We’ve all been there: the high-stakes launch that starts with optimism and ends in chaos. When my partner, Bobby Johansen, and I began planning WHOOP 5.0, we remembered those moments: blockers surfacing too late, long nights, and that gut-wrenching feeling of being down when it mattered most. We wanted a better way. So instead of another "war room," we scaled the concept.
We built the War Floor. A full week, all hands on deck. Over 100 people from engineering, product, analytics, support, fulfillment, marketing, and ops worked side by side inside WHOOP HQ.
It ended up being the smoothest and most energizing launch we’ve ever had.
Our Engineering War Floor during the WHOOP 5 launch
Why a War Floor?
After the turbulence of WHOOP 3.0 and 4.0, we knew what could derail a launch: fragmented comms, poor visibility, reactive decisions. So we flipped the question: what if we could eliminate the chaos before it even started?
That’s what the War Floor was built to do.
Preparation
Patrick Pash had already been running weekly cross-functional check-ins for months. That gave us a solid foundation of company-wide collaboration. We built on those rhythms, mapped dependencies, and turned an entire floor into a coordination hub.
Scaling For Launch
Dwight Biddle, Justin Coon, and Ayush Sangani spearheaded critical efforts to ensure our backend systems were capable of handling scale. In the weeks leading up to launch, they focused on identifying potential bottlenecks, stress-testing infrastructure, and implementing optimizations that gave us confidence in our readiness. Thanks to their leadership and technical rigor, we entered launch day fully prepared. Every system was primed to support the anticipated load, which allowed the launch to proceed smoothly without disruption, ensuring a seamless experience for our members.
Graph of load testing vs. launch traffic
How We Organized
Given the scale and risk of the launch, we needed a system that could handle real-time complexity. We grouped teams into cross-functional pods, which we called "Launch Parties," and seated them together to expedite decisions and minimize communication gaps. Additionally, we established a clear chain of command, with Bobby and me acting as dedicated Launch Commanders, essentially serving as air traffic controllers for the operation. Our role was to keep the machine running smoothly: walking the floor, checking on teams, unblocking issues, escalating problems, and broadcasting updates. That visibility and responsiveness became the backbone of the whole operation.
Launch Parties
Each Party owned a key part of the launch: Growth, Core App, Platform, Support, Lifecycle Marketing, and Analytics. Teams included engineers, PMs, analysts, and specialists working shoulder to shoulder. We also reserved space for third-party vendors, so they could jump in quickly to help resolve any infrastructure or dependency issues.
The War Floor
The physical space was designed for speed and clarity. Dashboards covered the walls with live system metrics, giving every team real-time visibility into their services. Breakout rooms served as pressure valves for heads-down collaboration on complex issues. Our daily rhythm included floor-wide kickoffs led by the commanders, followed by Party-specific standups and end-of-day closeouts to review progress and reprioritize. These rituals held the system together and kept the floor humming.
There were a few moments on launch day that stood out. Our entitlements team quickly diagnosed and resolved an issue before it could ripple out. We also prepared to increase database throughput to ensure headroom during peak traffic. In the end, we didn’t need the extra capacity, but our AWS partners provided what we were asking for. No panic. Just quiet momentum. That’s when it hit me: our launch was running smoothly, the War Floor was working!
Launch Commanders on the War Floor during the WHOOP 5 launch
A Week of Precision
The War Floor wasn’t just about visibility—it was about tempo. Each day had a structured format: kickoff, stand-ups, observability reviews, and closeouts. That rhythm provided everyone with clarity, allowing us to respond in real time without relying on heroic efforts. The commanders synced regularly with company leadership to surface business needs and adjust course when necessary. The whole floor operated with shared context, fast feedback, and a bias toward unblocking.
Launch Day
Doors opened at 4:00 a.m. Early Risers gathered for hype music, breakfast, and a team briefing. Feature rollouts began at 5:00 a.m. By 7:00, every team was live. The global release hit at 10:00 a.m. sharp.
We gave our stickers to commemorate our Early Risers
We tracked more than 100 checkpoints throughout the day: monitoring system health, fulfillment flow, order status, support traffic, and third-party performance. Because the floor was so stable, we gave the green light to Lifecycle Marketing and Product to move faster than planned. We also had key vendors on-site in case any issues emerged.
But really, it was calm.
We even shut down the War Floor early so teams could enjoy the launch day celebrations.
AI-Powered Support at Scale
One key piece of preparation came from our AI team, led by Laurent Rivard . In the weeks leading up to the launch, they focused on optimizing and streamlining member interactions through our AI-driven contact pipelines, improving both routing efficiency and response accuracy. On launch day, the team deployed over 200 targeted updates to our support chat systems, enhancing automation models, fallback logic, and load-handling capacity. The objective was clear: minimize friction for members while preventing service degradation as inquiry volumes spiked. These real-time optimizations enabled our support team to concentrate on the most complex, high-value cases while automation absorbed the majority of routine inquiries. As a result, AI served as a stabilizing layer that ensured resilience and continuity throughout the launch.
Our AI Platform Team updating coach support live during the WHOOP 5 launch
A Launch Without Fire Drills
We didn’t build the War Floor to respond to panic. We built it to prevent it. And it worked.
Ownership was clear. Escalation paths were working. Decisions were fast and grounded in data. Stress stayed low.
One of our many monitors outlining the wall of the War Floor. Blurred to protect secrets 🤫.
Even in the middle of a big, complex rollout, there was clarity and control.
What We Shipped
The scope was massive:
- A set of three new membership models
- A brand new category of app features to the market
- A redesigned upgrade flow and website
- Live support and coordination of over 100 people across internal teams and external partners
- 100+ real-time dashboards powering decisions on the floor
- Dozens of concurrent features launched on multiple platforms
No incidents. Every milestone was met on time or ahead of schedule.
It was one of the most technically and logistically complex launches we’ve ever executed, and yet it felt surprisingly calm.
What’s Next
We built the War Floor for WHOOP 5.0, but we’re already seeing ways to adapt the model for other moments of high complexity and visibility across the company.
If you’re facing a mission-critical release, don’t just book a war room.
Build a War Floor.
Lifecycle marketing getting the go ahead to open all communications during the WHOOP 5 launch
If you're interested in being part of future launches and innovative engineering approaches at WHOOP, check out our open positions.