Agreed. It seems like the manifesto is designed with the idea that engineers should not develop any soft skills, primarily communication. I find biweekly or mo

Agreed. It seems like the manifesto is designed with the idea that engineers should not develop any soft skills, primarily communication. I find biweekly or monthly meetings with stakeholders to be extremely useful. I do not tie my work output to these meetings. They are just status updates, feedback, and plans for the future. I try to walk into them without a plan, just a set time for a conversation. Sometimes I don't have anything to show unless they "want to watch tests run." In which case I get a resounding, "No," and we move on. It is up to you as a developer to set the tone for these meetings. Frame it as a conversation, not a presentation. Most process breakdowns and anger are rooted in the fact that people don't understand each other's job. Sitting in an office, and passing "quality" work under the door irregularly does not help. Management has no visibility into this and will eventually lead to confrontation. Being open and honest with communication builds trust which will lead to longer lasting happiness than sequestering yourself away. I would agree that software estimates are hard. The simple solution to that is take whatever you think it will be and double it, triple it, quintuple it. Whatever works for you. Under promise and over deliver might be controversial, but I think it applies here. It's more about giving yourself room than wowing management. Sometimes those misestimations are because you are blocked by other team. No one develops by themselves, no matter how much of a 10x engineer you think you are. This is where the trust you built with management comes into play. Use them as a tool to get things done across teams. This manifesto is all about giving back the power to the developer to manage their own time. It basically says, "Developers do want you want. And management, stay out of their way." Its reactionary, because the author feels like Agile/SCRUM has been used against them. This is completely understandable. Feeling powerless is heartbreaking. But trying to implement something like this would never fly. And if it did, it would eventually be twisted just like Agile has. No manifesto will help you in this case. You need to learn how to communicate, and through communication reassert your power over your situation and the decisions being made by participating.