Case Study: General Motors improves mobile app releases with LaunchDarkly feature flags

General Motors cuts mobile release cycles from 4 months to faster continuous deployment with LaunchDarkly

General Motors, a major automaker, faced escalating complexity in managing its customer-facing mobile apps due to the vast permutations of device models, vehicle types, and subscription plans, making comprehensive testing impossible. To release value faster without compromising quality and move away from problematic "big bang" releases, GM partnered with LaunchDarkly to implement its feature flag management platform.

Using LaunchDarkly, GM adopted a two-pronged feature flag strategy, employing both defensive flags as kill switches and offensive flags for testing and learning. This allowed teams to separate deployment from release, test features gradually with internal users like company vehicle drivers, and conduct targeted A/B testing. The solution enabled GM to find and fix issues before public release, deliver value to customers faster with higher quality, and significantly reduce cycle times, paving the way for further automation and integration.

General Motors