07/05/2017 Waterfallvs.Agile:WhichMethodologyisRightforYourProject?

Waterfall vs. Agile: Which is the

Right Development Methodology
for Your Project?

WrittenbyMaryLotzonJuly5,2013 SHARE+

OneofthefirstdecisionswefaceforeachofourprojectimplementationsatSegueisWhich
developmentmethodologyshouldweuse?Thisisatopicthatgetsalotofdiscussion(andoften
heateddebate).Ifthisisnotsomethingyouveworkedwithbefore,adefinitionofdevelopment

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07/05/2017 Waterfallvs.Agile:WhichMethodologyisRightforYourProject?

methodologyisinorder;putverysimply,itsawayoforganizingtheworkofsoftware
development.ThisisNOTaboutastyleofprojectmanagementoraspecifictechnicalapproach,
althoughyouwilloftenhearthesetermsallthrowntogetherorusedinterchangeably.

Thetwobasic,mostpopularmethodologiesare:

1.Waterfall:(ugh,terriblename!),whichmightbemoreproperlycalledthetraditional
approach,and

2.Agile:aspecifictypeofRapidApplicationDevelopmentandnewerthanWaterfall,butnot
thatnew,whichisoftenimplementedusingScrum.

Bothoftheseareusable,maturemethodologies.Havingbeeninvolvedinsoftwaredevelopment
projectsforalongtime,herearemythoughtsonthestrengthsandweaknessesofeach.

The Waterfall Methodology

Waterfallisalinearapproachtosoftwaredevelopment.Inthismethodology,thesequenceof
eventsissomethinglike:

1.Gatheranddocumentrequirements

2.Design

3.Codeandunittest

4.Performsystemtesting

5.Performuseracceptancetesting(UAT)

6.Fixanyissues

7.Deliverthefinishedproduct

InatrueWaterfalldevelopmentproject,eachoftheserepresentsadistinctstageofsoftware
development,andeachstagegenerallyfinishesbeforethenextonecanbegin.Thereisalso
typicallyastagegatebetweeneach;forexample,requirementsmustbereviewedandapproved
bythecustomerbeforedesigncanbegin.

TherearegoodthingsandbadabouttheWaterfallapproach.Onthepositiveside:

Developersandcustomersagreeonwhatwillbedeliveredearlyinthedevelopment
lifecycle.Thismakesplanninganddesigningmorestraightforward.

Progressismoreeasilymeasured,asthefullscopeoftheworkisknowninadvance.

Throughoutthedevelopmenteffort,itspossibleforvariousmembersoftheteamtobe
involvedortocontinuewithotherwork,dependingontheactivephaseoftheproject.For
example,businessanalystscanlearnaboutanddocumentwhatneedstobedone,while
thedevelopersareworkingonotherprojects.Testerscanpreparetestscriptsfrom
requirementsdocumentationwhilecodingisunderway.

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07/05/2017 Waterfallvs.Agile:WhichMethodologyisRightforYourProject?

Exceptforreviews,approvals,statusmeetings,etc.,acustomerpresenceisnotstrictly
requiredaftertherequirementsphase.

Becausedesigniscompletedearlyinthedevelopmentlifecycle,thisapproachlends
itselftoprojectswheremultiplesoftwarecomponentsmustbedesigned(sometimesin
parallel)forintegrationwithexternalsystems.

Finally,thesoftwarecanbedesignedcompletelyandmorecarefully,baseduponamore
completeunderstandingofallsoftwaredeliverables.Thisprovidesabettersoftware
designwithlesslikelihoodofthepiecemealeffect,adevelopmentphenomenonthat
canoccuraspiecesofcodearedefinedandsubsequentlyaddedtoanapplicationwhere
theymayormaynotfitwell.

HerearesomeissueswehaveencounteredusingapureWaterfallapproach:

Oneareawhichalmostalwaysfallsshortistheeffectivenessofrequirements.Gathering
anddocumentingrequirementsinawaythatismeaningfultoacustomerisoftenthe
mostdifficultpartofsoftwaredevelopment,inmyopinion.Customersaresometimes
intimidatedbydetails,andspecificdetails,providedearlyintheproject,arerequired
withthisapproach.Inaddition,customersarenotalwaysabletovisualizeanapplication
fromarequirementsdocument.Wireframesandmockupscanhelp,buttheresno
questionthatmostendusershavesomedifficultyputtingtheseelementstogetherwith
writtenrequirementstoarriveatagoodpictureofwhattheywillbegetting.

AnotherpotentialdrawbackofpureWaterfalldevelopmentisthepossibilitythatthe
customerwillbedissatisfiedwiththeirdeliveredsoftwareproduct.Asalldeliverablesare
basedupondocumentedrequirements,acustomermaynotseewhatwillbedelivered
untilitsalmostfinished.Bythattime,changescanbedifficult(andcostly)to
implement.

