Project Context

Slack is preparing to launch a new scheduled messaging feature for enterprise customers. The project has been underway for 6 weeks, but a major challenge emerged: the original delivery plan is now at risk due to an unexpected security review finding and a dependency on a notifications service owned by another team. You are the program manager for the launch, coordinating a 10-person cross-functional team across engineering, design, security, legal, and go-to-market.

The launch matters because three enterprise customers representing $4.2M in annual contract value have requested the feature before renewal discussions next quarter. Leadership has committed to a public launch by the end of the quarter, which is now 8 weeks away.

Key Stakeholders

The VP of Product wants the full feature set launched on time to support renewals. The Security lead will not approve launch unless audit logging and admin controls are complete. The Engineering Manager is concerned the team cannot deliver both the core scheduling flow and all edge-case handling within the current timeline. The Sales lead is pushing for an early customer beta in 3 weeks for two strategic accounts.

Constraints

• Timeline: 8 weeks until quarter-end launch
• Budget: $120,000 remaining, with no new headcount approved
• Team: 6 engineers, 1 designer, 1 QA lead, 1 PM, 1 program manager
• Dependency: Notifications platform team can provide only 25% engineering support for the next 4 weeks
• Compliance requirement: Admin audit logs must be retained for 1 year before enterprise launch

Complications

1. A security review found that scheduled messages can bypass existing admin retention policies in some edge cases.
2. One senior backend engineer is leaving the company in 2 weeks and owns most of the scheduling service.
3. Sales has already told two customers they may get beta access before the feature is fully hardened.

Deliverables

1. Create an 8-week execution plan with phases, owners, and critical dependencies.
2. Recommend launch scope trade-offs for GA versus beta.
3. Define a stakeholder communication and escalation plan.
4. Identify the top risks and mitigation actions.
5. Specify launch success metrics and rollback criteria.