[sixdimensional]

Actually, my opinion is that "agile" the way I most often see it is nothing more than a lighter weight variation of what we were already doing with SDLC. Time/cycles are compressed, documentation is not quite as structured, but the basic ideas are similar.

I agree the hype cycle distorts things too much. I think maybe your opinion is a bit too harsh, but - I would think to use whatever technique succeeds for the need and the team, whether more or less formal. So more power to you if the technique you prefer works.