Hi Eric and thank you for reading and responding. Agile, as it is written in the manifesto, is a good thing. The problem I see with it, is it became standardized into a model. It is far too complicated to delve into here in the comment section but the last two of the twelve principles are very important and are often only executed within an existing framework. That becomes problematic. Self-governance loses its power when it is regulated.

When I was in the Marine Corps, we concentrated on small unit tactics. This allowed a small fireteam or squad to adjust the combat strategy based on their own situational awareness. It was powerful and allowed small teams to gain strategic advantage through the use of initiative and self-governance. The same tactic, I believe, could be applied to software development with great success.