Launch Command (IGNITE Protocol)

A comprehensive launch orchestration engine that coordinates eight cross-functional workstreams through four progressive gates, producing a quantified readiness dashboard and executable launch day runbook. IGNITE ensures nothing ships without verified readiness across every dimension that determines launch success.

When to Use

• Preparing for a product launch and need structured readiness tracking
• Running a go/no-go decision meeting and need objective scoring
• Coordinating multiple teams toward a shared launch date
• Building a launch day runbook with hour-by-hour execution plan
• Assessing whether a launch is ready to proceed or needs to slip
• Post-gate review to identify workstreams that are falling behind
• Transitioning from build phase to market-facing execution

What You'll Need

Critical inputs (ask if not provided):

• Product name, target launch date, and launch type (GA, beta, feature, major release)
• Target audience and market segment definitions
• Positioning and messaging framework (from position-lock)
• Sales enablement status and materials inventory
• Marketing campaign plan and channel strategy (from demand-engine)
• Analytics and measurement framework (from launch-pulse)

Nice-to-have:

• Competitive landscape analysis (from battle-scanner)
• Partner readiness status (from partner-blueprint)
• Community/PLG strategy (from community-catalyst)
• Budget allocation plan (from budget-allocator)
• Customer journey maps (from journey-architect)
• Previous launch debriefs and lessons learned

Process

Step 1: Define the Eight Launch Workstreams

Each workstream represents a critical dimension of launch readiness. Assign an owner and define 5-10 criteria per workstream.

#	Workstream	Owner Role	Weight	Description
1	Product	Product/Engineering	20%	Feature completeness, stability, performance, documentation
2	Positioning	Product Marketing	15%	Messaging locked, value props validated, differentiation clear
3	Sales Enablement	Sales/Revenue	15%	Battle cards, talk tracks, demo environments, pricing approved
4	Marketing	Marketing/Demand Gen	15%	Campaigns built, content ready, channels activated, PR queued
5	Partners	Partnerships	10%	Partner communications, co-marketing assets, integration tested
6	Community/PLG	Growth/Community	10%	Self-serve flow tested, community seeded, PLG hooks live
7	Operations	Ops/Support	10%	Support trained, SLAs defined, escalation paths, billing ready
8	Analytics	Data/Analytics	5%	Dashboards live, tracking verified, baselines captured, alerts set

Step 2: Score Each Workstream

For each workstream, define 5-10 specific criteria and score each on the IGNITE readiness scale.

IGNITE Readiness Scale:

Score	Status	Definition	Visual
0	Not Started	No work begun, no owner assigned	Red
1	In Progress	Work underway but not complete, gaps remain	Orange
2	Complete	Work finished, awaiting verification or sign-off	Yellow
3	Verified	Complete, tested, reviewed, and approved by stakeholder	Green

Example: Product Workstream Criteria

#	Criterion	Score (0-3)	Evidence	Owner	Notes
1	All launch features code-complete
2	QA sign-off with zero P0/P1 bugs
3	Performance benchmarks met (latency, uptime)
4	Security review completed
5	API documentation published
6	Migration/upgrade path tested
7	Feature flags configured for staged rollout
8	Rollback plan documented and tested

Workstream Readiness Score = (Sum of criteria scores) / (Number of criteria x 3) x 100%

Step 3: Four Progressive Gates

Each gate must be passed sequentially. A gate passes when its threshold conditions are met.

Gate	Timing	Name	Threshold	Key Decisions
G1	T-60 days	Foundation	All workstreams >= 25%	Confirm launch date, lock scope, assign all owners
G2	T-30 days	Readiness	All workstreams >= 50%, overall >= 60%	Lock messaging, approve budget, begin pre-launch
G3	T-7 days	Confidence	All workstreams >= 75%, overall >= 80%	Final go/no-go signal, activate campaigns
G4	T-1 day	Go/No-Go	All workstreams >= 75%, overall >= 90%	Ship or slip decision, launch day authorization

Gate Review Protocol:

1. Each workstream owner presents 5-minute status update
2. Score each criterion live with evidence
3. Calculate workstream and overall scores
4. Identify blockers and assign resolution owners with deadlines
5. Gate decision: PASS (proceed) / CONDITIONAL (proceed with mitigations) / FAIL (remediate and re-review)

Step 4: Calculate Overall Launch Readiness

Overall Launch Readiness Index (LRI):

LRI = SUM(Workstream_Score_i x Weight_i) for i = 1..8

Decision Matrix:

LRI Score	Lowest Workstream	Decision	Action
>= 90%	All >= 75%	GREEN: Launch	Execute launch day runbook
80-89%	All >= 75%	YELLOW: Conditional	Launch with documented mitigations
80-89%	Any < 75%	ORANGE: Remediate	Fix lowest workstream, re-gate in 48h
70-79%	Any score	RED: Delay	Slip launch 1-2 weeks, full re-plan
< 70%	Any score	BLACK: Reset	Major replanning required, new date TBD

Step 5: Build Launch Day Runbook

Create a day-by-day execution plan from T-7 through T+30.

