Why Is No One Interested In Superior Software Development Approaches?

I’ve been monitoring companies’ interest in software development for enough years (25+) to state unequivocally:

No one running or working in companies seems at all interested in superior* approaches to building and delivering software solutions.

Why might this be so? I propose at least five possibilities:

• Complacency / ignorance
  Maybe those responsible don’t see themselves as actually responsible, or maybe they have little knowledge of the state of the art and what’s possible.
• Too difficult
  Maybe selecting and applying elements of state of the art approaches seem too difficult, arcane or risky. Or too complex, all in all.
• Not connected to the personal wellbeing of those quasi-responsible for taking relevant decisions and actions.
  (See also my popular post: “Your REAL Job“).
• Agile is The Last One
  It’s seen as the final evolution or end-state of all software development approaches. No need to look beyond. No more progress is required.
• Progress cannot happen in companies as they are run today
  Superior approaches demand organisations are run in ways anathematical to current management mores.

Do you have any other possibilities I have not listed here? Which do you favour as an explanation?

Your contribution will be welcomed.

– Bob

* By superior I mean approaches which cut costs, improve quality, reduce timescales, increase certainty and predictability, lower stress, and otherwise improve effectiveness. Take a look at Quintessence (the book) if you’d like to understand more and dive deeper into what’s possible.