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[Feature flag] Rollout of duo_chat_multi_thread

Summary

This issue is to roll out the feature on production, that is currently behind the duo_chat_multi_thread feature flag.

Special note: At launch existing Duo Chat messages will be cleared. We have created a temporary fix but that will only reach production at a later time.

Owners

  • Most appropriate Slack channel to reach out to: #g_duo_chat
  • Best individual to reach out to: @shinya.maeda @lulalala

Expectations

What are we expecting to happen?

User have access to the new multi-thread Duo Chat UI.

What can go wrong and how would we detect it?

User having issues in the new multi-thread Duo Chat UI.

Rollout Steps

Note: Please make sure to run the chatops commands in the Slack channel that gets impacted by the command.

Rollout on non-production environments

  • Verify the MR with the feature flag is merged to master and has been deployed to non-production environments with /chatops run auto_deploy status <merge-commit-of-your-feature>
  • Deploy the feature flag at a percentage (recommended percentage: 50%) with /chatops run feature set duo_chat_multi_thread <rollout-percentage> --actors --dev --pre --staging --staging-ref
  • Monitor that the error rates did not increase (repeat with a different percentage as necessary).
  • Enable the feature globally on non-production environments with /chatops run feature set duo_chat_multi_thread true --dev --pre --staging --staging-ref
  • Verify that the feature works as expected. The best environment to validate the feature in is staging-canary as this is the first environment deployed to. Make sure you are configured to use canary.
  • If the feature flag causes end-to-end tests to fail, disable the feature flag on staging to avoid blocking deployments.
    • See #e2e-run-staging Slack channel and look for the following messages:
      • test kicked off: Feature flag duo_chat_multi_thread has been set to true on **gstg**
      • test result: This pipeline was triggered due to toggling of duo_chat_multi_thread feature flag

For assistance with end-to-end test failures, please reach out via the #test-platform Slack channel. Note that end-to-end test failures on staging-ref don't block deployments.

Specific rollout on production

For visibility, all /chatops commands that target production must be executed in the #production Slack channel and cross-posted (with the command results) to the responsible team's Slack channel.

  • Ensure that the feature MRs have been deployed to both production and canary with /chatops run auto_deploy status <merge-commit-of-your-feature>
  • Depending on the type of actor you are using, pick one of these options:
    • For project-actor: /chatops run feature set --project=gitlab-org/gitlab,gitlab-org/gitlab-foss,gitlab-com/www-gitlab-com duo_chat_multi_thread true
    • For group-actor: /chatops run feature set --group=gitlab-org,gitlab-com duo_chat_multi_thread true
    • For user-actor: /chatops run feature set --user=lulalala duo_chat_multi_thread true
    • For all internal users: /chatops run feature set --feature-group=gitlab_team_members duo_chat_multi_thread true
  • Verify that the feature works for the specific actors.

Preparation before global rollout

Global rollout on production

For visibility, all /chatops commands that target production must be executed in the #production Slack channel and cross-posted (with the command results) to the responsible team's Slack channel.

(Optional) Release the feature with the feature flag

WARNING: This approach has the downside that it makes it difficult for us to clean up the flag. For example, on-premise users could disable the feature on their GitLab instance. But when you remove the flag at some point, they suddenly see the feature as enabled and they can't roll it back to the previous behavior. To avoid this potential breaking change, use this approach only for urgent matters.

See instructions if you're sure about enabling the feature globally through the feature flag definition

If you're still unsure whether the feature is deemed stable but want to release it in the current milestone, you can change the default state of the feature flag to be enabled. To do so, follow these steps:

  • Create a merge request with the following changes.
    • If feature was enabled for various actors, ensure the feature has been enabled globally on production /chatops run feature get duo_chat_multi_thread. If the feature has not been globally enabled then enable the feature globally using: /chatops run feature set duo_chat_multi_thread true
    • Set the default_enabled attribute in the feature flag definition to true.
    • Decide which changelog entry is needed.
  • Ensure that the default-enabling MR has been included in the release package. If the merge request was deployed before the monthly release was tagged, the feature can be officially announced in a release blog post: /chatops run release check https://gitlab.com/gitlab-org/gitlab/-/merge_requests/177977 17.9
  • After the default-enabling MR has been deployed, clean up the feature flag from all environments by running these chatops command in the #production channel: /chatops run feature delete duo_chat_multi_thread --dev --pre --staging --staging-ref --production
  • Close [the feature issue][&16108 (closed)] to indicate the feature will be released in the current milestone.
  • Set the next milestone to this rollout issue for scheduling the flag removal.
  • (Optional) You can create a separate issue for scheduling the steps below to Release the feature.
    • Set the title to "[Feature flag] Cleanup duo_chat_multi_thread".
    • Execute the /copy_metadata <this-rollout-issue-link> quick action to copy the labels from this rollout issue.
    • Link this rollout issue as a related issue.
    • Close this rollout issue.

Release the feature

After the feature has been deemed stable, the clean up should be done as soon as possible to permanently enable the feature and reduce complexity in the codebase.

You can either create a follow-up issue for Feature Flag Cleanup or use the checklist below in this same issue.

  • Create a merge request to remove the duo_chat_multi_thread feature flag. Ask for review/approval/merge as usual. The MR should include the following changes:
    • Remove all references to the feature flag from the codebase.
    • Remove the YAML definitions for the feature from the repository.
  • Ensure that the cleanup MR has been included in the release package. If the merge request was deployed before the monthly release was tagged, the feature can be officially announced in a release blog post: /chatops run release check https://gitlab.com/gitlab-org/gitlab/-/merge_requests/177977 17.9
  • Close [the feature issue][&16108 (closed)] to indicate the feature will be released in the current milestone.
  • Once the cleanup MR has been deployed to production, clean up the feature flag from all environments by running these chatops command in #production channel: /chatops run feature delete duo_chat_multi_thread --dev --pre --staging --staging-ref --production
  • Close this rollout issue.

Rollback Steps

  • This feature can be disabled on production by running the following Chatops command:
/chatops run feature set duo_chat_multi_thread false
  • Disable the feature flag on non-production environments:
/chatops run feature set duo_chat_multi_thread false --dev --pre --staging --staging-ref
  • Delete feature flag from all environments:
/chatops run feature delete duo_chat_multi_thread --dev --pre --staging --staging-ref --production
Edited by Mark Chao