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> A downside is that although normally you'd want to remove old feature flags that become obsolete, this hasn't been done very often. I figure this should be s
by bschne 5y ago
> A downside is that although normally you'd want to remove old feature flags that become obsolete, this hasn't been done very often.
I figure this should be somewhat automatable since the relevant bits of code have references to the exact flag's identifier. Was it not done b/c nobody was incentivized in any way to spend any kind of time on cleanup?
edit: OK that might be a bit naive on the organizational side. Force everyone to give every flag an expiry date for review or something maybe?
- yojo 5y agoA typical pattern I saw was a team adds a new flag, then gradually rolls it out. Once done the removal is added to the backlog. “High priority” bug fixes and feature work gradually moves the ticket down in the system. Two months later a reorg happens, the team no longer exists, and the work is lost.
- hosh 5y agoIn the case of my team, although we recognize we should clean it up, we’re usually prioritizing pushing out more features. That tendency leads to a lot of old feature flags. In a startup, being able to get features out is more important than cleaning up old flags. If we don’t achieve product fit before we run out of runway, then the whole thing can get shut down. If we don’t achieve customer validation, same thing. Usually, at some point, someone will suggest a rewrite. That pretty much never goes well.