Agile Journal - Software Development Screwtape Letter

As both an agile advocate and a CS Lewis fan, this got me. One interesting concept from this, one that I had not heard, was that of a "cargo cult". I see cargo cults as the primary risk in going forward with top-down agile implementations, especially if the "top" doesn't get it.

Cargo cults:
During World War II a number of airbases were built on remote tropical islands inhabited by pre-industrial societies. During the war soldiers built airfields and control towers and engaged in various activities that resulted in large airplanes full of cargo landing and discharging their contents. The native inhabitants shared this cargo. After the war the soldiers departed and no more cargo was available to the natives. So they adopted, as best they could, the superficial form of airstrips, control towers, and ritual behaviors intended to induce the return of planes full of cargo. A cargo cult is any group that adopts form instead of substance and believes that doing so will bring about a desired result.

Agile Journal - Software Development Screwtape Letter