I Eat, I Sleep, I Feature Flag

When I first started toying around with web development in the 90s, I was uploading static HTML files to GeoCities. It was thrilling to take an idea that was only in my head and turn it into something that I could share with the world. I felt connected to the human experience in a way that didn't previously seem possible.

After a while, however, I came to understand that operating in isolation was very limiting. From my experience using online message boards, I knew that the real magic happened through human interaction. But, I didn't know how to create connections using static HTML. Even with JavaScript sprinkles, the best I could do was move objects around the screen and perform dynamic image roll-overs.

That said, I was hooked! I knew that this was what I wanted to do with my life. And so, in 1999, I got my first web development internship at Koko Interactive, a digital agency in NYC that created online products and enterprise extranets. It was there that I learned about ColdFusion, CFML, and databases.

Having a dynamic back-end with a database was transformative! Databases opened up a whole new world of opportunity—not only to foster human connection but also to provide services that literally change the way people live and work.

I share this story with you in order to find some common ground. Since you're reading this book, I'm going to assume that some of my origin story matches yours. And, that you too have experienced the step function which is data persistence. And, that—like me—you can't really imagine building a robust product offering without a back-end database.

Holding that thought in mind, I want to say that feature flags represent the same kind of step function. They work through a different mechanism; but, the transformative power of feature flags is similar in magnitude to the transformative power of databases. And, in that same vein, I can no longer imagine building a robust product offering without feature flags.

They really do change everything, at every level of the organization. And, I truly believe that the products you develop with feature flags will be more inclusive, more stable, more focused, and more successful.

Have questions? Let's discuss this chapter: https://bennadel.com/go/4568