The Agile Methodology

Agileisaniterative,team-basedapproachtodevelopment.Thisapproachemphasizestherapid
deliveryofanapplicationincompletefunctionalcomponents.Ratherthancreatingtasksand
schedules,alltimeistime-boxedintophasescalledsprints.Eachsprinthasadefined
duration(usuallyinweeks)witharunninglistofdeliverables,plannedatthestartofthesprint.
Deliverablesareprioritizedbybusinessvalueasdeterminedbythecustomer.Ifallplannedwork
forthesprintcannotbecompleted,workisreprioritizedandtheinformationisusedforfuture
sprintplanning.

Asworkiscompleted,itcanbereviewedandevaluatedbytheprojectteamandcustomer,
throughdailybuildsandend-of-sprintdemos.Agilereliesonaveryhighlevelofcustomer
involvementthroughouttheproject,butespeciallyduringthesereviews.

SomeadvantagesoftheAgileapproachareeasytosee:

Thecustomerhasfrequentandearlyopportunitiestoseetheworkbeingdelivered,and
tomakedecisionsandchangesthroughoutthedevelopmentproject.

Thecustomergainsastrongsenseofownershipbyworkingextensivelyanddirectlywith
theprojectteamthroughouttheproject.

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07/05/2017 Waterfallvs.Agile:WhichMethodologyisRightforYourProject?

Iftimetomarketforaspecificapplicationisagreaterconcernthanreleasingafull
featuresetatinitiallaunch,Agilecanmorequicklyproduceabasicversionofworking
softwarewhichcanbebuiltuponinsuccessiveiterations.

Developmentisoftenmoreuser-focused,likelyaresultofmoreandfrequentdirection
fromthecustomer.

FormoreAgileDevelopmentbenefits,pleasesee8BenefitsofAgileSoftware
Development

And,ofcourse,therearesomedisadvantages:

Theveryhighdegreeofcustomerinvolvement,whilegreatfortheproject,maypresent
problemsforsomecustomerswhosimplymaynothavethetimeorinterestforthistype
ofparticipation.

Agileworksbestwhenmembersofthedevelopmentteamarecompletelydedicatedto
theproject.

BecauseAgilefocusesontime-boxeddeliveryandfrequentreprioritization,itspossible
thatsomeitemssetfordeliverywillnotbecompletedwithintheallottedtimeframe.
Additionalsprints(beyondthoseinitiallyplanned)maybeneeded,addingtotheproject
cost.Inaddition,customerinvolvementoftenleadstoadditionalfeaturesrequested
throughouttheproject.Again,thiscanaddtotheoveralltimeandcostofthe
implementation.

ThecloseworkingrelationshipsinanAgileprojectareeasiesttomanagewhentheteam
membersarelocatedinthesamephysicalspace,whichisnotalwayspossible.However,
thereareavarietyofwaystohandlethisissue,suchaswebcams,collaborationtools,etc.

TheiterativenatureofAgiledevelopmentmayleadtoafrequentrefactoringifthefull
scopeofthesystemisnotconsideredintheintialarchitectureanddesign.Withoutthis
refactoring,thesystemcansufferfromareductioninoverallquality.Thisbecomesmore
pronouncedinlarger-scaleimplementations,orwithsystemsthatincludeahighlevelof
integration.

Making the Choice Between Agile and Waterfall

So,howdowechoose?First,wechangethegamealittle(whichiswhatmostsoftware
developmentorganizationsdo)bydefiningourownprocess.AtSegue,itscalledourProcess
Framework,anditsavariationonthetraditionalWaterfallmethodology.Ourmodifications
includeuseofprototypingwherepossibletoprovidethecustomerabetterviewoftheirfinished
productearlyinthedesign/developmentcycle.Thishelpstoimprovetheteamsunderstanding
ofrequirementsandcommunicationwiththecustomer.Aftertheprimaryframeworkofthe
applicationiscompletedperhighlevelrequirements,wecontinuetodevelopandalsotoreach
outtothecustomerforrefinementofrequirements.Inthisway,westrivetobeasiterativeas
possiblewithoutcompromisingouroverallsystemarchitecture.

Weconsiderthefollowingfactorswhenconsideringwhichmethodologytouse:

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07/05/2017 Waterfallvs.Agile:WhichMethodologyisRightforYourProject?

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07/05/2017 Waterfallvs.Agile:WhichMethodologyisRightforYourProject?

Thefactorsabovearenotequallyweighted;eachisassesseddependingontheindividualproject
andcircumstances.
Oncewevedecidedwhichbasicmethodologytoutilize,wecanfurtherrefinetheprocesstobest
fitourprojectgoals.Ultimately,althoughthewayinwhichwedoourworkisimportant,delivering
asolidandmaintainableproductthatsatisfiesourcustomeriswhatreallycounts.

FILED UNDER: Project Management

TAGS: Agile, Project management, Software Development, Waterfall, Web
Application Development, Website Development, mobile application
development

About the Author

MaryLotzisSegue'sDirectorofEngineering.Sheisacertifiedprojectmanager(PMP)
andscrummaster(CSM),andhasbeendirectingapplicationdevelopmentteams
andprojectsforavarietyofcustomersandindustriesforover15years.Aformer
applicationdeveloper,MaryholdsbothB.S.andM.S.degreesinAppliedComputer
Science.

READ MORE FROM MARY LOTZ

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