G00295381

Tech Go-to-Market Toolkit: Technology Product

Launch
Published: 19 January 2016

Analyst(s): Todd Berkowitz, April Adams, Lars Van Dam

Product management and portfolio management leaders from technology

and service providers who are responsible for bringing new and updated
solutions to market can use this Toolkit to identify and manage key elements
of a successful launch (content, responsibility and process).

When to Use
Successfully bringing new or updated products and services to market is essential to the sustained
growth of technology or service providers. New or updated solutions are pivotal to attracting new
customers and for deepening relationships with existing customers. But whether you are launching
a disruptive new solution or an upgrade of an existing product, there are dozens of elements that
have to be managed and a team of contributors that must be aligned in their efforts. A successful
launch sets the foundation for a product to achieve success in the marketplace, and it requires
optimal execution, both internally and externally.

This Toolkit is for providers that either don't have formal product launch processes or want to
improve the effectiveness of their current launch processes. It can be used by the release or launch
program manager (or launch lead) and shared with other members of the launch team. In particular,
product managers, portfolio managers and product marketers should use this Toolkit to guide their
launches. The process is organized around stages, with a "gate" that requires a formal vote by the
launch team before continuing to the next stage. The stages are shown in Figure 1 below.
 Figure 1. Product Launch Stages

Lay the
Groundwork

Create the Story

Debrief
and Marketing
After Launch
Plans

Successful Launch

Gather Feedback
Launch the and Build the
Product Communications
Plan

Finalize Content
and Ensure
Operational and
Sales Readiness

Source: Gartner (January 2016)

Within each stage, the Toolkit provides the following components:

■ What tasks should be included in the launch (based on the type of launch being planned).
■ Who the primary owner and primary contributors are; who has responsibility for ensuring the
completion of each specific task.
■ How far in advance of the launch date each task should be completed.
■ Whether the tasks are mandatory, recommended, optional or as needed. (This distinction can
be helpful if you have limited resources and want to focus on only the essential ones.)

No two provider organizations are the same, so this Toolkit is intended to be directional rather than
something "set in stone." The time frame and scope of product launches will vary greatly based on
the magnitude of the launch, the maturity of the market you are targeting and even the type of
solution you are bringing to market. A good rule of thumb is to plan for between six months (for a
minor launch) and nine months (for a major launch). Software-as-a-service providers will typically
have a more frequent release cadence and may have less of a distinction between major and minor
releases.

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 You will want to modify it to fit your situation, removing items that don't apply and adding new ones
that are necessary for your specific solutions and business processes. You can also change the
dates and time frames if you need to accommodate shorter or longer time horizons based on
product availability or competitive demands. While you can make changes to the order of tasks and
deliverables in certain areas, the Toolkit was developed to reflect the best practices around the
sequencing of items. In particular, be mindful of dependencies such as budgets, messaging and
positioning, release scope, and other "upstream" tasks that need to be finalized before
"downstream" activities are started.

When Not to Use

The "lean startup" model, which advocates a concept known as "minimum viable product," has
grown in popularity, not only among providers making products targeted at consumers, but also in
1
business-to-business (B2B) providers developing more disruptive technologies. This Toolkit is not
an ideal fit for providers utilizing this model due to more compressed timelines and fewer input
points.

The Toolkit is also not designed for "engineering only" releases (such as bug fixes or patches) where
the main determination of success is the product reaching general availability and the marketing
and sales elements are considered secondary. This Toolkit covers the go-to-market elements of the
launch, and product development should be using software or tools designed for their specific
purposes.

Downloadable Attachments
295381_productlaunch_toolkit.xlsx

This Excel-based model includes line items related to each launch type as well as columns for
completion date, remaining time in weeks and days, categories, primary owner, primary contributor
and required/optional. Each of the line items is hyperlinked to another worksheet that includes
descriptions of the line item and links to relevant Gartner research.

"Tech Go-to-Market: How to Design a Successful Product Launch"

This research note serves as a foundation for this Toolkit. While the Toolkit is more comprehensive in
terms of task detail and sequence, this research note includes additional information on how to
execute different tasks and is recommended reading for anyone responsible for managing a product
launch.

Directions for Use

To use the Excel file, you'll need to do the following:

