{"id":"https://openalex.org/W3090557936","doi":"https://doi.org/10.1145/3377813.3381366","title":"Exploring differences and commonalities between feature flags and configuration options","display_name":"Exploring differences and commonalities between feature flags and configuration options","publication_year":2020,"publication_date":"2020-06-27","ids":{"openalex":"https://openalex.org/W3090557936","doi":"https://doi.org/10.1145/3377813.3381366","mag":"3090557936"},"language":"en","primary_location":{"id":"doi:10.1145/3377813.3381366","is_oa":true,"landing_page_url":"https://doi.org/10.1145/3377813.3381366","pdf_url":"https://dl.acm.org/doi/pdf/10.1145/3377813.3381366","source":null,"license":"cc-by","license_id":"https://openalex.org/licenses/cc-by","version":"publishedVersion","is_accepted":true,"is_published":true,"raw_source_name":"Proceedings of the ACM/IEEE 42nd International Conference on Software Engineering: Software Engineering in Practice","raw_type":"proceedings-article"},"type":"article","indexed_in":["crossref"],"open_access":{"is_oa":true,"oa_status":"gold","oa_url":"https://dl.acm.org/doi/pdf/10.1145/3377813.3381366","any_repository_has_fulltext":null},"authorships":[{"author_position":"first","author":{"id":"https://openalex.org/A5066508991","display_name":"Jens Meinicke","orcid":null},"institutions":[{"id":"https://openalex.org/I74973139","display_name":"Carnegie Mellon University","ror":"https://ror.org/05x2bcf33","country_code":"US","type":"education","lineage":["https://openalex.org/I74973139"]}],"countries":["US"],"is_corresponding":true,"raw_author_name":"Jens Meinicke","raw_affiliation_strings":["Carnegie Mellon University"],"affiliations":[{"raw_affiliation_string":"Carnegie Mellon University","institution_ids":["https://openalex.org/I74973139"]}]},{"author_position":"middle","author":{"id":"https://openalex.org/A5000845080","display_name":"Chu-Pan Wong","orcid":"https://orcid.org/0000-0003-3694-9077"},"institutions":[{"id":"https://openalex.org/I74973139","display_name":"Carnegie Mellon University","ror":"https://ror.org/05x2bcf33","country_code":"US","type":"education","lineage":["https://openalex.org/I74973139"]}],"countries":["US"],"is_corresponding":false,"raw_author_name":"Chu-Pan Wong","raw_affiliation_strings":["Carnegie Mellon University"],"affiliations":[{"raw_affiliation_string":"Carnegie Mellon University","institution_ids":["https://openalex.org/I74973139"]}]},{"author_position":"middle","author":{"id":"https://openalex.org/A5050821883","display_name":"Bogdan Vasilescu","orcid":"https://orcid.org/0000-0003-4418-5783"},"institutions":[{"id":"https://openalex.org/I74973139","display_name":"Carnegie Mellon University","ror":"https://ror.org/05x2bcf33","country_code":"US","type":"education","lineage":["https://openalex.org/I74973139"]}],"countries":["US"],"is_corresponding":false,"raw_author_name":"Bogdan Vasilescu","raw_affiliation_strings":["Carnegie Mellon University"],"affiliations":[{"raw_affiliation_string":"Carnegie Mellon University","institution_ids":["https://openalex.org/I74973139"]}]},{"author_position":"last","author":{"id":"https://openalex.org/A5067467896","display_name":"Christian K\u00e4stner","orcid":"https://orcid.org/0000-0002-4450-4572"},"institutions":[{"id":"https://openalex.org/I74973139","display_name":"Carnegie Mellon University","ror":"https://ror.org/05x2bcf33","country_code":"US","type":"education","lineage":["https://openalex.org/I74973139"]}],"countries":["US"],"is_corresponding":false,"raw_author_name":"Christian K\u00e4stner","raw_affiliation_strings":["Carnegie Mellon University"],"affiliations":[{"raw_affiliation_string":"Carnegie Mellon University","institution_ids":["https://openalex.org/I74973139"]}]}],"institutions":[],"countries_distinct_count":1,"institutions_distinct_count":4,"corresponding_author_ids":["https://openalex.org/A5066508991"],"corresponding_institution_ids":["https://openalex.org/I74973139"],"apc_list":null,"apc_paid":null,"fwci":2.7188,"has_fulltext":true,"cited_by_count":27,"citation_normalized_percentile":{"value":0.92217851,"is_in_top_1_percent":false,"is_in_top_10_percent":true},"cited_by_percentile_year":{"min":91,"max":99},"biblio":{"volume":null,"issue":null,"first_page":"233","last_page":"242"},"is_retracted":false,"is_paratext":false,"is_xpac":false,"primary_topic":{"id":"https://openalex.org/T10639","display_name":"Advanced Software Engineering Methodologies","score":0.9998999834060669,"subfield":{"id":"https://openalex.org/subfields/1702","display_name":"Artificial Intelligence"},"field":{"id":"https://openalex.org/fields/17","display_name":"Computer