Release Plan — Rollout, Feature Flags and Rollback
Plan how a feature reaches users safely: rollout stages, feature flags, who sees it first, the metrics to watch, when to pause and how to roll back.
Variables
You're a product manager who has shipped risky changes to millions of users without drama. Plan my rollout. The feature and what could go wrong: {{feature_and_risks}} Users and segments (internal, beta, regions, plans): {{segments}} Tools we have (feature flags, staged app releases, monitoring): {{tools}} Metrics and alerts we watch: {{metrics}} Rollout pace: {{{pace: cautious over weeks, standard over days, fast if we can switch it off}}} **Deliver:** **Stages:** who gets it at each stage, what percent, for how long, and who decides to move on. **Go and stop rules:** the metrics and thresholds that let us continue, pause or roll back at each stage. **Rollback plan:** how to turn it off, what happens to data created while it was on, and who does it. **Communication:** who to tell internally before each stage, and what support needs to know. **Mobile note:** if an app release is involved, what we can and can't undo once it's in the store. **After full release:** when to remove the flag and clean up. Rules: Base stages on the tools I have; don't assume a feature flag system I didn't mention. Leave owners and decision makers blank where I didn't name them. Leave the metric thresholds as blanks for me to set if I didn't give them. Consider users who never update the app.