Waterfall Vs. Agile Methodologies: Which Is Best For Project Management?

By Author: Sandip Patel
Total Articles: 109
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Timelines and processes are critical while operating in any service-based industry. Regardless of the technological stack used, the sheer amount of labor necessary to produce a viable and feature-rich product necessitates different departments cooperating like cogs and gears in a well-oiled machine. When looking for software development services, the majority of firms choose one of two project management approaches. Both techniques provide a structured flow as well as distinct phases. Let`s understand both project management methodologies in detail.

The waterfall methodology is a tiered project management system in which the project & next phase begins only when the current phase is completed. Every detail of the project is meticulously planned in advance, and the process is linear and unidirectional. As a result, before establishing plans, managing schedules, or allocating budget and resources appropriately, the project manager must collect the brief and expectations from all stakeholders.

As a result, the waterfall model is best suited to projects with predictable, repeatable procedures or small projects ...
... with simple needs. The complete project management paradigm is divided into six distinct stages:
• Requirements
• System Design
• Implementation
• Testing
• Deployment
• Maintenance

Agile Methodology is a project management technique that prioritizes client feedback. The entire project is broken into short incremental builds called sprints, and iterations are reviewed and executed at the start of each sprint in this process. The customer is kept informed about the project throughout the development period, and any adjustments are made quickly.

Furthermore, agile methodology prioritizes people and relationships over processes and tools. The stages of the Agile methodology are as follows:
• Brainstorming
• Design
• Development
• Quality Analysis
• Deploy
• Iteration Loopback

When to use Waterfall Model
• Clear Project Requirement
• Lenient Timeline
• Simple and Small-sized Projects

When to use Agile Model
• The project is constantly evolving
• The development team is diverse with experience
• The client overlooks the development process

Whether you have a project suitable for Waterfall or complex requirements that demand agile methodology, VSPL offers software development services equipped to work with both ideas and maximum customer satisfaction.