Basically, yeah
I've got a degree in engineering.
When designing a structure, an engineer can calcuate expected stresses and design parameters, then go to a handbook of properties of materials and look up some values for *well characterized properties* of different materials before selecting one for the job.
A few software components are equally well characterized (Oracle for example). But the rest of it is like trying to do engineering with alien metal and no materials analysis lab. Basically you build something with it, try to use it, watch it break, analyze where and how it broke, and add/remove/change something to cope with the factors that made it break. This is empirical. Unlike engineering which is fairly well defined (you can look up the stress properties of a given alloy and know what will break it - this is defined), empirical stuff is inherently unpredictable (but not unmanageable).
The madness is trying to treat an inherently empirical process as defined. Management doesn't like empiricism. No surprise since a company's stock price is heavily tied to whether a company performs as predicted and empirical processes are filled with unpredictabilities.
The software industry is thoroughly delusional in many respects. This is one.