Science"},"domain":{"id":"https://openalex.org/domains/3","display_name":"Physical Sciences"}},"topics":[{"id":"https://openalex.org/T10639","display_name":"Advanced Software Engineering Methodologies","score":0.9998999834060669,"subfield":{"id":"https://openalex.org/subfields/1702","display_name":"Artificial Intelligence"},"field":{"id":"https://openalex.org/fields/17","display_name":"Computer Science"},"domain":{"id":"https://openalex.org/domains/3","display_name":"Physical Sciences"}},{"id":"https://openalex.org/T10430","display_name":"Software Engineering Techniques and Practices","score":0.9976999759674072,"subfield":{"id":"https://openalex.org/subfields/1710","display_name":"Information Systems"},"field":{"id":"https://openalex.org/fields/17","display_name":"Computer Science"},"domain":{"id":"https://openalex.org/domains/3","display_name":"Physical Sciences"}},{"id":"https://openalex.org/T10260","display_name":"Software Engineering Research","score":0.9973000288009644,"subfield":{"id":"https://openalex.org/subfields/1710","display_name":"Information Systems"},"field":{"id":"https://openalex.org/fields/17","display_name":"Computer Science"},"domain":{"id":"https://openalex.org/domains/3","display_name":"Physical Sciences"}}],"keywords":[{"id":"https://openalex.org/keywords/flags-register","display_name":"FLAGS register","score":0.9577482342720032},{"id":"https://openalex.org/keywords/feature","display_name":"Feature (linguistics)","score":0.787208080291748},{"id":"https://openalex.org/keywords/flag","display_name":"Flag (linear algebra)","score":0.7263213396072388},{"id":"https://openalex.org/keywords/computer-science","display_name":"Computer science","score":0.6690720319747925},{"id":"https://openalex.org/keywords/software-deployment","display_name":"Software deployment","score":0.6435445547103882},{"id":"https://openalex.org/keywords/data-science","display_name":"Data science","score":0.513039231300354},{"id":"https://openalex.org/keywords/work","display_name":"Work (physics)","score":0.44153472781181335},{"id":"https://openalex.org/keywords/software","display_name":"Software","score":0.42315608263015747},{"id":"https://openalex.org/keywords/knowledge-management","display_name":"Knowledge management","score":0.3581210970878601},{"id":"https://openalex.org/keywords/software-engineering","display_name":"Software engineering","score":0.21262913942337036},{"id":"https://openalex.org/keywords/engineering","display_name":"Engineering","score":0.20901837944984436}],"concepts":[{"id":"https://openalex.org/C69721887","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q2600316","display_name":"FLAGS register","level":2,"score":0.9577482342720032},{"id":"https://openalex.org/C2776401178","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q12050496","display_name":"Feature (linguistics)","level":2,"score":0.787208080291748},{"id":"https://openalex.org/C2776730729","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q1392130","display_name":"Flag (linear algebra)","level":3,"score":0.7263213396072388},{"id":"https://openalex.org/C41008148","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q21198","display_name":"Computer science","level":0,"score":0.6690720319747925},{"id":"https://openalex.org/C105339364","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q2297740","display_name":"Software deployment","level":2,"score":0.6435445547103882},{"id":"https://openalex.org/C2522767166","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q2374463","display_name":"Data science","level":1,"score":0.513039231300354},{"id":"https://openalex.org/C18762648","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q42213","display_name":"Work (physics)","level":2,"score":0.44153472781181335},{"id":"https://openalex.org/C2777904410","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q7397","display_name":"Software","level":2,"score":0.42315608263015747},{"id":"https://openalex.org/C56739046","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q192060","display_name":"Knowledge management","level":1,"score":0.3581210970878601},{"id":"https://openalex.org/C115903868","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q80993","display_name":"Software engineering","level":1,"score":0.21262913942337036},{"id":"https://openalex.org/C127413603","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q11023","display_name":"Engineering","level":0,"score":0.20901837944984436},{"id":"https://openalex.org/C33923547","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q395","display_name":"Mathematics","level":0,"score":0.0},{"id":"https://openalex.org/C202444582","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q837863","display_name":"Pure