A toggle is a switch that allows you to quickly change its state. It’s used in many different ways to do everything from controlling video playback on your laptop to switching between a stream and a map view in an exhibit.

In software, toggles are often used to support new features in development that would otherwise require code changes on a production branch and then going through a lengthy testing and QA process before being merged into trunk code. Feature toggles allow teams to release code with new features hidden behind them and then make those new features available to all users through an update.

When designing the visual experience of toggles, it is important to avoid confusion. Toggle switches should have clear and distinct states that are easily understandable by users through the use of color, movement, and other signifiers such as text labels or icons. Color should be used sparingly in toggles and always in combination with other UI cues to make sure that the current state of the toggle is immediately discernible to the user. It is also important to consider WCAG guidelines for accessibility and ensure that toggles do not rely solely on color to convey meaning.

Another key consideration is the longevity of toggles. Savvy teams treat the inventory of toggles as something that comes with a carrying cost and seek to minimize their inventory as they move new features through the process. Some teams have a rule of adding a toggle removal task to the backlog of every release and others put expiration dates on their toggles to make sure they are not hanging around for too long.

Managing the lifecycle of toggles requires some level of automation as well. Some teams will hardcode the configuration for their toggles using a preprocessor feature like #ifdef to prevent the need for a full code deployment in order to change a flag’s state. Unfortunately this approach can limit how dynamic your toggle system is and can be a big barrier to agility.

For more complex cases like Ops Toggles, a more sophisticated approach is required. Some systems will have a dedicated toggle management layer that enables developers to expose and update flags in runtime without having to restart the application. This is a huge improvement over more traditional approaches and can dramatically shorten the cycle time of your validation processes and the feedback loop that CI/CD provides.

Toggles are powerful tools that can be used to improve your product’s usability and flexibility. However, they must be used wisely to avoid complexity and maintainability problems. By categorizing toggles, separating decision points from logic, and regularly auditing and cleaning up the system, you can reduce technical debt and ensure that your product stays nimble and user-friendly.