A process that doesn't self-correct is not a good process. A process that doesn't contain mechanisms which naturally guide teams back on track is not a good process. A process that tends to be followed incorrectly and misused to a degree such that it becomes a hindrance (even relative to no process at all), even in the hands of teams operating earnestly and with good intentions, is not a good process. A process that succeeds only when used by the best teams filled with the best developers is not a good process (such teams will succeed regardless).
Agile is not a good process. It may contain elements which are useful, but on balance the history of agile has been a history of abuse and of use as an excuse for old fashioned micro-management. The infatuation with agile has set back the practice of software engineering in industry by a disheartening degree.
The future is not "do whatever you want" nor is it "revert to the bad, old waterfall days" as agile zealots try to scare everyone into believing, but the sooner we get past the religion of "agile" the better.
It has actually been pretty demoralizing to me participating in agile techniques as a professional. Ive been in SCRUM meetings where everyone would stand in a circle and the project manager would bring in a timer and time everyone when they started speaking. If you went over 2 minutes the PM would immediately cut you off and move to the next person. On other occasions Ive had PMs ask me (in an accusatory manner) why it has taken me 4 hours to do a task I estimated at 3 hours. Keep in mind that these experiences were at a relatively small startup not a mega-corp. I don't know of any other creative, well-paid, educated profession where this would be even close to tolerated and I think its a trajedy that this sort of stuff has become common place. Unfortunately for the company the way I and other coworkers "self-corrected" the process is by moving on to another place where that doesn't occur - ended up being a great solution for me.
A few of the agile "standups" I've been involved in have been run well, at a recent job I had the opposite problem to what you describe. For several months we had a team that was about a dozen folks, and a daily standup that typically clocked in at 45 minutes to an hour and a half, every day.
It boggles my mind how any manager can see 60 dev-hours a week get pissed away and fail to see the importance of it.
Agile is not a good process. It may contain elements which are useful, but on balance the history of agile has been a history of abuse and of use as an excuse for old fashioned micro-management. The infatuation with agile has set back the practice of software engineering in industry by a disheartening degree.
The future is not "do whatever you want" nor is it "revert to the bad, old waterfall days" as agile zealots try to scare everyone into believing, but the sooner we get past the religion of "agile" the better.