mathematics","level":1,"score":0.0},{"id":"https://openalex.org/C138885662","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q5891","display_name":"Philosophy","level":0,"score":0.0},{"id":"https://openalex.org/C111919701","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q9135","display_name":"Operating system","level":1,"score":0.0},{"id":"https://openalex.org/C199360897","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q9143","display_name":"Programming language","level":1,"score":0.0},{"id":"https://openalex.org/C41895202","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q8162","display_name":"Linguistics","level":1,"score":0.0},{"id":"https://openalex.org/C136119220","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q1000660","display_name":"Algebra over a field","level":2,"score":0.0},{"id":"https://openalex.org/C78519656","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q101333","display_name":"Mechanical engineering","level":1,"score":0.0}],"mesh":[],"locations_count":1,"locations":[{"id":"doi:10.1145/3377813.3381366","is_oa":true,"landing_page_url":"https://doi.org/10.1145/3377813.3381366","pdf_url":"https://dl.acm.org/doi/pdf/10.1145/3377813.3381366","source":null,"license":"cc-by","license_id":"https://openalex.org/licenses/cc-by","version":"publishedVersion","is_accepted":true,"is_published":true,"raw_source_name":"Proceedings of the ACM/IEEE 42nd International Conference on Software Engineering: Software Engineering in Practice","raw_type":"proceedings-article"}],"best_oa_location":{"id":"doi:10.1145/3377813.3381366","is_oa":true,"landing_page_url":"https://doi.org/10.1145/3377813.3381366","pdf_url":"https://dl.acm.org/doi/pdf/10.1145/3377813.3381366","source":null,"license":"cc-by","license_id":"https://openalex.org/licenses/cc-by","version":"publishedVersion","is_accepted":true,"is_published":true,"raw_source_name":"Proceedings of the ACM/IEEE 42nd International Conference on Software Engineering: Software Engineering in Practice","raw_type":"proceedings-article"},"sustainable_development_goals":[],"awards":[{"id":"https://openalex.org/G1837631605","display_name":null,"funder_award_id":"FA8750-16-2-0042","funder_id":"https://openalex.org/F4320338294","funder_display_name":"Air Force Research Laboratory"},{"id":"https://openalex.org/G3305415900","display_name":null,"funder_award_id":"1552944","funder_id":"https://openalex.org/F4320306076","funder_display_name":"National Science Foundation"},{"id":"https://openalex.org/G3546905457","display_name":null,"funder_award_id":"1552944, 1717022, 1813598, 1717415, 1901311","funder_id":"https://openalex.org/F4320309856","funder_display_name":"National Youth Science Foundation"},{"id":"https://openalex.org/G3693556586","display_name":null,"funder_award_id":"2-004","funder_id":"https://openalex.org/F4320306076","funder_display_name":"National Science Foundation"},{"id":"https://openalex.org/G4011700787","display_name":"SHF: SMALL: Streamlining Fork-Based Software Development","funder_award_id":"1813598","funder_id":"https://openalex.org/F4320306076","funder_display_name":"National Science Foundation"},{"id":"https://openalex.org/G4713059963","display_name":null,"funder_award_id":"FA8750","funder_id":"https://openalex.org/F4320332180","funder_display_name":"Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency"},{"id":"https://openalex.org/G4852563278","display_name":null,"funder_award_id":"1717022","funder_id":"https://openalex.org/F4320306076","funder_display_name":"National Science Foundation"},{"id":"https://openalex.org/G5311043486","display_name":null,"funder_award_id":"1901311","funder_id":"https://openalex.org/F4320306076","funder_display_name":"National Science Foundation"},{"id":"https://openalex.org/G5574418846","display_name":"SHF: Small: Collaborative Research: Discerning and Recommending Context-Specific Best Practices in DevOps-Oriented Software Development","funder_award_id":"1717415","funder_id":"https://openalex.org/F4320306076","funder_display_name":"National Science Foundation"},{"id":"https://openalex.org/G7490241451","display_name":null,"funder_award_id":"FA8750-16-2-0042","funder_id":"https://openalex.org/F4320332180","funder_display_name":"Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency"}],"funders":[{"id":"https://openalex.org/F4320306076","display_name":"National Science Foundation","ror":"https://ror.org/021nxhr62"},{"id":"https://openalex.org/F4320309856","display_name":"National Youth Science