---
name: launch-tiering-framework
description: "Tier a product launch (T1/T2/T3) and scope the right go-to-market effort. Use when asked to decide a launch tier, right-size launch activities, build a launch tiering framework, or plan channels and effort proportional to a launch's impact. Produces a tiering recommendation with the scoring rationale, the activities and channels for that tier, owners, and a lightweight launch checklist."
---

# Launch Tiering Framework Skill

Not every release deserves a full launch. This skill decides how big a launch should be, then scopes the go-to-market effort to match — so big bets get the push they deserve and minor updates don't burn the team or the audience's attention.

## What This Skill Produces

- A launch tier (T1 / T2 / T3) with the scoring rationale
- The set of activities and channels appropriate to that tier
- Owners and a timeline
- A right-sized launch checklist and success metrics

## Required Inputs

Ask for these if not provided:

- **What's launching** — the feature/product and who it's for
- **Impact signals** — revenue potential, strategic importance, audience reach, competitive pressure, customer demand
- **Novelty** — incremental improvement vs new capability vs new product
- **Readiness** — GA vs beta, docs, enablement, support readiness
- **Constraints** — team bandwidth, date pressure, dependencies
- **Any house tiering definitions** already in use (use them if provided)

## Tiering Rubric

Score the launch on impact and novelty; the higher of the two typically sets the tier.

- **T1 — Major:** new product or flagship capability; strategic; broad audience; competitive stakes. Full GTM.
- **T2 — Notable:** meaningful new feature; matters to a segment; worth proactive comms. Moderate GTM.
- **T3 — Minor:** incremental improvement, fix, or narrow feature. Low-effort, in-product + notes.

If readiness lags the tier the impact warrants, flag the gap rather than downgrading silently.

## Process

1. **Score impact and novelty** using the signals provided; note the reasoning.
2. **Assign the tier** (higher of impact/novelty), and state what would move it up or down.
3. **Scope activities to the tier** — don't over- or under-invest.
4. **Assign owners and a timeline** across product, PMM, content, sales, support.
5. **Right-size the checklist** and define how you'll measure success at that tier.

## Output Format

---

# Launch Tiering — [Launch name]

**Recommended tier:** [T1 / T2 / T3]

## Scoring
| Dimension | Signal | Read |
|---|---|---|
| Impact | [revenue/strategic/reach/competitive/demand] | [high/med/low] |
| Novelty | [incremental / new capability / new product] | [high/med/low] |
| Readiness | [GA/beta · docs · enablement · support] | [ready / gap] |

**Rationale:** [why this tier] · **Would change if:** [what flips it]

## Activities for [Tier]
| Workstream | Do | Skip |
|---|---|---|
| Positioning/messaging | [e.g. full narrative vs one-liner] | [—] |
| Content | [blog, video, launch post vs release notes only] | [—] |
| Channels | [press, email, social, in-app vs in-app only] | [—] |
| Sales/CS enablement | [kit + training vs FYI] | [—] |
| Events | [webinar/launch event vs none] | [—] |

## Owners & Timeline
| Workstream | Owner | Due |
|---|---|---|
| [Item] | [role] | [date] |

## Launch Checklist ([tier-sized])
- [ ] [Only what this tier needs]

## Success Metrics
- [Tier-appropriate: awareness/adoption/pipeline/activation]

---

## Quality Checks

- [ ] The tier follows from explicit impact/novelty scoring
- [ ] Activities match the tier — no full push for a T3, no silence for a T1
- [ ] Readiness gaps are flagged, not hidden by downgrading
- [ ] Every workstream has an owner and date
- [ ] Success metrics fit the tier's ambition

## Anti-Patterns

- [ ] Do not launch everything at T1 — attention and effort are finite
- [ ] Do not treat a strategic launch as T3 because the team is busy — flag the gap
- [ ] Do not skip enablement on a tier that sales needs to sell
- [ ] Do not measure a T3 with T1 metrics (or vice versa)
- [ ] Do not ignore existing house tier definitions if provided

## Example Trigger Phrases

- "What launch tier should this feature be?"
- "Right-size the go-to-market for our [feature] launch"
- "Build a launch tiering framework for our team"
- "Plan T2 launch activities and owners for [product]"