# Private beta launch Prepare and run a bounded private beta from hypothesis and readiness through feedback, access closure, and a launch decision. > This public artifact is plaintext. After import, readable project content is encrypted on your device; operational metadata such as identifiers, relationships, priority, state, timing, and counts remains visible to the service. > This template is general operational guidance, not legal, medical, tax, security, employment, compliance, or other professional advice. It does not establish compliance, and its publication is not evidence of outside professional review or approval. Review and adapt it with the responsible organizational owners, and obtain appropriate professional advice before regulated use. **Template ID:** private-beta-launch-checklist **Template version:** 1 **Source:** https://sealtask.com/templates/private-beta-launch-checklist/ **Reuse license:** https://sealtask.com/terms/#public-templates **Planning anchor:** Private beta start date — The day approved participants should receive access; readiness and recruitment are scheduled before this point. ## Scope Define the learning goal, participant boundary, ownership, and stop conditions. - [ ] **Define the beta hypothesis and success signal** — High priority · Due 21 days before the planning anchor State the target behavior, expected learning, observable signal, and evidence that would cause the team to revise its belief. - [ ] Target behavior is specific and observable - [ ] Success signal connects to a post-beta decision - [ ] **Define participant eligibility and exclusions** — High priority · Due 20 days before the planning anchor Describe who the beta is designed for, who should not participate, and the maximum cohort the team can support. - [ ] Eligibility can be evaluated consistently - [ ] Cohort maximum matches support capacity - [ ] **Assign data, consent, and retention ownership** — High priority · Due 19 days before the planning anchor Name the accountable owner for participant notices, consent where applicable, approved data handling, retention, and deletion behavior. - [ ] Data-handling owner has accepted accountability - [ ] Retention and deletion path is documented appropriately ## Readiness Verify product, support, security, privacy, and rollback preparation. - [ ] **Verify release and environment readiness** — High priority · Due 14 days before the planning anchor Confirm the intended build, environment, feature controls, known limitations, monitoring, and deployment owner are ready. - [ ] Exact release candidate and environment are identified - [ ] Known limitations are suitable for the invited cohort - [ ] Required operational monitoring is active - [ ] **Complete required security and privacy review** — High priority · Due 12 days before the planning anchor Route the planned beta through the organization’s required security and privacy owners and preserve their authoritative decision. - [ ] Review covers the actual build, data flow, and cohort - [ ] Approval conditions and residual risks have owners - [ ] **Prepare support and escalation coverage** — Medium priority · Due 10 days before the planning anchor Define the participant support channel, response expectations, triage owner, incident escalation path, and coverage window. - [ ] Support channel and response expectations are ready - [ ] Technical and incident escalation owners are named - [ ] **Define pause and rollback criteria** — High priority · Due 9 days before the planning anchor Write the signals that require access to pause, the person authorized to decide, and the tested operational rollback path. - [ ] Pause and stop signals are explicit - [ ] Rollback or access-disable path is tested ## Recruit Approve a bounded participant cohort and prepare clear onboarding. - [ ] **Prepare participant invitation and expectation copy** — Medium priority · Due 8 days before the planning anchor Explain the beta purpose, known limitations, expected participation, support path, duration, and access-close behavior. - [ ] Participation expectations and limitations are clear - [ ] Beta duration and access closeout are explained - [ ] **Approve the participant roster in its source system** — High priority · Due 6 days before the planning anchor Verify each participant meets eligibility and keep identity, contact details, and approvals in the authorized customer or research system. - [ ] Each participant meets the defined eligibility boundary - [ ] Authoritative roster is stored in the approved system - [ ] **Schedule participant onboarding** — Medium priority · Due 3 days before the planning anchor Prepare access timing, concise setup instructions, support contact, feedback expectations, and any required live onboarding. - [ ] Setup instructions are tested against the release candidate - [ ] Onboarding schedule fits team capacity ## Run Open access, monitor the test, triage issues, and collect structured learning. - [ ] **Open the private beta to approved participants** — High priority · Due on the planning anchor Enable only the approved cohort, deliver the agreed onboarding message, and verify that access and support channels work. - [ ] Access is limited to the approved cohort - [ ] Representative participant access is verified - [ ] Support and escalation coverage is active - [ ] **Monitor behavior and triage beta issues** — High priority · Due 1 day after the planning anchor Review approved operational signals, support demand, and material incidents against the predefined pause and escalation criteria. - [ ] Named readiness and stop signals are reviewed - [ ] Material issues have severity, owner, and next action - [ ] **Collect structured participant feedback** — Medium priority · Due 5 days after the planning anchor Use consistent questions tied to the hypothesis and keep raw responses and participant identities in the approved research system. - [ ] Questions connect directly to the beta hypothesis - [ ] Raw feedback is stored in the approved research system ## Close Close access as promised and make an evidence-based next decision. - [ ] **Close or explicitly extend beta access** — High priority · Due 14 days after the planning anchor At the promised boundary, remove access or record a deliberate extension with owner, reason, scope, and new review date. - [ ] Participant access matches the approved closeout decision - [ ] Participants receive the promised closeout communication - [ ] **Summarize learning and make the next decision** — High priority · Due 16 days after the planning anchor Compare evidence with the original hypothesis and record whether to continue, revise, expand, pause, or stop the initiative. - [ ] Evidence is compared with the original success signal - [ ] Next decision, rationale, owner, and follow-up are recorded ## Done Verified beta work moves here after its operational outcome is complete. _Move completed work here._ --- Source: https://sealtask.com/templates/private-beta-launch-checklist/ License: https://sealtask.com/terms/#public-templates Privacy notice: This public artifact is plaintext. After import, readable project content is encrypted on your device; operational metadata such as identifiers, relationships, priority, state, timing, and counts remains visible to the service. Usage notice: This template is general operational guidance, not legal, medical, tax, security, employment, compliance, or other professional advice. It does not establish compliance, and its publication is not evidence of outside professional review or approval. Review and adapt it with the responsible organizational owners, and obtain appropriate professional advice before regulated use. Template version: 1