Best practices for product exit criteria from beta to public availability?
I am Head of Marketing at Global AI Platform's US office in Silicon Valley, working on GTM for our app's US public availability launch this Summer'25. We’re in the final stages of beta testing our mobile app (focused on meal and weekend planning), and we want to be intentional and avoid rushing just because we feel ready.
We’re working on defining exit criteria—the metrics, signals, and checkboxes that say:
“Yes, it’s time to move from beta to full release.”
Here’s what we’re considering so far:
Core flows are stable and bug-free (onboarding, meal planning, etc.)
Day 1 and Day 3 retention are within target ranges
Feedback from beta users has shifted from bugs to feature suggestions
App store assets and support content are ready
Analytics and error tracking are fully in place
I’d love to learn from those of you who’ve done this before:
What signs or metrics did you use to know your product was ready to exit beta?
Did you regret launching too soon—or too late?
Any specific frameworks, scorecards, or gut checks you use before deciding?
Would really appreciate any wisdom, frameworks, or even hard lessons learned. Thank you!
Replies
Kalyxa
One thing we’ve found helpful: make your beta exit criteria not just technical, but emotional.
We ask:
→ Have users stopped reporting bugs and started inviting friends?
→ Do we hear “this is useful” or “I can’t live without this”?
→ Are power users hacking the product in creative ways?
Quant tells you when it’s safe to launch.
Qual tells you when it’s time.
@parth_ahir
Succinct, visceral, insightful:
"Quant tells you when it’s safe to launch.
Qual tells you when it’s time."
LOVE THAT.
At a previous company, we would look at qualitative feedback similar to: Do we hear “this is useful” or “I can’t live without this”?
We would ask users "What would you do if our product went away?" It would help us see the range of "OMG please don't discontinue it" vs "yah i would just use XYZ competitor, no big deal".
Helpful advice, really appreciate you sharing!
Hi Jorge,
Thanks for sharing such a thoughtful approach to defining your beta exit criteria! Your list already covers many crucial aspects. From my experience, here are a few additional considerations that might help:
1. User Engagement Beyond Retention: Look at deeper engagement metrics—are users regularly completing key actions (e.g., creating meal plans, sharing with friends)? High retention with low feature use might indicate usability gaps.
2. Performance Under Load: Beta tests often have limited users; ensure your app performs well as user volume scales, to avoid surprises post-launch.
3. Qualitative Feedback Themes: Beyond shifting from bugs to feature requests, assess whether feedback aligns with your product vision or signals unmet core needs.
4. Support Readiness: Confirm your customer support channels and teams are prepared for a larger user base, including FAQs and response SLAs.
5. Competitive Benchmarking: Sometimes comparing your metrics to industry or competitor benchmarks can provide context on readiness.
Regarding frameworks, I’ve found a simple “Readiness Scorecard” helpful—assign weights to categories like stability, usability, engagement, and support, then score current status to guide the decision objectively.
As for timing, launching too early can risk poor reviews and churn, while waiting too long might lose market momentum. Balancing data-driven metrics with your team’s confidence and roadmap priorities is key.
Wishing you a smooth and successful launch this Summer!
Would love to hear how others approach this too.