Pre-Launch (T-7 to T-1):

Day	Activities	Owner	Verification
T-7	Final gate review, campaign activation approval	PMM	Gate G3 pass
T-6	Press embargo briefings begin, analyst outreach	Comms	Briefing tracker
T-5	Sales team final enablement session	Sales	Quiz/cert scores
T-4	Support team launch briefing, escalation drill	Support	Drill completion
T-3	Social media content queued, email campaigns staged	Marketing	Campaign QA
T-2	Feature flags verified, monitoring dashboards checked	Engineering	Dashboard green
T-1	Go/No-Go gate G4, war room setup, all-hands brief	Leadership	G4 pass

Launch Day (T-0):

Time	Activity	Owner	Fallback
06:00	Feature flags flipped, staged rollout begins	Engineering	Rollback within 15 min
07:00	Monitoring check: error rates, latency, uptime	SRE	Alert if >1% error rate
08:00	Press embargo lifts, PR distribution	Comms	Hold if product issues
09:00	Blog post published, social media activated	Marketing	Pause if negative signal
10:00	Email campaign sends begin (wave 1)	Demand Gen	Pause if deliverability <95%
12:00	Midday status check, war room sync	All leads	Escalation if any RED
14:00	Sales outreach begins to priority accounts	Sales	Delay if demo env unstable
16:00	Community announcement, forum post	Community	Moderate for issues
18:00	End-of-day status, overnight monitoring plan	All leads	On-call rotation confirmed

Post-Launch (T+1 to T+30):

Window	Focus	Key Metrics	Actions
T+1 to T+3	Stabilization	Error rates, support tickets, adoption	Hotfix if needed, respond to feedback
T+4 to T+7	Early signal	Traffic, signups, activation rate	Amplify winning channels, pause underperformers
T+8 to T+14	Optimization	Pipeline, conversion rates, engagement	A/B test messaging, optimize landing pages
T+15 to T+30	Acceleration	Revenue, retention, NPS	Scale winning plays, plan phase 2

Step 6: Risk Register and Contingency Plans

For each identified risk, document severity, probability, and mitigation.

Risk	Severity (1-5)	Probability (1-5)	Risk Score	Mitigation	Trigger	Contingency
Product instability at scale	5	2	10	Load testing, staged rollout	>1% error rate	Rollback, hotfix
Competitive counter-launch	3	3	9	Embargo timing, rapid response	Competitor announcement	Battle card activation
Low initial adoption	4	3	12	PLG optimization, outreach	<50% of day-1 target	Increase paid spend, sales push
Negative press coverage	4	2	8	Analyst prebriefs, messaging QA	Negative article	Rapid response protocol
Support overwhelm	3	3	9	Pre-launch training, KB articles	>2x ticket volume	Surge staffing, chatbot deflection

Output

Save to outputs/launch-command/

Deliverables:

1. Launch Readiness Dashboard -- Overall LRI score, per-workstream scores, gate status, trend over time, RED/YELLOW/GREEN indicators per criterion
2. Gate Checklists -- G1 through G4 detailed checklists with criteria, scores, evidence, and pass/fail determination for each gate review
3. Launch Day Runbook -- Hour-by-hour T-7 through T+30 execution plan with owners, verification steps, fallback procedures, and escalation paths
4. Post-Launch Protocol -- T+1 through T+30 monitoring plan, optimization triggers, debrief schedule, and handoff to growth-loop for ongoing retention

Chain Connections

• Receives from: position-lock (messaging), demand-engine (channel strategy), enablement-forge (sales materials), journey-architect (touchpoints), partner-blueprint (partner readiness), community-catalyst (PLG strategy), budget-allocator (spend plan), launch-pulse (measurement framework), battle-scanner (competitive intel)
• Feeds into: launch-pulse (activates measurement), growth-loop (handoff post-launch), launch-debrief (retrospective input)
• Enhanced by: signal-radar (market timing signals), flywheel-sync (system health check pre-launch)