In a comprehensive survey conducted by LeadDev and involving 500 engineering leaders, the importance of feature management and experimentation in software development is emphasized, highlighting the need for robust solutions like those provided by Split by Harness. The survey reveals that successful feature management is strongly linked to the ability to monitor system performance and user behavior at the feature level, with 82% of successful respondents affirming this capability. Additionally, risk mitigation and feature optimization are identified as key benefits of feature-level monitoring, with 78% of respondents recognizing the importance of these elements. The report underscores a shift in priorities from speed to safety and impact, with 78% of participants emphasizing the role of risk mitigation and optimization in feature management practices. The integration of feature flags with CI/CD pipelines is highlighted as a critical step for future platforms, enhancing context and traceability. The survey also identifies a growing trend where experimentation is increasingly becoming an engineering responsibility, indicating a collaborative effort between product and engineering teams to leverage experimentation for product innovation. Moreover, the survey reveals challenges with homegrown feature flagging solutions, which often increase technical debt, pointing to the need for advanced, automated solutions. The report concludes by urging teams to adopt proven feature management and experimentation solutions to innovate safely and effectively, warning that reliance on outdated or homegrown systems could result in falling behind industry standards.