First let me start by saying this is not a blog bashing Google - quite the contrary -this blog just proves that whether your Google or Microsoft SDLC Agility remains a challenge.  Just having technology is not a panacea for the problem at hand. 

I recently watched this very good talk by Jeff Sutherland on SCRUM and lessons that he learnt as he was helping Google out with their "AdWord project" and I thought I would share my own 2 cents on SCRUM and some common pitfalls that I have seen in the field with various enterprise customers:

• Trying to scrum with team size of greater than 4 developers
• Trying to plug in waterfall process after doing a SCRUM to adhere to Enterprise Architecture doctrines   - by this I mean - not following an iterative methodology trying to have a test or QA and deploy cycle at the release level rather than at the Sprint or Iteration level.
• Not monitoring the burn-down charts (this point is highlighted by Jeff as well quite well)
• Not having a Release Plan that is independent of the Sprint or Iterations!!
• SCRUM only works with smart developer who can work without detailed designs!!
• Having a Scrum Master than tries to be a Project Manager!!

InfoQ: Agile Project Management: Lessons Learned at Google