APQP Software for New Product Launch Planning

APQP phase gates and deliverables, laid out from the standard

Launches slip when a gate deliverable nobody owned turns up missing at the review. Pick APQP, IATF 16949, AS9100, ISO 9001, or VDA 6.3, enter the launch date, and the Launch module lays out every phase with the deliverables its gate needs, each with guidance and completion criteria, and target dates spread out to the launch. Work the deliverables on a board, follow the phase timeline, and approve each gate by name.

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Capabilities

What Launch does

Standard Phase Templates

Choose APQP, IATF 16949, AS9100, ISO 9001, or VDA 6.3. The program is laid out with that standard's phases, five for most and seven for VDA 6.3, and the deliverables each gate needs, with guidance on how to complete them.

Phase Board

Each phase is a board with Backlog, In Progress, Review, and Done columns. Open a deliverable to read its guidance and completion criteria, set the owner and due date, comment, and add sub-tasks.

Phase-Gate Tracking

Track deliverables and sign-offs across every phase. A named person approves, blocks, or overrides each gate, and an override needs a written reason.

Program Health

Each program reads green, amber, or red from fixed rules: a blocked gate, overdue deliverables, or a launch less than 30 days out with the current gate not yet approved.

Phase Timeline

A timeline with one bar per phase from its start to its target date, a milestone at each gate, and a line for today, at week, month, or quarter zoom.

Gate History

Every gate approval, block, and override is kept in the gate history with who did it, when, and the reason given, so the launch record is there when an auditor asks.

Who does what

APQP planning: the software prepares, an engineer decides.

Prepared by the software

  • Lays out each phase and the deliverables its gate needs from the standard you pick, with guidance and completion criteria for each
  • Spreads target dates for each phase gate evenly from the day the program is created to the launch date
  • Marks the program green, amber, or red from fixed rules on blocked gates, overdue deliverables, and days to launch
  • Keeps every gate approval, block, and override in the gate history with who did it and when

Decided by an engineer

  • Approves or rejects each document change the software proposes from a corrective action or an engineering change, before it is applied
  • Approves, rejects, or waives each PPAP element, and approves or rejects the submission
  • Approves NCR dispositions and signs off each corrective action
  • Signs control plans, PFMEAs, and other title-block documents by role, and enters the authorized signature on the warrant

Signed in the app: typed signature, name, date

Workflow

How it works

  1. 01Pick the standard and enter the launch date
  2. 02Review the phases and gate deliverables
  3. 03Assign owners and due dates
  4. 04Work each phase on the board
  5. 05Approve each gate by name

Use cases

Built for quality program teams managing structured product launches

  • APQP program managers planning new model year launches at Tier 1 suppliers
  • Quality engineers responsible for PPAP timing and phase-gate deliverables
  • New product introduction (NPI) teams at automotive Tier 2 and Tier 3 suppliers
  • Supplier quality engineers tracking APQP status for multiple concurrent programs
  • Program managers at OEM development and procurement teams
  • IATF 16949 management representatives tracking new product launch conformance

Questions

Frequently asked questions

What is APQP and why does it matter?
Advanced Product Quality Planning (APQP) is a structured product development framework that ensures a new product or process meets customer requirements before launch. It defines five phases, Plan and Define, Product Design and Development, Process Design and Development, Product and Process Validation, and Feedback, Assessment and Corrective Action, each with required deliverables. APQP is widely used in automotive, aerospace, and general manufacturing. Its outputs, among them the process flow, PFMEA, control plan, and capability studies, make up much of the PPAP submission.
How is the APQP plan created?
From the standard, not from a blank sheet. When you create a program you pick the standard, APQP, IATF 16949, AS9100, ISO 9001, or VDA 6.3, and enter the part, the customer, and the target launch date. The program is laid out with that standard's phases and the deliverables each gate needs, each with a description, guidance, and completion criteria, and target dates spread evenly from the day you create it to the launch. No AI model is involved in building the plan.
Can I edit the plan?
Yes. On the board you move deliverables between Backlog, In Progress, Review, and Done, set owners and due dates, mark a deliverable not applicable, comment, and add sub-tasks. The phase timeline is a read-only view of the same plan.
How does the Launch module connect to PPAP?
APQP and PPAP are closely linked: the APQP plan drives the timing and content of the PPAP submission. The gate deliverables name the documents each phase needs, such as the Process Flow, PFMEA, and Control Plan, which you draft in the Build module and assemble into the 18-element PPAP package in the Package module. Deliverable status is set by your team on the board; it does not change on its own when a document is finished.
Does this support IATF 16949 requirements for new product launches?
Programs set up under IATF 16949 use a phase template for that standard, and every gate approval, block, and override is kept in the gate history with who did it, when, and why. That is the launch record a surveillance or recertification auditor asks to see. The documents themselves, control plans, PFMEAs, and measurement plans, are drafted and signed in the Build and Package modules.
What does program health mean?
Each program shows green, amber, or red, from fixed rules rather than judgment. Red: a gate is blocked, three or more deliverables are overdue, or the launch is less than 30 days away and the current gate is not approved. Amber: one or two deliverables are overdue, or the current gate is more than 7 days past its target date. Otherwise green. Programs on hold or cancelled show grey.

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