Deliver your internal product to users

There’s more to delivering an internal product than making the software available to them.

This week, I’m taking a look at delivery as I defined it in the context of the 7D’s. As I’ve mentioned it before, I split it out from development because there is enough involved with getting your users up and running on your internal product that it warrants its own category.

Delivery vs launch vs release

That starts with realizing that there’s more involved in delivery than deploying your latest changes to production. In fact there’s some common confusion between the concepts of release vs deployment vs launch that runs fairly rampant in the product community. Accidentally use the wrong term at your own risk.

So for the purposes of InsideProduct, I think of delivery as providing the product to the people who are going to use it and preparing them to use it effectively. This is probably commonly referred to as launching the product (or an update to the product) in B2B and B2C worlds.

Contrast that with releases which tends to be much more aligned with deploying changes to your product to production. There are some tech companies that release multiples times per day, usually because they are performing optimization activities to improve their product. They can get away with that (maybe not the right term) because the nature of the changes may not be directly noticeable to customers (although they are intended to change behavior).

My experience with internal products is that while it is very helpful to release frequently, you’re usually doing it to a non production environment because your changes may directly impact user’s work processes and it’s generally not a good idea to throw constant change at people that work just down the hall (figuratively or literally) from you.

Deliver at the speed of your users

So yes, you want to change and improve your product, but when there’s a tight link between your internal product and business processes, you need to do some extra things that will inherently slow your pace of making changes.

I think Akhil Dakinedi said it best in an article I shared when I was talking about designing internal products.

If your internal tool has existed long enough, your users have most definitely created very specific workflows and hacks to use it in the way that works for them the best…. When you ship new changes and suddenly change where things are, your metrics can take a huge hit because all users are now re-learning the software. …your metrics will move in the wrong direction for a while until your users reach the same level of familiarity and understanding with it as they had with the previous version.

You don’t want to wait for ever to introduce new changes, but you want to make sure that you position them to be successful when those changes come.

At the very least that means communicating what the changes are. Often it means providing instructions or training, and potentially even working with them to revise their business process to work with the revisions.

So you often need to be a bit more intentional when you introduce new internal products or changes to existing internal products. It means the tips included in these resources, are especially relevant when you launch your next internal product.

Deep-dive: A product manager's guide to product launches

As a product manager, you’re not just a participant in product launches—you’re the conductor. Your role transcends traditional boundaries, requiring you to be part strategist, part communicator, and part fortune-teller. You need to align diverse teams, from engineering to marketing, around a unified vision. You must anticipate market reactions, competitor moves, and potential pitfalls. And perhaps most challengingly, you need to make critical decisions with imperfect information, often under intense time pressure.

The stakes are high, but so are the rewards. Your efforts during the launch phase can set the trajectory for your product’s entire lifecycle.

Mike Belsito dives into the product manager’s role in crafting and executing a successful product launch.

6 do's and don'ts that can make or break your internal product launch

So, you’ve developed a product. You want to set your organization up for long-term success and feel you have to launch your product internally to key stakeholders before releasing it to customers.

But how do you get started the right way?

Pete Winter provides tips for internal product launches, including what you should do and what you should avoid.

The Ultimate Guide to Product Release Management

Product release management is a critical process that ensures successful rollouts of new products or updates. It involves various phases and practices that aim to streamline operations, enhance communication, and manage scope and expectations. In this ultimate guide, Jake Brereton delves into the intricacies of product release management, providing you with a comprehensive overview of the seven phases, a checklist to follow, and good practices to implement.

Internal Release Notes: An Ultimate Guide

Many companies of all sizes face communication problems on a different level. It is product managers’ responsibility to do this communication. Keeping stakeholders updated about product updates and release notes is very crucial for your business growth. You must inform your team about internal product changes and also communicate your customers about the product updates. It is impossible to address all issues in one article. So, at this point, internal release notes are your ultimate solution.

Arsen Nurmagomedov explains how internal release notes help both you and stakeholders save time and have a clear idea of what changed in your product.

Internal Communication for a Product Launch

You are well aware of every aspect of your new product as you anticipate its launch. You know the capabilities and features that you’ve worked on inside and out.

But what about your team? Are they as ready as you are?

The success behind an internal launch starts long before a product goes live. Before announcing a product externally, it’s vital to effectively communicate within your organization for a successful product launch. Joey Randazzo explains how to do that.

Thanks for reading

Thanks again for reading InsideProduct.

If you have any comments or questions about the newsletter, or there’s anything you’d like me to cover, let me know.

Talk to you next time,

Kent