# Launch checklist

A launch checklist is one row per check. Each row says what is being confirmed, why it matters, who does it, when it is due, whether the launch may proceed without it, how it is verified and what evidence is kept.

The last three columns are the ones that make it a checklist rather than a list. A check with no verification method is a reminder; a check with no evidence cannot be relied on a month later; and a list where everything blocks is a list that will be overridden the first time somebody is in a hurry.

## How to use it

1. Copy this file, or the CSV version if you would rather work in a sheet.
2. Delete the rows that do not apply to this launch rather than marking them as not applicable.
3. Give every row an owner by name, and a due date relative to the start.
4. Be honest about which rows block, and keep that list short enough to mean something.
5. Write how to verify before the week of the launch, while there is time to think.
6. Keep the evidence, not just the tick.
7. After the launch, add the rows you wished you had had.

## The columns

**Area** (Text). Which part of the launch this check belongs to: access, tracking, budget, audience, creative, landing page, approvals, reporting. Grouping by area is what lets two people work in parallel.

**Check** (Text). The thing to be confirmed, written as something a person can do and then answer yes or no to. Not tracking works — the test purchase reaches the reporting within an hour.

**Why it matters** (Text). What goes wrong if this is missed. Written once, it is why the check survives the first launch where somebody is in a hurry and wants to skip it.

**Applies to** (Text). Which campaigns or channels this check covers. A checklist that applies everything to everything gets abandoned; one that says where each row applies gets used.

**Owner** (Text). The person who does this check, by name. Not a team. A check owned by a team is a check two people assume the other did.

**Due** (Text). When this has to be done relative to the start: a week before, the day before, the morning of. Ordering the list by due date is what turns it into a schedule.

**Blocking** (Text). Whether the launch may proceed without this. Be honest: a list where everything blocks is a list that gets overridden, and then nothing blocks.

**How to verify** (Text). The specific action that answers the check: the test to run, the screen to open, the person to ask. Without it, a check is a reminder and everybody verifies it differently.

**Evidence** (Text). What is kept to show the check was done: a screenshot, a reference, a message, a link. Evidence is what makes a checklist worth anything a month later.

**Status** (Text). Not started, done, or blocked. Three values, because a fourth invites in progress, which is where checks go to be forgotten.

**Verified by** (Text). Who confirmed it, where confirmation is by somebody other than the owner. Blocking checks are worth a second pair of eyes; the rest are not.

**Verified on** (Date (YYYY-MM-DD)). The day it was confirmed. A check verified three weeks before a delayed launch is a check worth doing again, and the date is what makes that visible.

**Notes** (Text). What the next person needs: the thing that nearly went wrong, the step that took longer than expected, the check that should be added next time.

## The launch checklist

| Area | Check | Why it matters | Applies to | Owner | Due | Blocking | How to verify | Evidence | Status | Verified by | Verified on | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|   |   |   |   |   |   |   |   |   |   |   |   |   |
|   |   |   |   |   |   |   |   |   |   |   |   |   |
|   |   |   |   |   |   |   |   |   |   |   |   |   |
|   |   |   |   |   |   |   |   |   |   |   |   |   |

## Before you commit it

- Every row has an owner by name and a due date relative to the start.
- Every row says how it is verified, not only what is being checked.
- The blocking rows are few enough that blocking still means something.
- Every completed row has evidence attached, not only a status.
- Rows that do not apply have been deleted rather than marked.
- Verified dates are recent enough to still be true at launch.
- The list was updated after the last launch with what was missing.