OK, I take it your answer for visibility is management reporting, I am not sure about predictability, you didn't really answer it. SW development is as predictable as much you're willing to invest into research/planning, and that very much overlaps (as observed in Kanban) with doing the actual work.
When I started SW development in 2005, we had one meeting a week (Friday) with our boss, where we summarized what progress we made during the week. It was exactly what he and his superiors needed to know, not anything more.
