4 Steps to Learn from Your Launch
Why Delivery is Not the End of the Story
By Ryan Fullmer
May 3, 2022
No News is Not Good News
What are you learning after you deliver a new feature or product? For many teams, the answer to this question is “not too much”. It can be crickets after the release and the team’s focus shifts to the next item in the backlog.
After all, "no news is good news", right? Actually, "no news is not knowing". You delivered the product and you don’t really know anything about how it went for your customers or end users.
The Impact is Missing
The team is missing out on learning what the impact was from what they delivered. There is no reflection point to validate what was achieved. The team continues on as if everything is ok. They may find out too late that things aren't going well and they should have made a pivot.
When teams don’t get feedback, they begin to feel like order takers in a feature factory. The focus is on activity and speed. While that focus can be helpful, it misses the mark. The team may be fast and efficient and not achieve the outcomes you hope for.
4 Steps to Launch and Learn
If you want to start learning from your launches and releases, take these four steps:
- Make a Launch Plan - Describe the goal you want to achieve, what you will do, and how you will measure the results.
- Gather Data - Start tracking the results to include any new measures that were part of the launch plan.
- Evaluate the Results - Identify the insights and what you learned from the evaluation of the data.
- Make Adjustments - Identify what you will do to adjust based on what you learned.
Launch and Learn Canvas
We use the Launch and Learn canvas to help teams apply the four steps.
Before the launch, team members complete the left-side of the canvas. They answer the questions “What is our objective?”, “What will we do?” and “How will we measure the results?”.
After the launch, team members complete the right-side of the canvas. They answer the questions “What were the results?”, “What did we learn?”, and “What are the next steps?”.
Get Started
Talk with your team and make a plan to start gathering feedback and data on the impact of what you deliver. Use a simple, visual tool to make it more approachable and repeatable.
Work together to identify an upcoming release to try out the Launch and Learn approach.
This is a great step to take to help your teams build an experimental mindset. To learn more, read the post “The Value of an Experimental Mindset”.
We Can Help
Our experienced coaches can help you put this four-step approach into action. Click here to set up a free discovery call to get started.
