Shipping faster with feature flags

Introduction

Releases often stall because new code must wait for every feature to finish. Feature flags break that bottleneck, letting teams merge early and activate features safely.

What are feature flags?

A flag is a conditional statement that toggles new behaviour on or off at runtime. Flags decouple deploy from release, meaning engineers can ship code while product decides when users see it.

If metrics dip, flip the flag off instantly—no rollback needed.

Implementing flags wisely

Start with a lightweight service such as LaunchDarkly, Split or an in-house JSON file. Name flags explicitly, e.g. checkout_redesign_v1; cryptic labels breed confusion.

Managing risk

Roll out to internal staff first, then 5% of live traffic. Monitor error rates, load times and key funnels. If metrics dip, flip the flag off instantly—no rollback needed.

When to retire flags

Flags solve short-term uncertainty, not long-term configuration. Add an expiry date in the ticket and schedule code clean-ups fortnightly so stale flags do not clutter logic.