Tick each box before you move to the next stage. Copy it into Notion and run your next release against it.

The "Who has it" line tells you who is allowed to touch the product at each stage. That line is the whole point: the audience widens as the quality bar rises.

1. Pre-alpha

Who has it: no one outside the product team.

• [ ] All features planned for this build are developed
• [ ] Developers have run unit tests
• [ ] A functional check is done (a tester, or you as the PM)
• [ ] Known gaps and blockers are written down

You are not enough on your own here. Do not stop at this stage.

2. Alpha

Who has it: still internal only. No real users.

• [ ] Development for the planned scope is finished
• [ ] Test plans are ready (written out, or automated)
• [ ] Functional testing complete
• [ ] Non-functional testing complete (performance, reliability, security)
• [ ] Critical bugs fixed
• [ ] You have decided who gets the beta

This is your last quiet window to break things before someone who depends on the product does.

3. Beta