The agile manifesto was a set of stated relative values that the authors felt lead to positive results when a development team bought in. It wasn't a descriptio

The agile manifesto was a set of stated relative values that the authors felt lead to positive results when a development team bought in. It wasn't a description of any methodology or process. In fact I have never been able to tell how agile methodologies were related to the manifesto in any way. Software and manufacturing methodologies can be good as best practices or guidelines, but when they require documentation for following steps, and have a methodology for changing the methodology, they lose their value. If you have a well intentioned group of team players that understand the values and guidelines and buy in, then the formality is a waste of time, and if you don't have those people nothing can save you. Process gets used as a shield for accountability by those people not a tool to correct their performance. Accountability (not blaming) is simply a way to adjust the power given to well intentioned team players based on the results of their decisions and actions. It is not a punishment, even though it does hurt.