Ask any CS leader or practitioner in software about releases and you will probably get an eye roll or a groan. The history of software development is littered with new feature and products that launched at random times without supporting teams being enabled…or even informed !
In order to drive more alignment with Product a few jobs ago, I devised a three part template to ensure that the CS team had everything to support and promote a new feature or product. Over time I have refined it (and provided much needed alliteration!). You can find and grab this template below,
Description – telling us about the feature
- What is the change?
- What will customers see/experience?
- Please share a demo if you can.
- Please grant CS a test account if you can.
Documentation – where can we get more information about his this new widget works?
- Is there internal documentation?
- Is there customer documentation?
Debt – what work (if any) is outstanding on this feature or product?
- Are there any known OR outstanding issues?
- Where/how should we file outstanding issues?
What does your CS team use to make sure they have everything the need ahead of a launch?
Camille E. Acey 
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