This was, and probably still is, endemic to the industry
I remember shortly after I got my degree in CS watching a graduate course on project management. This was in 1993. People in that class were complaining about the same ******* problems I would later encounter during my time in the IT services sector--and they were in a different line of IT work. In most cases software companies end up in two internal camps that are kind of at war with each other: management vs. engineering. Probably exceptions to this are in places like Microsoft, etc., though they have their own dysfunctions.
I've already talked about the basis of it elsewhere, and I kind of doubt it's going to get resolved anytime soon. The main reason this exists is most software customers (that is, those who are paying the money for it, not their IT staff) have an understanding of the technology that's at least as bad as management's. The reason they are where they are is they can relate to the customers. Both have a difficult time relating to their own engineering groups, which is the reason, when they've had the opportunity, they've said, "We need to focus on our core mission," which does not include IT, and sequestered it into specialty firms as quickly as they can. It's probably for the best.
