If you use enterprise software, you should be aware of the term ‘feature flag’ as you may come across it when using advanced features. Feature flags are exceptionally valuable to both the developers who create the software and the project teams who use the software. Although this is more of a technical, back-of-house aspect, feature flags play a crucial role in ensuring that Proteus clients have the exact software solution required to run their projects efficiently and successfully.
As Proteus is software as a service solution, all updates and new features are immediately available. However, as our client base has grown over the years it has become increasingly apparent how different each of our customer’s project needs are. Feature flags allow us to customise and personalise Proteus to these respective needs.
Even though feature flags can be a bit technical, we have been amazed by how many clients have embraced the concept, helping us create new advanced features using this technology.
In this blog, we will briefly outline what feature flags are and why they are used. We will also discuss their advantages and how they benefit Proteus users.
What are Feature Flags?
Feature flags (also known as feature toggles or release toggles) are commonly used in software development to ‘turn on’ or ‘turn off’ a feature or functionality without the need to deploy new code. Essentially, they are features that remain hidden until a developer unhides them by amending the backend code.
This enables developers to control what features are visible to users at any given time.
For example, Proteus has a wide variety of features and not all of these are applicable or of use to all of clients. Many of our engineering consultancy clients use our bid/no bid feature in the Opportunities section of Proteus to improve their win strategy and optimise their bid process. However, this feature can simply be switched off for clients who do not require this functionality.
Why are Feature Flags Used?
Feature flags benefit software developers and end-users alike. From a software development perspective, feature flags significantly enhance the processes of development, testing and deployment as they let developers control which features are active in the production environment.
From an end-user point of view, feature toggles allow customisation and a more stable user experience. Proteus customers benefit from feature flags as they ensure our project management tool is agile, adaptable and able to be personalised for their specific needs.
What are the Advantages of Feature Flags?
- Personalisation to Users
Feature flags enable a more personalised experience for project management software users as they supply the ability to tailor the software to the client’s requirements.
All Proteus customers use the same core Proteus software. However, some of our clients may have unique features and customisations enabled or disabled. These changes are made to fit their specific project requirements and processes. This fosters a more collaborative relationship with our clients, improves the efficiency of the software and ultimately enhances user satisfaction.
- Seamless and Stable Experience
Feature flags improve the process of feature releases, reducing the risk of things going wrong. By using feature toggles, developers can deploy the new feature incrementally, making it first only available to the Quality Assurance (QA) team for testing and refining, before releasing it to a subset of users to monitor performance and address any bugs and issues before a wider release to everyone.
Moreover, if issues arise, the feature flag can simply be switched off without affecting the rest of the system. Consequently, customers experience fewer disruptions and have an overall better user experience.
- Continuous Project Management Software Improvement and Innovation
The ability to turn on and off features enables continuous improvement. Developers can use user-feedback and data-driven insights to adapt and improve features. This ensures that project management software evolves in a manner that continuously meets user needs.
The release cycle is also quicker and significantly simpler as teams can modify the system without disrupting the code.
Challenges of Using Feature Flags
Like many things in the world of software, there are downsides to using feature flags. As a software user, you probably won’t be impacted by these challenges. But it’s good to know about them as ultimately their use impacts you as the user.
- Technical Debt: Feature flags that are no longer needed can accumulate and this creates technical debt. In other words, they can cause slowness, bugs and other user issues. Therefore, it is important to have a strict process of cleaning up and removing obsolete flags to prevent cluttering the code base.
- Privacy Concerns: If not secured properly, feature flags can unintentionally expose sensitive or incomplete features to unauthorised users, highlighting the importance of implementing proper access controls.
- Team Coordination: Development teams have to coordinate the creation, testing, and release of a feature. They also need to coordinate the clean-up process afterwards. Coordination is essential for successful team collaboration. Miscommunication can lead to confusion, and errors and has the potential to negatively impact user experience.
Conclusion
Feature flags are revolutionary for developing project management software. From both a development and a user point of view, there is an overall improved and stable experience, enhanced collaboration, less risk and increased opportunity for innovation. Proteus is consistently evolving to meet every-changing user needs and is committed to providing exceptional value to its users. Feature flags are crucial to supplying Proteus customers with a reliable, customisable and innovative project management solution.
About Proteus
Proteus is an end-to-end project management solution developed for the energy and engineering consulting industries.
Proteus is industry-proven and enables consultancies to meet project demands across the full lifecycle, from proposal development to project delivery. Proteus helps its customers win more business, increase efficiencies, manage expenditures, and improve project controls.
Critical workflows, automation, and controls are integrated into Proteus. These include opportunity evaluation, proposal building, resource planning, budget tracking and forecasting, real-time multi-level restricted dashboards, and project performance analytics.
Third-party integrations and customised solutions allow Proteus’ users, which include C-suite, project leads, and engineers, to get the exact software solution needed for their business.
We offer a free onboarding consultation service to ensure your company account is set up to your company’s needs.
How to get Proteus
Proteus operates under a software-as-a-service (SaaS) model. We offer Enterprise packages and flexible pricing solutions: contact our team to learn more.We designed Proteus to be simple, and that means you can get up and running on Proteus without an IT team or support from a programmer. You will want to spend a bit of time configuring the admin console so that you have everything set up to suit your company structure, but it’s very intuitive and you don’t need a PhD in IT. However, we want you to get the best out of what is a brilliantly powerful tool, so don’t hesitate to ask for our support. We have a team of product experts who are ready to help you with the configuration process, so get in touch today by filling out the form below:
