I've observed several organizations and talked to even more people about their agile implementation successes/failures. Every time there was a failure it was because of 1) no management buy-in or 2) reading a book and thinking you knew all about it. Training is key. or 3) a combination of 1) and 2).

>One of the most misbegotten projects I have ever worked on was done using, or misusing, Agile. I do not blame that on Agile. One of the higher ups heard about it and the edict was handed down. We went through the motions of "on your feet" meetings every morning at 9:00. We told lies about what we had accomplished yesterday and expected to accomplish today. We looked at burndown charts, which never wavered. We declared victory at the end of every sprint, punting unfinished tasks to the next sprint. It was a huge joke. That's not to say it can't succeed. We were just in it for all the wrong reasons.
>