The gap in productivity between the software field's most productive and least productive is probably the largest of any industry. That gap is so large that whole industries can be outdone by two guys working in their basement.

There are several reasons for this, but most of those touted seem to miss the fact that software engineering is largely about inventiveness. Process is certainly involved, but while arguably nowhere near the top contributor to performance disparities it IS one of the easiest things for someone on the outside to tweak.

Which is maybe the real problem. A lot of people in the software industry don't seem to really understand the programmer's job very well. Given the chance, most small teams of good people will gravitate toward a process just to minimize communication problems and duplicated work.

But if you can't organize in small teams and get good people, imposing a process (e.g. Scrum knowledge as litmus test for group compatibility) is STILL replacing group building for machine building, and I really think software work is too organic to be caged that way.