The launch of a product is a big step, but it is not the end of the product manager’s work related to that product.

When you launch a product you need to manage a living product which is quite different from managing a product under development in a controlled environment. Like a play you rehearse before the opening is a product under development and a play after its grand opening is a living product with constant feedback from the audience and adjustments to improve its performance.

Right after the launch – and during the entire life cycle of your product – you need to be close to your:

1. customers to understand if the product is actually solving their problem. if you have access to your customers and you customer support team, you should talk to them as frequently as possible;

2. numbers in order to check sales, customer support tickets, usage, etc. so you can understand your product performance and impact on your organization;

Based on this feedback you need to fine tune your product to maximize its results. Anywhere in its life cycle, a product requires constant attention. Right after launch you need to be sure it is going into the right direction. When it is a mature product, you need to watch for things that may destabilize it, like new competitors, new technologies, changes in operations and so on. Even if you take an end of life decision for a product you’ll need to take care of it during its sunset and afterwards.

So you just launched your product. Now the fun begins! 🙂