LaunchDarkly

Definition

LaunchDarkly is a feature management platform that enables software teams to manage feature flags and releases in real time, allowing for safer and more controlled deployments. By utilizing feature flags, teams can toggle features on and off without deploying new code, facilitating practices like blue-green deployments and canary releases, which help reduce risks associated with launching new features.

5 Must Know Facts For Your Next Test

1. LaunchDarkly supports feature toggling at scale, enabling teams to experiment with features in production safely.
2. The platform provides robust targeting rules, allowing teams to control who sees a feature based on various user attributes.
3. Integration with popular CI/CD tools means LaunchDarkly can be embedded into existing workflows for smoother deployment processes.
4. LaunchDarkly offers real-time analytics to monitor feature performance and user interactions, helping teams make data-driven decisions.
5. By decoupling feature deployment from code deployment, LaunchDarkly helps reduce the risk of introducing bugs and improves the overall software development lifecycle.

Review Questions

• How does LaunchDarkly facilitate safer deployments using feature flags?
  • LaunchDarkly enables safer deployments by allowing teams to implement feature flags that can turn features on or off without requiring a full redeployment of code. This capability helps mitigate risks associated with launching new features since teams can gradually expose functionality to users while monitoring performance and feedback. If issues arise, they can easily disable the problematic feature instead of rolling back an entire deployment.
• In what ways do blue-green deployments benefit from the use of LaunchDarkly?
  • Blue-green deployments benefit from LaunchDarkly by providing an additional layer of control over which version of the application is active at any given time. With LaunchDarkly’s feature flags, teams can manage the transition between environments smoothly by toggling features on or off for different user groups. This allows teams to conduct testing and gather user feedback in the blue environment while keeping the green environment stable until they are ready for a full switch.
• Evaluate how the integration of LaunchDarkly into a CI/CD pipeline could transform the software delivery process.
  • Integrating LaunchDarkly into a CI/CD pipeline can significantly transform the software delivery process by enabling continuous experimentation and iterative improvements. It allows developers to deploy code frequently while controlling which features are accessible to users through feature flags. This means teams can validate new features in real-time, receive immediate feedback, and make adjustments without delaying future deployments. The ability to decouple deployment from release reduces the pressure on development teams and enhances their agility in responding to user needs and market changes.

Related terms

Feature Flags: A technique that allows developers to enable or disable features in their applications without deploying new code, enhancing flexibility and risk management during releases.

Canary Releases: A deployment strategy where a new feature is rolled out to a small subset of users before being made available to the entire user base, allowing for monitoring and feedback.

Blue-Green Deployment: A release management strategy that involves running two identical production environments, allowing for seamless switching between the old and new versions of an application.