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I suggest the biggest problem we have in the industry is a laziness towards engineering and an unwillingness by business to accept the law of fast, good and cheap.

Very few organizations use real data and the scientific method to make decisions on architectures and design. Most rely on anecdotes, gut feel, politics and software cults to make these decisions.

Consequently, there's rarely real proof on the advantages of one approach over another. The rigor, and thus cost, needed to make those determinations is perceived to be too great but the reality is, those perceptions are often unfounded when considering the total cost of software.

This all hit me years ago when working for company that had to go through CMMI certification. As part of the effort, a consultant would come out quarterly to coach us along and monitor our progress. During that time period I noticed a significant portion of my time was now spent on the implementation of the process. When the consultant was out for a visit I told him I had concerns because we did not have a charge number for the extra time it was taking to implement the process. He asked why that would be necessary and I asked, how else could you make an objective determination on the benefit/cost ratio of implementing the process being greater than one. Disappointingly, the blank stare ensued.