App Ops Desk · Issue #36

Feature flags as ship safety, not tech debt theater

Flags are not a substitute for testing. They are a fuse you can pull when production disagrees with your desk.

Read time: 5 min Flags Ops Pairs with Issues #16 and #28
One action this week: Name one risky feature in the next release and define: default off/on, owner, kill condition, cleanup date.

Rules that keep flags useful

  • Default safe if remote config fails
  • One owner per flag
  • Kill condition written before ship
  • Cleanup ticket or expiry date

Failure modes

  • Flags that default open when offline
  • Permanent flags that became architecture
  • No way to know which flag combination a user has

Bottom line

A flag without a kill condition is just unfinished product decisions.

Resources hub → Full library and jump-by-symptom links. Join the free list Product updates only. Founding checkout is separate and not live yet.

Get the next App Ops Desk issue

Free weekly release-ops briefs for solo iOS/macOS founders. Join the list.

Join the free list

Prefer the paid weekly brief? Founding members