Releasing software with dynamic feature flags
Turtiainen, Arttu (2025)
2025
Tietotekniikan DI-ohjelma - Master's Programme in Information Technology
Informaatioteknologian ja viestinnän tiedekunta - Faculty of Information Technology and Communication Sciences
Hyväksymispäivämäärä
2025-06-23
Julkaisun pysyvä osoite on
https://urn.fi/URN:NBN:fi:tuni-202506197355
https://urn.fi/URN:NBN:fi:tuni-202506197355
Tiivistelmä
Software development has moved towards a SaaS (Software as a Service) model, where software is constantly updated with new features and improvements, instead of one major release per year. As the software landscape evolves organizations have adopted continuous integration and delivery (CI/CD) as standard practice in the industry. Feature flags are a software development technique that supports CI/CD practices. They make software development safer, faster, and more flexible by decoupling software deployment from release. They allow teams to test features in production, perform gradual rollouts, and disable problematic features without redeploying.
The objective of this thesis was to assess feature flag usage in the commissioning organization, which is progressively transitioning from an on-premises infrastructure to a cloud-first solution. Furthermore, the use of feature flags within CI/CD practices was explored. The research outlined common use cases and highlighted the benefits of using feature flags to accelerate the software release process.
This thesis was conducted as a case study to examine the organization's current practices regarding feature flag usage. The baseline for the study was established through a literature review, which provided a theoretical foundation for understanding feature flags and their role in modern software development. Qualitative approach was used to collect data through surveys and interviews conducted with key stakeholders. In addition, existing feature flags and their associated metadata were analyzed to understand the use cases behind the flag.
The research identified the best practices for feature flag usage in software development. Furthermore, a proof-of-concept (PoC) was developed, introducing a modern feature flag management solution into a smaller add-on. As a result, the release cycle of the add-on was successfully reduced from three months to two weeks, without introducing additional risk. Finally, the study provided recommendations for improving current feature ticketing practices and defined guidelines for further development across the organisation.
The objective of this thesis was to assess feature flag usage in the commissioning organization, which is progressively transitioning from an on-premises infrastructure to a cloud-first solution. Furthermore, the use of feature flags within CI/CD practices was explored. The research outlined common use cases and highlighted the benefits of using feature flags to accelerate the software release process.
This thesis was conducted as a case study to examine the organization's current practices regarding feature flag usage. The baseline for the study was established through a literature review, which provided a theoretical foundation for understanding feature flags and their role in modern software development. Qualitative approach was used to collect data through surveys and interviews conducted with key stakeholders. In addition, existing feature flags and their associated metadata were analyzed to understand the use cases behind the flag.
The research identified the best practices for feature flag usage in software development. Furthermore, a proof-of-concept (PoC) was developed, introducing a modern feature flag management solution into a smaller add-on. As a result, the release cycle of the add-on was successfully reduced from three months to two weeks, without introducing additional risk. Finally, the study provided recommendations for improving current feature ticketing practices and defined guidelines for further development across the organisation.