As an eng manager (and coder / principal, depending on what the need is) this sounds like poor management that hit a catalyst in the form of this applied method

As an eng manager (and coder / principal, depending on what the need is) this sounds like poor management that hit a catalyst in the form of this applied methodology. Anyone changing an org / team structure without doing an in-depth study consulting the teams involved is asking for trouble. The aim of the preliminary steps is to find the "no way will that work" opinions and take them seriously. I am fed up of people getting paid to blindly apply these methodologies with next to no appreciation for the complexity, hidden or visible, that exists in most orgs. Evolution is better than revolution for 99% of things in my experience. Add lightness is usually the way forward. SCRUM, Agile (capital A), PRINCE2, TDD, BDD, [list any methodology at any slice of the org] all suffer from misapplication by hacks selling snake oil. Sadly "it's complicated, there's no one-size fits all, and no easy answers" doesn't seem to sell books or get people hired; even when it is true.