Template

Go/no-go meeting template

Before a launch: each owner says ready or not ready, and one person makes the call.

30 minutesFor Launch owners, release managers and project leadsAgenda room
Change the agenda first

The agenda, with a time for each part

  1. What we are deciding, and who decides3 min
    • Who makes the final call today?
  2. Each area: go or no-go12 min
    • Are you ready? Yes or no first, then why.
    • What is the worst thing that could happen in your area?
  3. Open risks6 min
    • Which risks are we accepting, and who agreed to that?
  4. The way back5 min
    • If it goes wrong at launch, how do we undo it, and how long does that take?
  5. The decision4 min
    • Go, no-go, or go with conditions?

How the notes read afterwards

A made-up example, so you can see the shape. In a real call each line carries the words that were said and who said them.

Areas. Engineering: go. Support: go. Billing: no-go — the refund path is untested.

Way back. Switch the old checkout back on; ten minutes.

Decision. Go on Thursday, on condition the refund test passes by Wednesday noon. Maya decided.

Running it well

Ways to change it

Written go/no-goEach owner posts go or no-go with one line by a set hour, and you meet only if there is a no.
For an eventSwap the way back for the bad-weather plan and who tells the guests.

When to skip it. When the launch can be undone in a minute and nobody outside would notice. Just ship it.

Questions

What is a go/no-go meeting?

A short meeting before a launch where the owner of each part says whether it is ready, and one person decides whether to go ahead.

Who makes the go/no-go decision?

One named person, usually whoever owns the launch. The meeting informs the decision; it is not a vote.

What happens in the room

Everybody joins from the link, with no account. The agenda sits beside the call and each item fills in with what was said about it, under the name of the person who said it.

More templates

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