From release gatekeepers to product builders

Maria and João share how even a modern microservices architecture can get stuck when it is wrapped in a release train built on fear. Rather than layering on more controls, the team took a different approach: they treated their continuous delivery platform as a product that developers actually wanted to use. Through developer experience surveys, clear guardrails, and a focus on measurable outcomes, they rebuilt the platform around adoption instead of enforcement. The shift was dramatic, moving from weekly or monthly releases to 1000+ releases per month and achieving 10x faster delivery. This talk explores what happens when product thinking and trust shape platform design and why that combination unlocks speed at enterprise scale.