Let’s face it. Not everything in a product launch will go as planned. It never does. There might even be some pleasant unplanned surprises.
The final donut of the BrainKraft Product Launch Framework is Review and it is to reflect on what worked, what didn’t work, and how what was experienced influences the next product launch.
The GBBB Method
The GBBB Method is a simple way to capture what was learned in a product launch. GBBB stands for Good, Bad, Better, Best.
The Good is for what worked well, whether it was planned or unplanned.
Bad is for what didn’t work well and for any surprises that you put in the bad category.
Better is for what worked better than planned.
Best is for celebrating the people who made special contributions.
Conduct a Launch Review
A Launch Review Meeting is where the GBBB comes out and gets discussed. At a minimum, the meeting includes every member of the launch team.
Should you include launch stakeholders? Not in the initial meeting. You can always choose to brief your stakeholders after identifying the GBBB elements to get their feedback.
Rules of Engagement
Focus on improving the next launch, not criticizing others.
Don’t take things personally and don’t make things personal.
Every person’s experience matters. Don’t discount any input.
A Launch Review Meeting facilitator collects input, they don’t editorialize. This is most likely the Launch Director.
Allow Enough Time for Discovery
Allow for enough time for discovery and discussion. Schedule multiple meetings if needed. The point is to engage with every member of the launch team to build product launch tribal knowledge for your organization.
Cycle Through GBBB in Sequence
The facilitator guides the launch team through each of the Good, Bad, Better, Best review categories in that sequence. It’s important not to jump around or the value of the exercise is lost.
Learn Here, Fix Later
Use a Launch Review Meeting to discover and learn, not to fix. Fixing comes later. Meeting facilitators need to be mindful of attempts to fix and table it.
Capture Input on Sticky Notes
Have lots of sticky notes on hand (or use a virtual whiteboard).
Start with Good. Have everyone take 10 to 15 minutes to individually write down the things they thought were Good about the product launch.
There should be one sticky note for each thought.
When the time is up, organize the sticky notes so that similar notes go together.
3 Votes for a Category
Give each member of the Launch Review Meeting 3 votes for the Good sticky notes. The purpose of limiting the number of votes is to avoid having everything be equal. Your goal is to rank the items.
One person may think their thought is the best Good thing ever, but everyone else on the team doesn’t. It’s not about who is right and who is wrong. It’s about learning and improving.
Repeat for Bad and Better
Once you have the Good category out of the way, proceed with the Bad category. It’s the same process.
Write what you thought was bad on sticky notes. Organize similar sticky notes. Vote.
Don’t fix.
Save the Best for Last
The Best category of GBBB is to celebrate. Follow the same process as before but focus on extraordinary efforts.
Which functional areas were exceptional?
How were they exceptional?
Who on the launch team was exceptional?
How were they exceptional?
You and your launch team worked hard to pull off a successful launch using the BrainKraft Product Launch Framework.
There were times when you thought the whole thing would fall apart. There were times when you thought things wouldn’t get done on time. But it all came together.
It’s time to sit back, reflect on GBBB, and know you can approach the next launch with confidence.
