How General Motors Leverages Feature Flags to Ease Mobile App Complexities

General Motors (GM), a leading automaker, is leveraging feature flags to manage the increasing complexities in vehicles due to software integration and the transition to electric energy sources. Jim DeMercurio, Director of Mobile Solutions at GM, spoke about how LaunchDarkly has been instrumental in this process. The company's mobile applications, including Mybrand (MyGMC, MyChevrolet, MyCadillac, MyBuick) and Onstar Guardian, require extensive testing across various phone models, operating system versions, vehicle makes, models, years, subscription accounts, and types of subscriptions. DeMercurio highlighted that adding more test cycles is not the solution; instead, GM has adopted a method with LaunchDarkly that has proven successful. By reducing cycle time and separating deployment from release, General Motors now delivers value to customers faster and with higher quality. The company plans to integrate LaunchDarkly into back office systems, expand A/B testing, and automate the feature switch ramp-up and ramp-down process based on performance metrics in the future.