Feature flags allow you to enable and disable code without changing or deploying any source code and selectively route traffic to certain users or a percentage of certain users, along with other great tricks. It’s powerful stuff … but when you combine it with observability (the ability to understand the inner workings of your complex systems and other unknown-unknowns), what you get is a supercharged, superpowered version of both. With o11y and feature flags, you and your teams get deep technical and business insights in real-time about how your code is working, what changed with your last deploy, and how changes are impacting different users, apps, or groups in fine-grained detail. This is the best, easiest way to understand your systems as never before. You’ll have to see it to believe it. 👀

1. Supercharging
Observability with
Feature Flagging
Alayshia Knighten
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2. Understanding Feature Flags
A way to enable and disable code without source code
changes.
Benefits:
• Experimentation
• Risk Mitigation
• Progressive Deployments
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3. Embracing Observability
Observability provides insights into complex system behaviors
to understand how the system works.
Benefits:
• Real-Time Performance (Testing in Production)
• Unknown-Unknowns
• Business Context (user.id, feature_flag.key, etc.)
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4. Feature Flagging + Observability
Benefits:
• Gradual Feature Rollouts
• A/B Testing Experimentation
• Error Monitoring and Recovery
• Performance Optimization
• Rollbacks
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5. Super Charge Team
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7. Power of Synergy
Oversees the "Exclusive Preview"
feature rollout to a subset of users
• Ensures Positive Customer
Experience
• Works on Feature Refinement
• Better, Data-Driven Decisions
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8. Customer Adoption
CSMs identify customers who meet the
criteria for the "Exclusive Preview"
feature.
• Customer's Satisfaction Ownership
• Proactively Communicate Feedback
• Share Insights with Product
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9. SRE To The Rescue
Monitors system performance to
ensure that the introduction of the
"Exclusive Preview" feature does not
cause any disruptions for users.
• Observability Shield
• Broader Rollout Protection
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10. Support's Toolkit
!
Support receives inquiries from users
about the "Exclusive Preview" feature.
• Customer Happiness Maintainer
• Issue Resolution
• Guidance Provider
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11. Sales Influence on
Business Growth
Identifies potential benefits of the
"Exclusive Preview" feature for certain
customer segments.
• Driving Business Growth
• Showcasing Value To Drive Sales
• Converting Prospects with Granular
Performance Insights
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12. In Summary
• Feature Flagging + Observability
• Team Collaboration is
"
• Business Context Lessens Stress
• Everything is an
$
• "Leroy, You Deploy. Let PMs or Marketing Release"
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13. Thanks for Joining
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