Publications
For more than fifteen years, César França has been writing about the human side of technology: what motivates the people who build software, how we learn with artificial intelligence and how startups are born. All four books are available as free PDFs in Portuguese, English and Italian.
The books
Each book has its own page, with the free PDF in all three languages, a tour of its main ideas and what readers say about it.
2010
The first book, born from a master’s dissertation. Research with 235 professionals in 19 teams brings theories from the psychology of motivation to the daily work of people who build software, and shows which factors really matter, where to start and who should act, in practical programs for three types of team.
For project managers, team leaders and researchers.
Visit the book’s page2018
A by-product of a PhD that was too valuable to leave in a drawer. Maslow, McGregor, Herzberg, Vroom, Locke and Hackman: the seven theories that founded the study of human motivation, from 1943 to 1975, with the author, the origin, the core ideas and the critiques of each one.
For anyone who needs to understand people, not just processes.
Visit the book’s page2024
When ChatGPT arrived, the essay César used to assign his students stopped making sense. Redesigning that activity became a method: 10 design patterns, such as “Create & Critique”, for using AI not to automate tasks but to create more critical and creative learning experiences.
For teachers and educators at any level.
Visit the book’s page2024
A practical guide to creating, managing and growing an incubator: the types of incubator, the stages of incubation, the CERNE maturity model by Anprotec and Sebrae, and five cases inspired by real life.
For managers of innovation environments and entrepreneurs.
Visit the book’s pageBeyond the books
From the first incubated startup to a postdoc in Italy: the education, the research on motivation, the classroom and the books that came out of each stage.
Read the story 119Articles in journals such as IEEE Transactions on Software Engineering and Information and Software Technology, papers at conferences such as ICSE and ESEM, chapters, e-books and white papers.
See the full list 25Interviews, talks, panels, webinars and podcasts on artificial intelligence, education, digital transformation and the human aspects of software engineering.
Watch and listenAcademic recognition
Editorial board member of the Journal of Software Engineering Research and Development (JSERD), reviewer for IEEE Transactions on Software Engineering, IEEE Software, Empirical Software Engineering, Journal of Systems and Software and Information and Software Technology, and member of FACEPE’s advisory committee.
Talks, consulting and mentoring
César gives talks, workshops, consulting and mentoring for companies, schools, universities and innovation environments, in Portuguese or English.
