Launch Calendar

Launch Calendar

Generates the complete launch calendar, master burn-down seed list, and meeting schedule for an Every L/XL launch, working back from the launch date per the canonical process. This is the date engine of the Launch Architecture Skillset: it computes; the notion-launch-scaffold skill places.

v1.1. Supersedes the local v1 skill, which drifted from the ruled process (it had Dan at two gates; the canon rules three). Generate from launches/canonical-process.md only.

When to invoke

• "Build a launch calendar," "plan the launch of X," "work back from [date]"
• "When does the brand work need to start," "map out the launch timeline"
• "What dates do the calls go on"
• Any request to schedule launch work, meetings, or gates for an L/XL launch

Rules of computation

1. Real date arithmetic, always a script, never mental math. Week 8 Monday anchors the work-back; Week k Monday = Week 8 Monday − (8 − k) × 7 days. Naming weeks precede Week 1 (canon Rule 5).
2. The collision rule (ruled Jul 4 2026). Monday or Tuesday launch → the all-hands window becomes the five business days ending on launch day; the pricing hard lock moves to that window's first Monday. Apply without flags.
3. A soft launch date makes every artifact DRAFT. The date is confirmed only by the product owner with feature freeze; label everything accordingly and re-baseline on confirmation. Re-baselining regenerates dates; it never compresses gates away.
4. Mid-flight (L) entry: start the work-back at the first incomplete phase. If the remaining runway can't hold the remaining phases, lead with that — a short true "this date doesn't fit" beats a complete-looking calendar with hidden zero-slack. When slack is zero, state the consequence on the calendar itself.
5. Gates land on Fridays of their gate week, labeled (proposed) until scheduled. Dan's three holds (brief, final web design, Launch Week) are placed in Week 1 — in person when possible.

Outputs

1. Dates table — every phase, gate, and lock with its computed date and approver roster per the canon (Douglas at every gate; Brandon + product GM co-rule; Dan ×3; Austin ×2).
2. Meeting schedule — the canon's meeting set instantiated with real dates: kickoff, weekly standups (Weeks 1–4), twice-weekly (5–7), daily all-hands (the Week 8 window), the four approval meetings, retro.
3. Burn-down seeds — the phase checklists as task rows (deliverable, owner, deadline, note) ready for notion-launch-scaffold to place.

Dependencies

• foundation/marketing-os
• launches/canonical-process.md (loaded always — spine, rules, meeting set, rosters)

Quick checklist

• Launch date confirmation status established first; DRAFT labels if soft
• Dates computed by script; collision rule applied for Mon/Tue launches
• Mid-flight: completed phases marked, work-back starts at first incomplete phase
• Slack shown honestly; zero-slack named on the calendar
• Dan's three holds placed; approver rosters per canon on every gate
• Dates table + meeting schedule + burn-down seeds delivered together