🔐 How TPMs Can AI - Launch Readiness Checklist

Practical AI for Technical Program Managers. A series of real-world scenarios showing how TPMs can use AI tools to solve common challenges, work smarter, and 10x their impact.

Hi, I am Aadil and I write this newsletter on the art of doing technical program management. You are reading a premium post for my paid subscribers.

Practical AI for Technical Program Managers. A series of real-world scenarios showing how TPMs can use AI tools to solve common challenges, work smarter, and 10x their impact, complete with ready-to-use prompts and actionable strategies.

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My Dearest Readers - At the beginning of 2025, I made a re-commitment to my writing after almost 1 year hiatus during 2024. So far, your response has been overwhelming. I feel like 2025 and beyond is going to be both terrifying and exciting.

As we hit the official mid-point of 2025, please help fill out this feedback survey so I can continue to focus on delivering real world practical solutions, advice and insights to help you grow as a TPM.

Now, on to this week’s post…

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How TPMs Can Use AI

You’re reading another post in my ongoing series, “How TPMs Can AI,” where I share real world scenarios showing how AI can make Technical Program Managers more productive and effective.

Nothing beats concrete, real-world examples. My hope is that these stories inspire you to find your own ways to leverage AI, maybe even 10x your impact, effectiveness, and focus.

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How This Series Works

• I’ll start with a common challenge TPMs face.

• Then, I’ll show how AI tools can help you explore possible solutions, sometimes ones you might not have considered before.

We’re starting this series with a classic: Launch Readiness Checklist

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The Scenario

This one is a classic or more like a very common occurrence. If you’ve ever been a TPM at a startup, or stepped into a new domain, you’ve likely run into it.

Think about the last time you had to coordinate a complex backend infrastructure deployment or cloud rollout. For me, it happened at Humane. Our VP of Engineering asked me to put together a production launch checklist to make sure our backend go-live went smoothly and nothing slipped through the cracks.

Here’s the thing: I had never created one from scratch before. I understood what an effective launch readiness process should feel like, but not every line item that needed to be covered.

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Before AI

Your first instinct? Research or ask for help.

You’d dig through blogs, engineering wikis, cloud provider docs, maybe a few books if you are an analog sort of fellow.

You might track down a template or ask a trusted engineering partner to walk you through what has to happen, and use that conversation to draft a first version.

This works, but it’s slow, and if you’re outside your comfort zone or new in the role, you risk missing critical pieces. It’s more difficult if you are trying to go for a great impression of being a self starter.

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After AI

The key here is solving the cold start problem.

Your goal is to produce a thoughtful first draft fast, something concrete you can take to engineering and ask, “What’s missing? What can we cut?” That shifts the conversation from “Where do we start?” to “Let’s refine this.”

Here’s how you can approach this differently with AI:

• My tool of choice: ChatGPT or Claude

• My goal: A solid starter template that includes traceability and progression measurement.

• My method: Craft a prompt where you do the following:

  • Be explicit about your context: type of project, tech stack, cloud provider.

  • Specify the deliverable: in this case, a pre-launch checklist.

  • Make it well rounded: Ask for industry best practices and format it so you can track owners, acceptance criteria, and deadlines.

The Prompt