Writing

Essays on engineering leadership, team effectiveness, and building software organizations.

• Engineering Still MattersSoftware Engineers are not AI Prompters
  October 18, 2026
• Writing Code is Easy. Delivering a Software Product is Still HardWhy faster code rarely means faster delivery, and what to manage instead
  October 4, 2026
• Leading Effective Software Teams is Out TodayA systems thinking guide for engineering managers, in print and on Kindle
  September 12, 2026
• The Kids Are Really AlrightAI didn't erase the junior's value. It increased it.
  August 18, 2026
• You Don't Have to be at the EdgeIt's called the edge because there is a cliff on the other side
  August 17, 2026
• The Goal is (Still) ValueAI adoption is not the same as delivering outcomes
  August 11, 2026
• The Kids Are AlrightNot hiring junior engineers won't solve the problem you think you have
  August 2, 2026
• Why I spent a year turning this blog into a bookThe tools changed. The job didn't.
  June 14, 2026
• Will Humans Still Review Code?The critical question companies must answer now
  February 17, 2026
• The Engineering Manager's Areas of ResponsibilityWhat exactly do they have to do?
  July 31, 2024

• Hi! I'm Francisco Trindade, VP of Engineering at Braze. I write about engineering leadership and effectiveness, through a systems thinking lens. A few essays a month. No spam, unsubscribe anytime.

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• Team PrinciplesHow should your team work?
  July 6, 2024
• Engineering Management BasicsWhere do we start from?
  July 4, 2024
• Success as an Engineering ManagerWhat is an Engineering Manager trying to achieve?
  July 4, 2024
• All You Need is FocusWhen the normal is to be distracted, focus is the main advantage a team can have
  April 11, 2024
• Ownership as a Skill for Engineering ManagersWhether you think you can or you think you can't — you're probably right.
  February 24, 2024
• Avoiding Bureaucracy in Software TeamsHow to make process improvement effective
  August 25, 2023
• Strategy for Engineering ManagersWhat is the next move?
  August 8, 2023
• To Write or Not to Write (Code)?What does it mean to be technical, and how it helps Engineering Managers
  July 3, 2023
• Planning Engineering Projects EffectivelyThe database schema is not what you should worry about
  May 10, 2023
• Product Management for Engineering ManagersYour best contribution might be outside of engineering
  April 24, 2023
• Engineering Leadership Tactics: Resilience Through CollaborationBuilding stronger software engineering teams
  April 16, 2023
• Using Metrics in Software Engineering ManagementPrinciples for measuring it right
  March 27, 2023
• The Effective Engineering ManagerFocusing on what matters most
  March 20, 2023
• The Times Are Changing in Software EngineeringHow we can make the most of it?
  February 20, 2023
• Engineering Leadership Tactics: Mind the InputHow an engineering team's performance is defined by the work they take in
  January 30, 2023
• Engineering Leadership Tactics: Finding FocusMaking your software engineering team work less and deliver more
  January 13, 2023
• Engineering Leadership Tactics: Building AlignmentHow to find buy-in as an Engineering Manager?
  December 14, 2022
• Engineering Leadership Tactics: Circle of InfluenceHow to achieve change with less effort?
  December 1, 2022
• The Engineering Manager's ToolsWhat is in a manager's toolbox?
  October 20, 2022
• Influencing as an Engineering ManagerHow to make change happen
  September 27, 2022
• The Systems within a Software TeamA brief insight into what is affecting your team's results
  September 12, 2022
• There is always a SystemWhy systems thinking matters and Engineering Managers should care about it
  September 8, 2022
• Leading Software Teams with Systems ThinkingHow Systemic Leadership can help your engineering team
  August 18, 2022
• Project Leadership and CollaborationHow project leadership practices affect team collaboration
  August 11, 2022
• The Big Tech WayWhy copying big tech companies might not be the best strategy
  August 10, 2022
• Engineering Leadership in ActionA framework for Engineering Management
  July 26, 2022
• Leading as an Engineering ManagerHow you can help your reports by working on your team
  July 20, 2022
• Managers, keep your focusBeing passive is not the goal
  October 3, 2021
• Team and IndividualsThe how-to for a tricky balance in software development
  August 19, 2021
• Why does Process Matter?
  June 28, 2021
• Forgetting ManagementHow the software industry is leaving essential knowledge behind
  May 10, 2021
• Improve it! Running an Effective Software Team
  April 12, 2021
• Punching Above your WeightA few tips on getting big results with small engineering teams
  September 29, 2020
• What should Engineering Managers do?Views on a role that is more art than science
  July 15, 2020
• Make it Faster with Slow Decision Making
  June 30, 2020
• Tell Me How You Measure MeA practical view of software engineering metrics
  May 18, 2020
• Inside Job @ QCON 2019
  May 17, 2020
• Change Your StandupsThe simple action that will change your team for the better
  May 8, 2020
• How is it going?Reporting up as an Engineering Leader
  May 4, 2020
• Eye on the PrizeSome principles & tactics on software engineering management
  March 17, 2020
• Pull Requests Considered Harmful
  January 28, 2020
• The Snail Pace of Pull Requests
  January 28, 2020
• On Accountability in Software Development
  January 19, 2020
• Customer Service: the not so secret weapon of every startup
  February 14, 2017
• Democratic Product Management at YourGrocer
  January 15, 2017
• How to make 100 people love your product
  November 16, 2016
• Product Management Without the BudgetWhat we've learned about products in our first year at YourGrocer
  October 2, 2014
• Development is support, support is development
  November 20, 2012
• Evolving Infrastructure
  November 6, 2012
• LAST Conference — Take it Offshore
  August 2, 2012
• Beware of Technical Projects
  July 16, 2012
• Developing internally? You are not special
  June 20, 2012
• Duplication? Yes, please.
  June 13, 2012
• Knowledge Sharing on Steroids
  February 22, 2012
• Kaizen Lego Game @ Agile 2011
  October 2, 2011
• Can I just throw it over the wall?
  February 15, 2011
• Simple Planning
  May 4, 2010
• We Need Standards
  October 17, 2008
• Uncertainty
  May 20, 2008
• Velocity, Capacity and Productivity
  May 13, 2008
• Software (Engineering or Development?)
  April 6, 2008