As you prepare to deploy an agile-managed product into the marketplace, the product owner is responsible for working with other departments to ensure that the marketplace is ready for what’s coming. The marketing or sales teams may lead this effort; they look to the product owner to keep them informed on the release date and the features that will be part of the release.
To help prepare customers for the product release, the product owner may want to work with different teams to ensure:
Marketing support: Whether you’re dealing with a brand new product or new features for an existing product, the marketing department should leverage the excitement of the new product functionality to help promote the product and the organization.
Customer testing: If possible, work with focus groups to get real-world feedback from test customers about the product. Your marketing team can translate this into testimonials for promoting the product.
Marketing materials: An organization's marketing group also prepares the promotional and advertising plans, as well as packaging for physical media. Media materials, such as press releases and information for analysts, need to be ready, as do marketing and sales materials.
Support channels: Ensure that customers understand the available support channels in case they have questions about the product.
Review the tasks on your release sprint backlog from the customer standpoint. Think of the personas you used when creating your user stories. Is there anything those personas might need to know about the product? Update your launch checklist with items that would be valuable to your personas.