skills.rest
deanpeters
deanpetersCOMMUNITY
Explore all skills by this author →
Website𝕏@deanpetersGitHub

eol-process

Orchestrates a six-phase product end-of-life workflow from decision through post-retirement review.

6.8k|818|Updated Feb 5, 2026
Search Tags:#deprecation#stakeholder alignment#Workflow#end-of-life#product sunset#product retirement#eol process
One-click install
npx skills add https://github.com/deanpeters/Product-Manager-Skills --skill eol-process
Or copy as Structured Prompt for Agent▼
Please help me install this Agent Skill.
Skill: eol-process
Source: https://github.com/deanpeters/Product-Manager-Skills/tree/main/skills/eol-process
Command: npx skills add https://github.com/deanpeters/Product-Manager-Skills --skill eol-process

SYSTEM DOCUMENTATION & REQUIREMENTS

What problem does it solve?

Retiring a product without a structured process leads to missed contract obligations, unprepared support teams, premature announcements, and churned customers. This Skill sequences the entire sunset — decide, align, plan, prepare, announce, close — so nothing critical gets skipped.

Core Features & Use Cases

  • Six-Phase Orchestration: Routes you through Decide, Align, Plan, Prepare, Announce, and Close, each with a decision gate and a named artifact-producing skill.
  • Right-Sized Intensity Levels: Scales the process from a one-afternoon feature deprecation (Level 1) to a multi-quarter regulated hardware retirement (Level 3).
  • Mid-Stream Diagnostics: Maps symptoms like "Support is drowning" or "Legal found a contract problem" to the phase that was skipped, so troubled sunsets can be rescued.
  • Use Case: You've decided to retire a legacy SaaS module with 800 accounts. Invoke this Skill to get a phase-gated tracker, the correct stakeholder conversation order, and gates that block the customer announcement until internal enablement is complete.

Quick Start

Ask the AI to run the full EOL process for your product, stating what is being retired and where you currently are in the process.

Frequently Asked Questions about eol-process

High-intent search queries and answers about installing and using this skill.

FAQPage Schema
How do I run a product end-of-life process step by step?▼

Follow six phases: Decide (verdict and intensity level), Align (stakeholder conversations), Plan (phase-gated checklist), Prepare (internal enablement), Announce (customer message), and Close (gates, retention, lessons learned). Each phase has a decision point that must pass before moving on.

What should happen before announcing a product sunset to customers?▼

Before announcing, complete stakeholder alignment to surface contract and commitment blockers, build an owned phase-gated plan, and finish internal enablement so Support and Sales have FAQs, talking points, and an escalation ladder. The announcement is gated on enablement being complete.

Can I enter the EOL process mid-stream if the sunset is already underway?▼

Yes. The process is a route, not a pipeline, so you can enter at any phase. A diagnostic table maps symptoms — like Support drowning in tickets or Legal finding a contract issue — to the skipped phase and the corrective action.

How do I right-size an EOL process for a small feature deprecation?▼

Set the intensity level in Phase 1 based on blast radius. A Level 1 sunset (feature, internal tool, API) collapses stakeholder alignment, planning, and enablement into a single sitting, while decision, announcement, and closure still happen.

What are common mistakes when retiring a product?▼

Common pitfalls include starting with the customer announcement, treating stakeholder findings as a formality, announcing before enablement is ready, applying heavy process to a small sunset, skipping the lessons-learned review, and measuring checklist completion instead of customer retention.

Related Skills

Explore More Product & Management Skills→
scanadyscanady

strategy-research-analyst

Analyze competitors and technology trends into confidence-rated strategic briefings.

Community
Advanced
tabooestabooes
1

eol-message

Draft structured End-of-Life announcements with rationale, impact, and transition steps.

Community
Advanced
product-on-purposeproduct-on-purpose
527

discover-stakeholder-summary

Identify stakeholders and map influence, needs, and relationships into a structured template.

Official
Basic
accelerate-dataaccelerate-data
3

generating-model

Generate or revise a single dbt model artifact from migration context.

Official
Advanced