I see this also as a psychological post-launch drop, reinforced by cognitive biases.
A launch feels like completion. There’s relief after a long push, and the brain registers it as “done,” even though we know rationally it’s only the beginning.
The real challenge is not just knowing what to do after launch, but also regrouping and sustaining focus to actually do it.
Post-launch amnesia is so real. Ive watched teams sprint through discovery and delivery just to treat launch day like the finish line, then act suprised when adoption tanks or edge cases blow up production six weeks later. That checklist you laid out, especially the part about planning resources beforehand, is the kind of unglamorous work that seperates products that stick from ones that limp along. Worked on a feature once where we blocked 20% of the next sprint for post-launch monitoring and it saved us from what would've been a nasty rollback.
A solid reminder. I’d add one more layer.
I see this also as a psychological post-launch drop, reinforced by cognitive biases.
A launch feels like completion. There’s relief after a long push, and the brain registers it as “done,” even though we know rationally it’s only the beginning.
The real challenge is not just knowing what to do after launch, but also regrouping and sustaining focus to actually do it.
Thanks for the addition! Good perspective!
Post-launch amnesia is so real. Ive watched teams sprint through discovery and delivery just to treat launch day like the finish line, then act suprised when adoption tanks or edge cases blow up production six weeks later. That checklist you laid out, especially the part about planning resources beforehand, is the kind of unglamorous work that seperates products that stick from ones that limp along. Worked on a feature once where we blocked 20% of the next sprint for post-launch monitoring and it saved us from what would've been a nasty rollback.
Thank you for sharing your experiences! Glad the article resonated.