Foundation","ror":"https://ror.org/054yz2f06"},{"id":"https://openalex.org/F4320332180","display_name":"Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency","ror":"https://ror.org/02caytj08"},{"id":"https://openalex.org/F4320338294","display_name":"Air Force Research Laboratory","ror":"https://ror.org/02e2egq70"}],"has_content":{"pdf":true,"grobid_xml":true},"content_urls":{"pdf":"https://content.openalex.org/works/W3090557936.pdf","grobid_xml":"https://content.openalex.org/works/W3090557936.grobid-xml"},"referenced_works_count":55,"referenced_works":["https://openalex.org/W30803841","https://openalex.org/W1494019345","https://openalex.org/W1500250067","https://openalex.org/W1501652040","https://openalex.org/W1547743088","https://openalex.org/W1556604985","https://openalex.org/W1599355180","https://openalex.org/W1970017388","https://openalex.org/W1975566260","https://openalex.org/W1984544455","https://openalex.org/W1985905700","https://openalex.org/W1999296854","https://openalex.org/W2004248182","https://openalex.org/W2005680430","https://openalex.org/W2009982135","https://openalex.org/W2041783719","https://openalex.org/W2048064553","https://openalex.org/W2048848542","https://openalex.org/W2066787289","https://openalex.org/W2075642720","https://openalex.org/W2075699551","https://openalex.org/W2095056536","https://openalex.org/W2095561982","https://openalex.org/W2097355277","https://openalex.org/W2098345837","https://openalex.org/W2104208948","https://openalex.org/W2108999965","https://openalex.org/W2113201637","https://openalex.org/W2128208466","https://openalex.org/W2128967738","https://openalex.org/W2148524997","https://openalex.org/W2152382597","https://openalex.org/W2156817008","https://openalex.org/W2158809056","https://openalex.org/W2168668632","https://openalex.org/W2170276374","https://openalex.org/W2248702549","https://openalex.org/W2261238734","https://openalex.org/W2261611353","https://openalex.org/W2267596186","https://openalex.org/W2347456954","https://openalex.org/W2374582210","https://openalex.org/W2404120807","https://openalex.org/W2469513535","https://openalex.org/W2511206070","https://openalex.org/W2616535920","https://openalex.org/W2756040459","https://openalex.org/W2760679152","https://openalex.org/W2766228130","https://openalex.org/W2883421393","https://openalex.org/W2889155451","https://openalex.org/W2901842721","https://openalex.org/W2960200195","https://openalex.org/W3210030168","https://openalex.org/W4281564584"],"related_works":["https://openalex.org/W4237372558","https://openalex.org/W577438491","https://openalex.org/W2287913863","https://openalex.org/W784985651","https://openalex.org/W576648413","https://openalex.org/W588068431","https://openalex.org/W643061367","https://openalex.org/W3183852398","https://openalex.org/W4251586001","https://openalex.org/W2323846671"],"abstract_inverted_index":{"Feature":[0],"flags":[1,47,82],"for":[2,8,76,106],"continuous":[3],"deployment":[4],"and":[5,16,41,48,58,67,69,83,108],"configuration":[6,49,88],"options":[7],"customizing":[9],"software":[10],"share":[11],"many":[12],"similarities,":[13],"both":[14,61,112,118],"conceptually":[15],"technically.":[17],"However,":[18],"neither":[19],"academic":[20],"nor":[21],"practitioner":[22],"publications":[23],"seem":[24],"to":[25,63,70,87],"clearly":[26],"compare":[27],"these":[28],"two":[29],"concepts.":[30],"We":[31,98],"argue":[32],"that":[33,117],"a":[34],"distinction":[35],"is":[36],"valuable,":[37],"as":[38],"applications,":[39],"goals,":[40],"challenges":[42],"differ":[43],"fundamentally":[44],"between":[45],"feature":[46,81],"options.":[50],"In":[51],"this":[52],"work,":[53],"we":[54,90,115],"explore":[55],"the":[56],"differences":[57],"commonalities":[59],"of":[60],"concepts":[62],"help":[64,71],"understand":[65,80],"practices":[66],"challenges,":[68],"transfer":[72,110],"existing":[73],"solutions":[74],"(e.g.,":[75],"testing).":[77],"To":[78],"better":[79],"how":[84],"they":[85],"relate":[86],"options,":[89],"performed":[91],"nine":[92],"semi-structured":[93],"interviews":[94],"with":[95],"feature-flag":[96],"experts.":[97],"discovered":[99],"several":[100],"distinguishing":[101],"characteristics":[102],"but":[103],"also":[104],"opportunities":[105],"knowledge":[107],"technology":[109],"across":[111],"communities.":[113],"Overall,":[114],"think":[116],"communities":[119],"can":[120],"learn":[121],"from":[122],"each":[123],"other.":[124]},"counts_by_year":[{"year":2025,"cited_by_count":1},{"year":2024,"cited_by_count":6},{"year":2023,"cited_by_count":3},{"year":2022,"cited_by_count":6},{"year":2021,"cited_by_count":9},{"year":2020,"cited_by_count":2}],"updated_date":"2026-04-10T15:06:20.359241","created_date":"2025-10-10T00:00:00"}
