How They Do ItBETA
TREN

COMPANY PLAYBOOK

TrussWorks

TrussWorks separates internal practice into living guides for the organization, distributed work and open-source delivery rather than one monolithic policy document.
Operating system
  1. Open guide
  2. first-day expectations
  3. distributed-work norms
  4. open-source delivery path
  5. team-contributed updates.

System principles

  • Let employees correct the living guide.
  • Do not leave remote-work norms implicit.
  • Make open-source delivery a repeatable process.

Tensions and trade-offs

  • Open, editable documentation creates ownership but can blur the line between formal policy and experiential guidance.
  • Separate guides create depth but can make the right source harder to find.

PRACTICES

How TrussWorks builds its operating system

01
Hiring

Write first-day expectations explicitly

Pre-first-day preparation, shipped equipment and essential knowledge are explained in a shared guide.

How it works
The onboarding journey becomes sequenced information available before the employee starts.
Why it is used
Reduces uncertainty and manager-to-manager variation.
Trade-off
Without personalization, onboarding can collapse into a checklist.
Best fit
Distributed teams hiring across locations.
Open original source
02
Remote

Distributed-work playbook

Remote collaboration practices are published as a reusable playbook separate from the company guide.

How it works
Communication and collaboration norms are documented with shared examples and practices.
Why it is used
Turns remote work from an individual preference into organizational design.
Trade-off
Applying a playbook without context creates ceremony and tool overhead.
Best fit
Teams moving remote or rebuilding distributed norms.
Open original source
03
Production flow

A defined path to open source

Decision and release steps for turning internal work into open source are documented.

How it works
Licensing, security, ownership and release readiness are handled in a repeatable flow.
Why it is used
Turns an intent to be open into safe, actionable delivery behavior.
Trade-off
A checklist alone does not create maintenance or community ownership.
Best fit
Teams planning to release code for customers or the public.
Open original source
04
Policy

Default-open source with an exception test

Software is open sourced where possible; sensitive data, publication rights, and legal restrictions are explicit exception checks.

How it works
Software is open sourced where possible; sensitive data, publication rights, and legal restrictions are explicit exception checks.
Why it is used
Makes the practice repeatable and visible.
Trade-off
It requires coordination and maintenance capacity.
Best fit
Teams with explicit responsibilities.
Open original source
05
Participation

Attach a conduct standard to contribution

Each open-source project includes or points to the canonical code of conduct.

How it works
Each open-source project includes or points to the canonical code of conduct.
Why it is used
Makes the practice repeatable and visible.
Trade-off
It requires coordination and maintenance capacity.
Best fit
Teams with explicit responsibilities.
Open original source
06
Policy

License defaults by content type

Non-software content defaults to CC-BY 4.0 where possible and source code to Apache 2.0; mixed projects use a NOTICE file.

How it works
Non-software content defaults to CC-BY 4.0 where possible and source code to Apache 2.0; mixed projects use a NOTICE file.
Why it is used
Makes the practice repeatable and visible.
Trade-off
It requires coordination and maintenance capacity.
Best fit
Teams with explicit responsibilities.
Open original source

Primary sources

Trussels’ GuideCompany-published public handbook
Source details
Company publication: YesAccessed: 2026-09-05Visible update: Not displayedLicence: No licence stated in the reviewed source.Archive: Public HTML URL; eligible for an external web snapshot (no snapshot is claimed).
Distributed PlaybookCompany-published public handbook
Source details
Company publication: YesAccessed: 2026-09-05Visible update: Not displayedLicence: No licence stated in the reviewed source.Archive: Public HTML URL; eligible for an external web snapshot (no snapshot is claimed).