launch-checklist has two modes. Overview mode maps the full Internal → Alpha → Beta → GA journey for a feature with stage-by-stage requirements, exit criteria, participant selection guidance, and red flags per stage. Checklist mode produces an operational checklist for a specific launch stage: pre-launch sections (documentation, internal comms, external comms, support enablement, monitoring, data requirements, dependencies, legal/compliance), a rollback plan with trigger criteria and authorization level, success criteria at 1-day, 1-week, and 1-month marks, and a post-launch review schedule.
Launch failures are almost always process failures, not technical failures. The feature works; the support team wasn't briefed; the analytics events fired but weren't mapped to the dashboard; the rollback plan existed but no one knew the trigger criteria. launch-checklist surfaces these gaps before the launch — specifically the gaps teams consistently miss: support enablement timing, analytics readiness, and rollback authority.
Day 16 opens the final week because it's the first day where the work being shipped is the focus, not the PM's thinking. The prior week was strategy and alignment. This week is coordination and execution. The launch checklist is the artifact that makes shipping a team activity.