Yep, I'm aware of how it "should" be. And for smaller companies it's absolutely feasible. But the larger you get, the more layers between people, the less perso

Yep, I'm aware of how it "should" be. And for smaller companies it's absolutely feasible. But the larger you get, the more layers between people, the less personal connection there is, and so you need formal practices like this to act as grease (and OMG the stuff we have now is SOOOOO much better than the crap of the 90s, even if imperfect). At the end of the day, you take some kind of procedure, modify it to your company's culture, and try to make it work. There's no silver bullet, or even a bronze bullet.