Feature Flags, Start ups vs Enterprise Level Organizations

In this episode of The Programming Podcast, Danny Thompson and Leon Noel dive deep into the world of feature flags—what they are, why they matter, and how to use them to ship faster and smarter. They cover real-world examples of rolling out new features in production, the debate around staging environments vs. testing in production, and the pros and cons of unit testing. They also tackle freelance pitfalls—especially those 50/50 payment splits—and share practical tips on ensuring you always get paid. Whether you’re a startup engineer or working at a Fortune 500, you’ll find valuable insights on scaling, testing, and collaborating in modern software development. Listen to The Programming Podcast on YouTube, Spotify, or anywhere else you listen to podcasts! Spotify link https://open.spotify.com/show/6d59PZ138KeoKfq5hoVvyQ Danny's GitHub demo https://github.com/TheDThompsonDev/featureFlagDemo 📧 Have ideas or questions for the show? Or are you a business that wants to talk business? Email us at [email protected]! Learn about the huge software developer mistakes that could cost you job opportunities in the hiring process. Don't make these critical errors! Join Leon Noel and Danny Thompson as they discuss how to get a job in today's market as a software developer! Danny Thompson https://x.com/DThompsonDev https://www.linkedin.com/in/DThompsonDev CommitYourCode.Com Leon Noel https://x.com/leonnoel https://www.linkedin.com/in/leonnoel/ https://100devs.org/ 📧 Have ideas or questions for the show? Or are you a business that wants to talk business? Email us at [email protected]! Chapters & Timestamps 0:00 Intro & Catching Up 1:22 Leon’s Updates: 100 Devs & Job Hunt 2:40 Danny’s Updates: Building a Conference 4:05 Chasing Yeses (4,000 Emails!) 6:00 Introducing Feature Flags 9:00 Enterprise Use Cases for Feature Flags 13:00 Testing in Production vs. Staging 18:00 The Debate: Staging Environments 20:00 Edge Cases, QA, & Best Practices 23:00 Unit Testing Pros & Cons 28:00 Best Tools for Feature Flag Management 31:00 Freelance Question: 50/50 Payouts 34:50 Ensuring You Get Paid as a Subcontractor 37:10 Outro & Next Steps