How can you manage feature toggles across multiple mobile app versions and platforms?

1 Define a feature toggle strategy

Before you start implementing feature toggles, you need to define a clear strategy for how and when to use them. Consider the scope and purpose of each toggle, the toggle type and granularity, the configuration and storage, access and update, synchronization and consistency, as well as monitoring and evaluation. For example, is the toggle for experimentation, testing or gradual rollout? Is it a boolean, multivariate or dynamic toggle? How will you define and store the toggle values? How will you access and update them from your app? How will you ensure consistency across multiple app versions and platforms? And how will you monitor and measure the impact of each feature toggle? Answering these questions will help you decide when to enable, disable or remove a toggle.

2 Use a feature toggle service

Using a feature toggle service is one of the easiest ways to manage feature toggles across multiple mobile app versions and platforms. This cloud-based platform provides a centralized dashboard to create, manage, and update feature toggles, as well as SDKs, APIs, and integrations to connect your app. By using a feature toggle service, you can avoid hard-coding toggle values in your app and control the toggle values remotely from the dashboard. Additionally, you can target users based on various criteria and run experiments with different feature variants. Furthermore, you can ensure consistency and synchronization of toggle values across multiple app versions and platforms with real-time updates and fallback mechanisms. Popular feature toggle services for mobile apps include Firebase Remote Config, LaunchDarkly, Optimizely, and FeatureFlow.

3 Implement a feature toggle framework

Another option to manage feature toggles across multiple mobile app versions and platforms is to implement a feature toggle framework. This set of classes, methods, and interfaces defines the logic and structure of feature toggles in your app, allowing you to customize and extend their functionality. Implementing a feature toggle framework provides you with more control and flexibility over the implementation and behavior, as well as the ability to leverage the native features of each platform or language. Additionally, you can integrate other tools and services, such as databases, analytics, or testing platforms. Furthermore, you can optimize the performance and reliability of feature toggles with caching, error handling, and logging strategies. Examples of feature toggle frameworks for mobile apps include Togglz for Android, FlagKit for iOS, and Unleash for cross-platform.

4 Follow the feature toggle best practices

Using feature toggles can be a great way to streamline your mobile app development and delivery process. To ensure that your feature toggles work as intended and don't cause any issues, you should follow some best practices. For example, use descriptive and consistent names for your feature toggles, document and communicate the purpose of each one, limit the number and complexity of feature toggles, clean up and remove any that are no longer needed, and test and verify their functionality. With the right tools and by following these tips, you can manage feature toggles across multiple mobile app versions and platforms effectively.