Toggle is a small user interface control that allows users to switch between two different states, or options. For example, a toggle might let users choose between an immersive virtual reality experience or a regular web page. Toggles are a common part of user-facing applications such as websites, mobile apps and desktop programs. They are useful for allowing users to update preferences, settings and other types of information.
Toggles are usually implemented as boolean variables in programming languages. They are checked for their value by programs when a button is clicked or some other event occurs. Then, the program changes the state of the variable to reflect the new value (usually to On or Off). This simple change is used to change an application’s behavior. The behavior is changed in a way that doesn’t require changing the code in the rest of the system.
Some of the most important and powerful aspects of Toggle are how they enable teams to make data-driven changes to their products without impacting the code in other parts of the system. For instance, Toggle can be used to run multivariate tests, or A/B tests, on features of a product. Often, these experiments are done to compare the effectiveness of alternative designs for a product feature. This kind of testing can be very effective at improving user experience, reducing customer churn or making sales increases.
For this reason, the Toggle element can be a very valuable tool for product managers and developers. However, like any tool it should be used with caution.
Savvy teams recognize that Toggles carry a burden with them, and so try to keep the number of toggles in their codebase low. To do this they will often include a task for removing toggles onto the team’s backlog whenever a new toggle is introduced. They will also take proactive steps to remove older toggles from the application, such as adding an expiration date on each one of them. Some teams even go as far as putting “time bombs” into their tests, ensuring that they will fail if a toggle is left in place after its time has expired.
While the use of Toggles in software development is not new, the popularity of these tools is growing as more and more organizations adopt agile methodologies. Many agile teams use Toggles to enable experimentation and test a range of possibilities for product features. In addition, some agile teams use Toggles as an alternate method for doing a canary release or rolling out a new feature to a limited subset of their users at any given time. Using Toggles in this manner is known as a “feature flag”. This technique is used by some of the world’s largest companies. It is a good way to reduce the risk of deploying new functionality to all customers and to allow them to opt in or out of features as they see fit. For larger releases, the use of Toggles can also help reduce the scope and complexity of a release, saving time and resources.
