Product release is an important milestone for every company and a crucial stage in the product cycle. The day you release a new service or application can be stressful, with much to anticipate, and you’re prepared for the worst-case scenario.

However, you can handle this stage smoothly by following an app release preparation checklist, which ensures you’re aware of what’s going on with your release and to think proactively.

Go through the app functionality

First things first, make sure your product delivers what it’s expected to deliver. Identify the functionality gaps and prepare them for later iterations, which keep your app up-to-date, and sets clear expectations between you and users. Only then can you assess its success and what you need to adjust. The testing process will evaluate the application’s functionality and how well it works from the user’s point of view.

Double check and test

QA testing is a standard procedure while preparing for an app release, it tests the product’s ability to perform as expected with the quality it’s built for. Conduct extensive QA testing to identify possible gaps, bugs, and malfunctions, and address them soon before you release your app.

A quality assurance test compares your app to a previous version (if applicable) and helps you identify gaps that you need to deliver in the next update.

Track performance

Tracking your app’s performance is part of the QA testing, which allows you to compare performance metrics and understand where your app falls short.

Performance benchmarks can include computing rates, latency rates, network connectivity, and CPU utilization. Then document these performance’ metrics to prepare a possible update.

Start a staged release

Plan your app release on a staged process to prevent overloads. When you roll out your product to the public directly, increasing access to the app’s server can cause overloading and possible crashes, which affects your application’s functionality.

Before you make your app available to the public, take it tentatively and allow limited users to access it, and increase the reach gradually. This way, you get users to test your product without having a considerable impact if it malfunctions.

Consider A/B testing

A/B deployment allows users to test new software features that aren’t yet publicly released. This way, you can understand if the users like the upcoming updates and what are the new features.

This testing is part of the long-term staged app release, allowing you to push new updates gradually.

Conduct UX/UI research

User experience research is part of users’ feedback, which describes their experience while using the app, and how they like the built-in features.

It’s essential to find out if people accept your app and can easily use your app. This feedback is crucial for customer satisfaction, which helps you build new updates.

Wrapping up

Make your app release preparation smooth by setting a clear-cut checklist, which puts everyone in the team on track with product development.

Start understanding and testing the app’s functionality, track its performance, set a phased release plan, and get ready to collect feedback about user experience and satisfaction.