Decide when to revise or retire old update videos

Age alone does not determine usefulness. A release announcement may still explain a current action, while a recently published migration notice can become obsolete after a change in procedure. First check whether the action shown still exists and serves the same purpose.

Then inspect scope, route, labels, dates and required prerequisites. Separate cosmetic drift from a mismatch that causes a viewer to do the wrong thing.

• Task remains valid and instructions match: retain, with current context where needed.
• Task remains valid but a small route or label changed: assess a targeted revision.
• Core workflow changed: replace with a current explanation.
• Action is unavailable or the deadline has passed: retire instructions or clearly preserve them as historical context.
• Facts cannot be verified: remove the asset from active instructional placement until resolved.

A fictional product added saved views six months ago. Its announcement still demonstrates the current personal-view behavior, but the “new this week” opening is stale. Its navigation tutorial shows a menu that has moved. Its beta invitation directs people to a closed application form.

The announcement can become an evergreen explanation by revising its date-specific opening and checking availability. The navigation tutorial needs a corrected route and a new final-file review. The beta invitation should leave active signup placements because its requested action no longer exists.

• Retain with revision: current task, obsolete launch framing.
• Replace affected scenes: current task, changed route.
• Retire active CTA: closed access process.
• Preserve history only with clear context: a past announcement is not current instructions.

A corrected video on one page does not update a social post, help article or embedded copy elsewhere. Use the version register to identify active destinations, then prioritize places where a viewer is likely to act on the old instructions.

Do not redirect every retired asset to a generic homepage without considering the user's task. Where possible, supply the relevant current explanation. If no replacement exists, say that the old instructions no longer apply rather than leaving an unexplained dead end.

Keep a short record of the issue, chosen action, replacement destination and owner. State why the asset remains useful or why it was retired. This prevents a later campaign from reusing an old export simply because it looks polished.

Use product changes as review triggers: moved navigation, changed permissions, ended beta access and revised deadlines. A recurring calendar review can help, but the consequential event is a change in what the viewer can actually do.