It may well be done by cargo cult, because there&#x27;s a lot of catchphrases to do with Agile that people are eager to use. I can definitely see how people can get excited, do a superficial attempt at implementing, and then wonder why it didn&#x27;t work.<p>But IMO the main thing about Agile is short feedback cycles. If your feedback is real (not just pleasing management), you can&#x27;t avoid improving your product faster than some methodology (I hesitate to use such a word; it&#x27;s really just rules of thumb) that insists on taking a long time between feedbacks.<p>This also means that it&#x27;s somewhat tautological that Agile methods will work. If you keep making product, you&#x27;re getting work done. If you&#x27;re not getting work done, you&#x27;re not doing Agile.