in the Ask HN that started this, he did put methodology in literalized fingerquotes, so he didn't actually make the egregious error you decry.
| 5) Agile "methodology" when used as anything but a tool
and his summary point still applies right on target because the Agile "manifesto" does not solve what he identifies as the problem: I think overall we seem to be over-complicating software development. We look to architecture and process for flexibility when in reality its acting as a crutch for lack of communication and proper analysis of how we should be architecting the actual software.
dear Agile Manifesto,
The best architectures, requirements, and designs emerge from self-organizing teams? so therefore self-organizing teams always produce the best architectures... anybody see an error in reasoning?
Agile processes promote sustainable development. The sponsors, developers, and users should be able to maintain a constant pace indefinitely. Suuure they do, and that's why we see Agile processes adopted by winning NFL teams, or in the ERs at hospitals, and... Look, there is a Zen Buddhist ideal for living your life in harmony, but it's a goal, not an emergent property of self organized teams.
The most efficient and effective method of conveying information to and within a development team is face-to-face conversation. So, do not look up information in a man page, instead ask me and I will read it to you... that metric-imperial problem that lost that space probe, why another scrum or two would have identified that right away!
I could keep going, but this letter is too long already. Yes, software does offer some advantages over other types of team problem solving (due to the possibility of virtualizing or dummying any of the parts) but because of that flexibility it becomes even more important to nail down as much key design infrastructure as possible, and the Agile Manifesto does not read like a manual for nailing anything down. (And software alone offers the possibility to rip up things that are nailed down, so we don't need to fear nailing down.)
Love,
philosopheer