Holly Dilatush:
It's a constant balance of "what MUST be done before we invite everyone?" and "dare we invite them all before JamRoom 6 is out of beta?" and "dare we wait much longer?" [I and others have worked so hard to build our community, I fear that if too much momentum is lost, if we wait too long, we will lose members.]
For the first couple of months, that list of "things we must fix/customize before going live" might acquire new items at the same rate as you are ticking off items you've already completed. Thus, that list will not likely shrink a lot for a while yet- your site will still be evolving and getting polished for the first several months. That list is like an infuriating amoeba, shifting and morphing even as you look at it. Eventually the amoeba consumes itself altogether and no longer matters- but likely that'll be way after you want to go live.
My own advise would be to grab the top 3-6 things off that list as it is now, and make a firm decision to go live once those things are addressed.
In my opinion, it really helps to make your members feel like they are part of the process- give them a forum category or a group for 'site questions and issues'. Let them know they can ask there how to do stuff on the new site, and that they can also helpfully report site glitches and/or make suggestions. But- know that more than half the 'bugs' they report will in fact simply be things they don't yet understand yet about how the new platform works.
But you can provide a place for them to give their feedback, learn the new functions, where they can feel useful and like someone's listening.
There's a lot to be said for arriving at the party on time with your hair still a bit mussy, as opposed to arriving late with perfect hair but finding the most interesting people have already gone home.
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...just another satisfied Jamroom customer.
Migrated from Ning to Jamroom June 2015
