People focus on process because the actual task of software — creating something that truly matters — is hard. “Make something people want” is a simple statement of truth but one that is so simplistic, it is almost useless as anything other than a north star reminder. Products that need a team of > 3 are complex — the code is complex, the design can be complex and most complex of all are the people.
Process is a coping mechanism to handle that complexity and funnel that complexity towards what matters — which is make something of value.
Where I agree with you is people get lost in process. “I will win if I just follow this playbook” is a very human tendency but of course it will lead you astray. That is certainly what has happened to agile. Much of what you see out there violates the very principles that kicked off agile in the first place. “Scrum” has become a monster.
That’s why it is always good to go back to first principles. Keeps you practical and attuned to your own context, not some theoretical definition of “good” that sounded great on a conference stage.
