https://bitbytebit.substack.com/p/when-deployments-are-easy-code-becomes

Bit Byte Bit

Subscribe
Sign in
Share this post
[https]

When deployments are easy, code becomes simpler

bitbytebit.substack.com
Copy link
Facebook
Email
Notes
Other

When deployments are easy, code becomes simpler

You bump into DORA in the wild a lot.

[https]
Zarar Siddiqi
Sep 5, 2023
Share this post
[https]

When deployments are easy, code becomes simpler

bitbytebit.substack.com
Copy link
Facebook
Email
Notes
Other
 
 
Share

Feature flagging tools like Launch Darkly, PostHog, Flagsmith come
with costs. They buy you a ton of capabilities like A/B testing,
phased rollouts, and reducing the need for deployments. If you sense
a but coming, there is. Well, sort of.

Much of the time I'm using flags so I can commit unfinished code
because I don't want to create a separate branch and have one source
of truth (low WIP baby - can you get more agile than that?).
Basically, I want to reap the benefits of trunk-based development.
For example, I'm implementing a Gift Card feature for JumpComedy.com
and have the customer side working but not the admin side, so I want
to hold back.

I could have created another Flagsmith toggle around the admin code,
but that seemed to be overkill. Instead, I chose to have a simple
hard-coded const isGiftCardFeatureEnabled = false variable and use
that instead. Is this bad because I now have to do a deployment to
enable the feature?

I would argue as long as your deployments are easy, this is the
better way to do things because it reduces the complexity of
integrating with a third-party tool. I did an inventory of my recent
feature flags and realized that about 80% of them aren't there to
roll things out to specific populations, or do any sort of A/B
testing, but to hide unfinished code.

Yet more evidence that DORA (PDF) isn't crazy for prioritizing
deployment frequency so high when labelling organizations as elite.

Thanks for reading Bit Byte Bit! Subscribe for free to receive new
posts and support my work.

[                    ]
Subscribe
Share this post
[https]

When deployments are easy, code becomes simpler

bitbytebit.substack.com
Copy link
Facebook
Email
Notes
Other
 
 
Share
Comments
[https]
[                    ]
Top
New

No posts

Ready for more?

[                    ]
Subscribe
(c) 2023 Zarar Siddiqi
Privacy [?] Terms [?] Collection notice
 Start WritingGet the app
Substack is the home for great writing
This site requires JavaScript to run correctly. Please turn on
JavaScript or unblock scripts