Minimum Viable Continuous Delivery

Release Management

Managing multiple releases can be a complex task, especially when dealing with both consecutive and concurrent releases. Joe Zack highlights the challenges of splitting teams to work on different release timelines, which can lead to complications when merging codebases 1. He suggests that working off a single trunk and using feature flags can mitigate these issues, allowing for more agile development 1. Michael Outlaw adds that supporting multiple concurrent versions requires a strategic approach, such as the cherry-picking strategy used by Microsoft, to ensure fixes and features are properly integrated across different branches 2.

What you have got is the perfect setup for disaster born from the random bad news event, which is the idea that you're going to have this one team that's off working.

--- Joe Zack

This approach helps maintain consistency and reliability across various versions and releases.

   

Feature Flags

Feature flagging plays a crucial role in managing controlled release strategies, offering flexibility and reducing risk. Michael Outlaw explains that feature flags allow developers to test new features with a small user base before a full rollout, which can be particularly useful for assessing impact and performance 3. However, he notes that feature flags can become complex, especially when dealing with infrastructure changes that cannot be easily toggled 3. Joe Zack emphasizes the importance of having a robust infrastructure to support feature flagging, as it requires careful planning and integration across systems 4.

Feature flag can mean different things to different people depending on who you're talking to.

--- Michael Outlaw

This complexity necessitates a mature approach to implementation, often involving third-party services like LaunchDarkly.