Cradwell Pro standing desk launch, a fictional product
Launch checklist slide with an owner and status on every item
A launch checklist slide lists everything that must be true before a product goes on sale, with who owns each item and where it stands today. This one shows the Cradwell Pro standing desk, a fictional product, two weeks before its launch on Tuesday 4 May 2027, with four items done and four still open.
What is on the slide
- Title and framing line
- Launch Checklist. Cradwell Pro standing desk, launch on Tuesday 4 May 2027, status as at 20 April.
- Done
- Safety testing (Engineering, load test passed at 120 kg), retail price set (Finance, $1,290 including GST), product photos (Marketing, 24 images approved), warehouse stock (Operations, 600 units landed).
- In progress
- Assembly video (Marketing, edit due 27 April), store staff training (Retail, 9 of 14 stores trained).
- At risk and not started
- Web product page (Digital, at risk, waiting on final specs), launch email (Marketing, not started, sends 4 May).
When this is the right slide
Pick this slide in the final weeks before a launch, when a cross functional group needs eight readiness items with an owner, a status and a supporting fact on one screen to decide go or not yet.
What to swap it for
Checklist: 5×2 Grid. Use the five by two grid when the launch has ten items of equal weight and each can be described in one short line.
What this slide shows
The title reads Launch Checklist, and the framing line says Cradwell Pro standing desk, launch on Tuesday 4 May 2027, status as at 20 April. Eight coloured cards sit in two columns of four, each with a white icon disc, a heading and one line giving the owner and the status. Safety Testing: Engineering, done, load test passed at 120 kg. Retail Price Set: Finance, done, $1,290 including GST. Product Photos: Marketing, done, 24 images approved. Warehouse Stock: Operations, done, 600 units landed. Assembly Video: Marketing, in progress, edit due 27 April. Store Staff Training: Retail, in progress, 9 of 14 stores trained. Web Product Page: Digital, at risk, waiting on final specs. Launch Email: Marketing, not started, sends 4 May. The four done items carry a tick, the two in progress a clock, the at risk item a warning triangle and the not started item an empty circle. Each line follows the same order, owner then status then fact, which makes the list quick to read aloud.
When this is the right slide
Use a launch checklist slide in the weeks before a product, service or campaign goes live, when a cross functional group meets to check readiness and clear blockers. It works because the decision in that meeting is simple, go or not yet, and the slide shows what that decision depends on. It is the wrong slide for planning the launch from scratch, which needs dates and dependencies on a timeline, and the wrong slide for a quality check on finished goods, which is a list of tests rather than tasks. If the list grows to ten items, the five by two grid holds them with shorter descriptions. A launch checklist slide also helps when leadership asks for a go or no go call, because it separates the items that would stop the launch from those that would only make it less polished. Here the missing web product page would stop online sales, while an unfinished assembly video would not. Saying that difference out loud is often the most useful minute of the meeting.
How to adapt it
First, add the launch date countdown to the title, such as Launch Checklist, 14 Days, for the final fortnight so the urgency is visible. Second, split owners into names for the internal team meeting and roles for the version that goes to leadership. Third, after launch, turn the slide into a review by changing every status to what happened, such as Web Product Page, live two days late, and use it to agree what to do earlier next time. Keep the same eight headings from the first version to the last, because people learn where to look and the slide becomes a record of how the launch went. Keep a copy of each weekly version, so after the launch the team can see when each item turned from at risk to done.
What makes this slide work
Every line names an owner first
Each description opens with Owner and a team: Engineering, Finance, Marketing, Operations, Retail, Digital. In a launch meeting the presenter can go down the list and the right person answers each line, which keeps the meeting short.
Icons carry the status
A tick for the four done items, a clock for the two in progress, a warning triangle for the web product page and an empty circle for the launch email. The icons let anyone see the shape of readiness from across the room before reading a word.
Every status has a fact behind it
Load test passed at 120 kg, $1,290 including GST, 24 images approved, 600 units landed, 9 of 14 stores trained, edit due 27 April. The facts stop a done from being a guess and show exactly how far the open items have to go.
Questions people ask
What status words should a launch checklist use?
Four is enough: done, in progress, at risk and not started. Each should mean one thing everybody agrees on, and the slide should use them in the same position on every line. Avoid percentages for tasks like photography, where 80% done tells nobody whether the launch can go ahead.
Should done items stay on the launch checklist?
Yes, until launch day. Seeing four items done is part of the message: the launch is half ready, and the remaining risk sits in four named places. Removing finished items makes the list look shorter but hides progress and makes it harder to spot an item that quietly moves back.
How often should a launch checklist slide be updated?
Before every launch meeting, usually weekly and then daily in the final week. Change the as at date in the framing line every time. A launch checklist that shows a status from two meetings ago is worse than none, because people make decisions from it.
Where should the riskiest item sit on the slide?
Keep the list in a stable order so people can find items week to week, and make the risky item stand out by its icon and status instead of moving it. Here the web product page carries a warning icon and the words at risk, so it draws the eye from its usual place.
Can a launch checklist hold more than eight items?
This layout holds exactly eight, two columns of four. A ten item list fits the five by two grid, and anything longer should be split by team, with a summary slide showing only the items that are not done. Eight lines with an owner each is about the limit for discussing every item in one meeting.
How do I run a launch meeting from a checklist slide?
Skip the done items with a quick thanks, then take each open item in turn: owner, status, what is needed, and by when. Agree one action per open item before moving on. Record the actions in the speaker notes so the next version of the slide starts from them.
Build your own in about a minute
The button below opens the generator with this use case already described. Change the wording to match your own, generate, then edit anything you like.
Make one like thisOther slide examples
Handover checklist slide for closing a website build
A handover checklist slide lists what a supplier gives the client when a project closes, so both sides agree the work is finished and nothing is left with the wrong party. This one shows the five items Quillary Web Studio, a fictional web agency, hands over at the end of every website build.
Mind map slide that turns a planning day into five themes
A mind map slide gathers the ideas from a brainstorm or planning session into a few themes, so a group can see everything it discussed and who will take each idea forward. This one captures the planning day of Marrowbank Landcare, a fictional volunteer group, as five themed cards, each tagged with its lead.
First week checklist slide grouped by day for a new starter
A first week checklist slide tells a new starter what happens on each day of their first week, so they arrive knowing what to expect and what to bring. This one is for new care workers at Haverleigh Care, a fictional home care provider, grouped into Monday, Tuesday, the middle of the week and Friday.
Want the steps in the builder? Read Style text and add callouts, stats and lists, then Present your slides with speaker notes and a pen. For everything this generator can do, see the slide maker.
Written and checked by the OneCraft team. Last checked .