A framework for thinking about when AI involvement is additive or a violation

AI-generated work can look finished without being understood. That uncertainty erodes trust, slows reviews, and leaves colleagues doing the missing work.

AI made you faster. But you’re not more productive; you’re outsourcing the slow part to everyone else

AI made you faster. But you’re not more productive; you’re outsourcing the slow part to everyone else

AI is great when it extends your brain. It gets dangerous when it quietly replaces the part that was supposed to think.

If you want something at work, say it out loud. Your silence isn’t saving you.

What people call “good taste” is really just experience earned through reps. Stop making it sound innate.

We reward complexity and ignore simplicity. In interviews, design reviews, and promotions. Here’s how to fix it.

‘What do you think?’ without a position isn’t a question — it’s a task assignment. State your opinion first. Let people react to something concrete.

I still code as an engineering manager. Not to stay busy, but to show my team what good looks like.

Why I stopped consuming content at 2x speed, and the simple rule that changed how I listen to everything.

The best career opportunities don’t necessarily come from your manager. They come from seeing potential in the boring work already on your plate.

I started this blog about a year ago with pretty modest expectations. It started as a place to organize my thoughts on management, engineering, and everything else in between. I figured maybe a few…

Some engineers dismiss AI coding tools as ‘garbage’ without trying modern versions. Their outdated opinions are costing them.

The companies building AI are spending billions to acquire engineers, not replace them. Here’s why your job is safer than you think.

The one skill that separates senior engineers from everyone else isn’t technical. It’s the ability to take ambiguous problems and make them concrete.Retry

When you paste ChatGPT’s response instead of your own feedback, you’re not being helpful. You’re being lazy and creating more work for everyone.

Most engineers think workplace politics is dirty. They’re wrong. Refusing to play politics doesn’t make you noble; it makes you ineffective.

Diving into Big O Notation, exploring AI content norms, and understanding the management skill that nobody talks about with content from Sam Rose, Sean Goedecke, and Matheus Lima!

“There is a crack in everything. That’s how the light gets in.” — Leonard Cohen Let me tell you something that will happen after you become a manager: you’re going to mess u…

Before giving feedback, ask yourself: is there measurable impact? Most manager feedback is just personal preference disguised as professional development. Stop policing personality.

Why the faster tech evolves and AI advances, the more valuable computer science fundamentals become. Understanding principles beats chasing trends.

Discover why engineers hate managers, the common management anti-patterns that destroy trust, and practical solutions from someone who’s been on both sides.

Why the best engineers aren’t always the smartest — and what separates engineers who ship from those who just code.

We’re taught to eliminate duplication at all costs. But the wrong abstraction is far more expensive than a little copy-paste. Here’s why.

Technological advancements have empowered engineers to focus on creativity and strategy. AI will similarly elevate human insight, generating growth and innovation.

My smartest friends have bananas arguments about LLM coding.

We’re taught to eliminate duplication at all costs. But the wrong abstraction is far more expensive than a little copy-paste. Here’s why.

Great managers build effective engineering teams focused on results, not just team comfort. Success drives satisfaction—not the other way around.

Great managers build effective engineering teams focused on results, not just team comfort. Success drives satisfaction—not the other way around.

AI coding tools boost productivity but may sacrifice the flow state and deep satisfaction developers experience when writing code by hand. What are we losing?

Hi, I’m Matheus Lima, and I made a blog. Why? Honestly, because it’s cheaper than therapy and more fun than yelling at my IDE. The name Terrible Software? It’s a nod to all the times I’ve stared at…

Engineering leaders can no longer ignore AI. Learn practical steps to guide your team through AI adoption while maintaining quality and addressing legitimate concerns.