Theatres never open a show cold. There is a full run, in costume, with the lights and the sound, a few days before the audience arrives. Things break. Better then than on the night.

Most product launches skip this step. The site goes live on a Tuesday morning, the emails go out at ten and someone notices the pricing page still says last year’s numbers at five past.

What a launch rehearsal looks like

Two days before launch we put the whole thing live behind a password and walk through it as a customer. We read every page out loud, click every button on an old phone and send ourselves every email.

We also time it. How long from the ad to the sign-up? How many steps from the homepage to the price? If a step surprises us, it will surprise everyone.

The list that comes out of it

A good rehearsal produces a short list of small fixes and one or two awkward questions. Fix the list, answer the questions, and open the doors with the lights on.