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 ■ Determine whether your launch would be considered "major" or "minor," and go to the
corresponding worksheet tab. Major releases are often the result of significant feature additions
or architectural changes. Major releases typically require more planning for product upgrades
for existing clients; therefore, the release manager should pay particular attention to the quality
metrics for these activities. Some examples include:
■ Completely new market entry either within your core technology area or in an adjacent
market
■ A new product within an existing line
■ A new module or a significant upgrade to an existing product
■ A "minor" launch would pertain to an existing offering and might include:
■ New functionality (with only a moderate impact on customers or the markets you serve)
■ A periodic product refresh
■ An existing offer with new packaging or pricing
■ A new service
■ A less consequential upgrade
■ These determinations can be somewhat subjective, but a "major" launch will generally have
more impact, both internally and externally, and require more changes to existing processes
and systems. In the case of an upgrade, if the new version requires a reinstall or
reimplementation, has significant changes to the user interface or is being introduced to a new
market, it likely meets the criteria for a major launch. (Please note: Releases that consist of bug
fixes or other "second decimal" releases should not be used with this Toolkit, because the vast
majority of the tasks are unnecessary.)
■ When you are on the tab for your launch type, fill in the launch date in cell E1; initially, this will
be a placeholder, but during Stage 1 of the launch, you can come up with a more formal launch
date. The default in column C (Completion Date) is nine months for the major launch and six
months for the minor launch and based on cell E5; however, the timeline can be compressed if
needed. If you do change the launch date to be less than nine months (or six months), you'll
want to adjust the cells in column C. That column has cells that look like this ($E$1-(34*7)), with
34 representing the number of weeks. Simply change the weeks figure to fit within the timeline
and then adjust the other cells as needed.
■ Column I (This Task Is) indicates whether the task is mandatory, recommended, optional or if
needed. Skipping a mandatory task (especially for a new product or major upgrade) could have
significant impact on the ultimate success of the launch. Recommended tasks are defined as
best practices that should be undertaken to improve the likelihood of success. These items can
be eliminated if a launch needs to be executed quickly or with a very small team; however,
eliminating them is not a best practice and should be avoided whenever possible. See the
description of tasks before deleting rows or filtering them out by type.

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 ■ Do not alter any columns other than Primary Owner (Column G) and Primary Contributor
(Column H); however, you may want to hide any rows that are clearly not relevant to your
organization.
■ There are some scenarios in which the dates might need to be altered based on specific internal
processes; if you do so, you'll need to manually move those rows or re-sort. If the new date falls
into a new gate, then make sure to adjust the cell in Column B to reflect that change.
■ Columns F, G and H are filterable so you can view only tasks owned by certain functions or
those that fall into a specific category if you wish.
■ To see a definition or guidance for a particular task, click on the hyperlinked cell and you will be
taken to the relevant task description on the Item Descriptions worksheet.
■ You may choose to add additional columns to reflect status (completed or open) and any notes
that would be relevant to the members of the launch team.
■ Bring this document to launch meetings, and use it as a project plan to update team members
as to the status of open and closed tasks.
■ The Excel worksheets can be used as inputs for your preferred project management tools or
workspaces via Gantt charts or similar means.

Some tasks are labeled as "define/refine" or "create/refine." In the case of launches for new
products or services, the Toolkit assumes that a certain amount of "prelaunch" work will have taken
place, including validation that an opportunity exists (and how large that opportunity is), a
preliminary targeting strategy and a basic evaluation of the competitive landscape. This is typically
necessary to secure funding, resources and executive approval to proceed with a launch. In this
scenario, you'll want to "refine" rather than "define" or "create." In the case of upgrades (both major
and minor), far less (if any) prework is done, so you'll need to actually "define" or "create" rather
than "refine."

Gartner Recommended Reading

Some documents may not be available as part of your current Gartner subscription.

"Tech Go-to-Market: How to Design a Successful Product Launch"

"Tech Go-to-Market: Five Ways Product Managers Can Better Measure the Success of Launches"

"Tech Go-to-Market: The Connected Model Requires a More Strategic and Expanded Role for
Technology Product Marketers"

"Tech Go-to-Market: Embrace Authentic Storytelling That Links Business Value With Capabilities to
Engage Technology Buyers"

"Tech Go-to-Market Best Practice: Influencer Engagement Is Critical to Build Buyer Interest and
Confidence"

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 "Tech Go-to-Market Toolkit: Assess Customer Acquisition Cost and Lifetime Value to Improve
Product Success"

"Tech Go-to-Market: Understanding Buyer Readiness Will Improve the Traditional Sales Process to
Become More Customer-Driven"

"Route to Market Essentials: Research on Routes to Market, Channels and Sales"

"Tech Go-to-Market Best Practice: Advocacy Marketing Delivers Value for Tech Providers"

"Tech Go-to-Market: A Practical Guide to Market Segmentation"

"Tech Go-to-Market: Positioning Revisited"

"Messaging Essentials: Use Positioning, Buyer Context and Storytelling to Improve

Communications"

"Tech Go-to-Market: Best Practices in Using Marketing to Increase Share of Wallet With B2B
Customers"

"Tech Go-to-Market: Providers Must Adapt Content and Outbound Sales Strategies to Better Align
With Buyer Expectations"

"Tech Go-to-Market: Providers Should Tailor Enablement by Sales Role to Align With Buyer
Expectations"

"Tech Go-to-Market: Use Sales Development Reps to Educate Buyers Who Aren't Aware They Have
a Business Problem"

Evidence
Evidence for this Toolkit was gathered from ongoing analyst research of product launch best
practices.

1E. Ries, "The Lean Startup: How Today's Entrepreneurs Use Continuous Innovation to Create
Radically Successful Businesses," Crown Business, 2011

Disclaimer
Unless otherwise marked for external use, the items in this Gartner Toolkit are for
internal noncommercial use by the licensed Gartner client. The materials contained in
this Toolkit may not be repackaged or resold. Gartner makes no representations or
warranties as to the suitability of this Toolkit for any particular purpose, and disclaims all
liabilities for any damages, whether direct, consequential, incidental or special, arising
out of the use of or inability to use this material or the information provided herein.

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