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When Scrum, DevOps and Arc42 are introduced – without being understood
Many organizations believe they have taken the decisive step: Scrum has been introduced, DevOps has been “implemented” and architecture is “documented according to Arc42”. On paper, everything looks like modern software development. In reality, often only the surface has changed.
This phenomenon is no coincidence – it is a classic cargo cult.
What is Cargo Cult?
The term comes from anthropology. After the Second World War, indigenous cultures on Pacific islands observed airplanes landing with valuable goods. After the military withdrew, they tried to imitate the rituals: Wooden landing strips, bamboo radios, military gestures. The assumption was simple – if we copy the form, the result will come back.
The problem: the underlying systems – logistics, industry, communication – were not understood.
Cargo Cult in software development
This pattern is repeated in companies today. Only with different terms.
Scrum without empiricism
Daily stand-ups are held, but without any real exchange of information. Retrospectives exist, but do not lead to any changes. Sprints are just new names for old waterfall phases.
Symptom: Meetings exist – learning does not.
DevOps without responsibility
CI/CD pipelines exist. Deployments are automated. Monitoring is in place. But: teams have no end-to-end responsibility. Errors are still “passed on”. Operations and development are culturally separated.
Symptom: Tools are modern – ownership is old.
Architecture without understanding
Documents are complete. Templates are filled in. Diagrams exist. But: Decisions are not comprehensible. Models are not lived. Architecture has no influence on the code.
Symptom: Documentation exists – architecture does not.
Why is this happening?
Form is easier than content
It is easier to introduce a meeting, install a tool or fill in a template – than to redistribute responsibility, establish feedback loops and change decision-making structures.
Management seeks security
Methods such as Scrum or DevOps are often sold as “best practices”. The implicit expectation: “If we introduce this, we will be successful.” This leads to a dangerous shortcut – adoption without understanding.
Lack of system perspective
Most of these concepts are system designs for organizations: Scrum is an empirical control model, DevOps is a socio-technical system, architecture is a decision-making structure. If you only see the artifacts, you miss the actual purpose.
The actual function of these concepts
To break through the cargo cult, you have to understand what these approaches are really supposed to do.
Scrum should reduce uncertainty through short feedback cycles and systematize learning – not standardize meetings.
DevOps should dissolve responsibility boundaries and create a continuous feedback loop from code to production – not introduce tools.
Architecture (Arc42 as an example) should make decisions explicit and keep complexity manageable – not generate documentation.
How do you recognize real progress?
Not by the number of meetings, the amount of documentation or the number of tools. But by:
Feedback speed – How quickly does the system learn from mistakes?
Error location – How easy is it to narrow down a problem?
Decision quality – Are decisions made in a comprehensible and verifiable manner?
Ownership – Is it clear who bears responsibility – end-to-end?
Less method introduction, more systems thinking
The crucial shift is not “Which method should we introduce?”, but “What problem are we actually trying to solve?”
This fits in with a fundamental principle of modern product development: it is not the method that creates success – it is the understanding of the problem.
Conclusion
Cargo Cult does not happen out of stupidity. It arises from time pressure, uncertainty and the desire for quick solutions. That is precisely why it is so dangerous.
The solution is inconvenient: really understanding concepts. Taking a holistic view of systems. Rethinking responsibility.
Or to put it another way:
If you only copy the form, you optimize the illusion. Those who understand the purpose change the system.
