Launches Aren't Binary

The Trap

Treating a launch, or a vendor or process onboarding, as a single pass/fail event.

The Reframe

There's a spectrum of partial-success states between full success and full failure. Measuring only for a binary outcome means missing the early warning signs that would let you course-correct before things become an outright failure.

Why It Works

The in-between states are where you still have room to act. Once something has fully failed, the options narrow. While it's drifting, you can still change course.

How to Use This

Define what the partial states look like ahead of time, as part of a premortem, so you know what "drifting" looks like before you're in it.