, blog, docs |
| **Tier 3** | Minor | Updates, improvements, patches | Changelog, in-app |

See `references/launch_tiers.md` for complete framework.

---

## Developer-Focused Launch Components

### 1. Developer Enablement

**Critical for technical launches:**

**Documentation:**
- Getting started guide
- API reference
- Code samples
- Integration guides
- Migration guides (if applicable)

**Code Assets:**
- SDKs/client libraries
- Sample applications
- Starter templates
- Code snippets

**Developer Experience:**
- Sandbox/playground environment
- Interactive tutorials
- API explorer
- Debugging tools

See `references/developer_enablement.md` for complete checklist.

---

### 2. Technical Messaging

**Speak developer language:**

**Avoid:**
- Marketing jargon
- Vague benefits
- Non-technical superlatives

**Include:**
- Concrete technical details
- Performance metrics
- Code examples
- Architecture diagrams
- Integration patterns

See `references/launch_messaging.md` for templates.

---

### 3. Launch Channels for Developers

**Where developers discover new tools:**

**Primary:**
- Developer documentation
- GitHub/GitLab
- Developer blog
- API changelog
- Release notes

**Secondary:**
- Dev.to, Hacker News, Reddit
- Technical Twitter/X
- Discord/Slack communities
- YouTube (tutorials)
- Developer newsletters

**Tertiary:**
- Webinars/workshops
- Conferences
- Podcasts
- Case studies

---

## Launch Planning Workflow

### Phase 1: Planning (T-12 to T-8 weeks)

**Objectives:**
- Define launch tier
- Set success criteria
- Align stakeholders
- Create timeline

**Activities:**
1. **Launch Tier Assessment**
   ```bash
   scripts/assess_launch_tier.sh
   ```

2. **Stakeholder Kickoff**
   - Product/Engineering
   - Developer Relations
   - Sales Engineering
   - Marketing/Comms
   - Partners (if applicable)

3. **Define Success Metrics**
   - Developer adoption metrics
   - API usage/calls
   - SDK downloads
   - Documentation traffic
   - Community engagement

4. **Create Launch Timeline**
   ```bash
   scripts/generate_launch_plan.sh
   ```

---

### Phase 2: Build (T-8 to T-4 weeks)

**Objectives:**
- Create all launch assets
- Prepare documentation
- Build demos and samples

**Activities:**

**Documentation:**
- [ ] Getting started guide written
- [ ] API reference complete
- [ ] Integration guides ready
- [ ] Migration guide (if needed)
- [ ] Troubleshooting FAQ

**Code Assets:**
- [ ] SDKs built and tested
- [ ] Sample apps created
- [ ] Code snippets prepared
- [ ] Sandbox environment ready

**Marketing Assets:**
- [ ] Technical blog post written
- [ ] Demo video recorded
- [ ] Announcement email drafted
- [ ] Social media plan
- [ ] Press release (Tier 1)

**Sales Enablement:**
- [ ] Technical battlecard
- [ ] Demo script
- [ ] FAQ/objection handling
- [ ] Pricing materials
- [ ] Competitive positioning

---

### Phase 3: Prepare (T-4 to T-1 weeks)

**Objectives:**
- Review and refine all assets
- Train teams
- Pre-launch validation

**Activities:**

**Internal Enablement:**
- [ ] Sales team training
- [ ] Support team training
- [ ] Partner briefings
- [ ] Internal demo day

**External Prep:**
- [ ] Beta customers briefed
- [ ] Partners coordinated
- [ ] Developer advocates prepared
- [ ] Community moderators ready

**Technical Validation:**
```bash
scripts/validate_readiness.sh
```

**Pre-Launch Checklist:**
- [ ] All docs published to staging
- [ ] SDKs tagged and ready
- [ ] Demo environment tested
- [ ] Monitoring/analytics configured
- [ ] Support escalation path defined

---

### Phase 4: Launch (Launch Day)

**Launch Day Playbook:**

**Morning (9 AM):**
- [ ] Publish documentation
- [ ] Release SDKs/packages
- [ ] Deploy blog post
- [ ] Send announcement email
- [ ] Post to social media
- [ ] Update website/product pages

**Midday (12 PM):**
- [ ] Monitor metrics dashboard
- [ ] Respond to community questions
- [ ] Share to external communities
- [ ] Engage with social mentions

**Afternoon (3 PM):**
- [ ] Post to Hacker News/Reddit (if Tier 1)
- [ ] Developer advocate content
- [ ] Partner announcements

**End of Day:**
- [ ] Day 1 metrics report
- [ ] Team debrief
- [ ] Issue triage

---

### Phase 5: Post-Launch (T+1 week to T+4 weeks)

**Objectives:**
- Monitor adoption
- Gather feedback
- Iterate on messaging
- Report results

**Activities:**

**Week 1:**
- [ ] Daily metrics monitoring
- [ ] Community Q&A
- [ ] Bug fixes prioritized
- [ ] Feedback synthesis

**Week 2:**
- [ ] First adoption metrics
- [ ] Customer feedback interviews
- [ ] Documentation updates
- [ ] Follow-up content

**Week 4:**
- [ ] Launch retrospective
- [ ] Success metrics report
- [ ] Lessons learned doc
- [ ] Update launch playbook

---

## Launch Tier Details

### Tier 1: Major Launch

**When:**
- New product GA
- Major version release (v2.0, v3.0)
- Significant platform expansion
- Game-changing feature

**Timeline:** 12-16 weeks

**Investment:**
- Full cross-functional GTM
- PR/media outreach
- Developer events
- Partner coordination
- Paid promotion

**Deliverables:**
- Complete documentation
- Multiple SDKs
- Sample applications
- Video tutorials
- Interactive demos
- Press release
- Analyst briefings
- Launch event/webinar
- Partner co-marketing

---

### Tier 2: Standard Launch

**When:**
- New features
- New integrations
- Additional SDKs
- Regional expansion

**Timeline:** 6-8 weeks

**Investment:**
- Selective GTM activities
- Blog and social
- Email to developer list
- Documentation updates

**Deliverables:**
- Feature documentation
- Code samples
- Blog post
- Demo video
- Email announcement
- Social media
- Changelog entry

---

### Tier 3: Minor Launch

**When:**
- Incremental improvements
- Bug fixes
- Performance enhancements
- Small feature additions

**Timeline:** 2-4 weeks

**Investment:**
- Minimal marketing
- Documentation only
- Changelog

**Deliverables:**
- Release notes
- Updated docs
- Changelog entry
- In-app notification (if applicable)

---

## Developer Launch Best Practices

### 1. Documentation First

**Launch is NOT ready without:**
- ✅ Getting started guide
- ✅ API reference
- ✅ At least 3 code samples
- ✅ Integration guide

**Developer rule:** "If it's not documented, it doesn't exist"

---

### 2. Show, Don't Tell

**Developers want to see code:**

**Good:*