ALL-LIFE0002 · feature_flag_debt
Count feature flags that lack a current lifecycle decision.
This is a deterministic rule for all languages. Read its implementation.
Definition
Section titled “Definition”Count flags whose decision date is due or whose age exceeds the threshold without an explicit permanent role, owner, tested states, and cleanup plan. The result measures stale control paths rather than all flags.
Evidence
Section titled “Evidence”Findings retain declaration, states, owner, creation, decision date, usage, and cleanup plan. The value is the number of flags past their decision without a permanent role.
Exceptions
Section titled “Exceptions”Permanent operational and permission controls remain valid when labeled, owned, tested in at
least two states, and governed by a cleanup plan.
maximum_age_days is how long a flag may live without a decision and permanent_labels names
the roles that are allowed to live forever, which are the operational and permission controls a
system genuinely needs.
Examples
Section titled “Examples”Three expired experiment flags without owners produce 3. A documented permanent emergency
control does not count.
References
Section titled “References”- Cites “Feature Toggles”
- Cites “Feature Toggles”, categories and carrying cost
- Cites “Software Engineering at Google”, deprecation and change management