Managing Test Case Explosion with Feature Flags

Feature flags let development teams release features incrementally.. However, they come with a significant challenge: test case explosion. As each feature flag essentially creates a duplicate version of the system, the number of potential paths requiring testing grows exponentially.

I worked at a company where the QA team would only allow feature flags to be changed in code so that there as no risk of a combination they hadn't tested appearing in production. But this severely limited the benefits of feature flags.

There is a better way. Through clean code separation, extensive unit test coverage and comprehensive feature-flag tooling, companies like Hudson's Bay Company leveraged feature flags to remove the need for testing and staging environments. By being able to toggle on and off new features for a subset of people (e.g. the test team) they moved all of their manual testing to production.

This Week’s Updates

Enabling the Team

How To Recognize “hidden Feedback” by Jeff Wetzler
Leaders who systematically uncover and leverage hidden feedback gain a competitive advantage: They see around corners others miss, repair cracks before they become chasms, and build the kind of trust-based cultures that withstand the most challenging circumstances.

How One Annoying It Crisis Sparked A Company-wide Revolution by Pim de Morree
An IT crisis led a company to rethink its structure and processes, resulting in a revolution that empowered employees and reshaped the organization's approach to work and leadership.

Product Direction

Great Product Managers Go Deeper by Ant Murphy
There is value in deep knowledge in product management, as successful product managers dive deep into the problems they solve and understand the nuances of their users' needs.

Why OKRs Often Slowly Wither Away by Maarten Dalmijn
OKRs often fail to deliver long-term results so get into effectively implementing them for sustainable growth.

Continuous Research

UXinsight’s UX Research Maturity Framework by Karin den Bouwmeester
The UX Research Maturity Framework helps teams evaluate their current practices and plan for future improvements.

Understanding Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis: Key Insights by Nicole Jose
Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis (IPA) is a qualitative research method focused on understanding personal experiences.

Continuous Design

The UX Techniques That Make You Settle For Higher-priced Flights by Peter Ramsey
Scarcity messaging, urgency cues, and default selections nudge users toward more expensive choices. Understanding these design tactics will help make more informed decisions when booking flights.

Who Is The Internet For? by Christopher Butler
There is a transition from human-centric design to machine-centric systems. AI and automated systems are increasingly shaping online experiences, often overshadowing traditional human interactions.

Continuous Development

Managing Test Case Explosion With Feature Flags: Strategies And Solutions by Rory Madden
Feature flags remain a powerful tool for modern software development, and by understanding and addressing their testing challenges, teams can fully leverage their benefits while minimising their overheads.

Rails Views, Web Components, React. Why Make A Choice? by Jeremy Wells
Combining Rails Views, Web Components, and React can help build reusable UI elements, streamlining development and improving scalability.

View The Highlights From UXDX USA & EMEA 2025!
Relive the best moments with our events albums!

What an incredible couple of weeks it’s been! UXDX USA and EMEA 2025 have been filled with inspiring talks, dynamic discussions, and unforgettable networking opportunities. If you weren’t able to join us in person, don't worry, we've captured the best moments from both events in our Google Photo Albums.

Check out the photos to see the highlights, from packed sessions to exciting behind-the-scenes moments. Whether you were with us or couldn’t make it this time, it’s the perfect way to get a taste of what UXDX is all about.

Click below to explore the photo albums and experience the magic of UXDX 2025!

FREE COMMUNITY EVENTS 

Check out more upcoming community events 

Video of the Week
Embedding Accessibility in your Design System

This week, we dive into the critical topic of accessibility in design systems. While product teams are increasingly leveraging design systems to streamline and scale their digital solutions, many are still falling short when it comes to integrating accessibility into their processes. Accessibility should be an inherent part of design systems (whether it’s tokens, annotations, or documentation) but often it’s overlooked or poorly executed.

In this discussion, we’ll explore the common challenges teams face around ownership, documentation, and the application of accessibility considerations throughout the creation of a design system. Learn practical ways to ensure that accessibility isn’t just an afterthought but an integral part of your design system from the start. If you’re looking to improve your approach to accessibility in design systems, this is a must-watch!

The Results of Last Week’s Poll

The question: What's the biggest barrier you've faced in DevOps adoption?

This week’s poll highlights the key barriers teams face when adopting DevOps practices. The most significant challenge, with 28% of responses, is leadership not understanding the cultural aspect of DevOps. This underscores the importance of getting leadership on board with the cultural shift that DevOps requires.

Conflicting priorities between teams came in second at 26%, while resistance to change from team members was identified by 9%. Interestingly, 19% of respondents aren’t involved in DevOps adoption at all, and 18% cited "other" challenges.

These results point to the fact that cultural alignment and communication across teams are critical to successful DevOps adoption. If you’re looking to address these challenges and accelerate your DevOps journey, our Continuous Development course offers practical strategies for improving collaboration and fostering the right mindset.

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