Advantages

The waterfall model, as described above, offers numerousadvantages for software developers.
First, the staged development cycleenforces discipline: every phase has a defined start and
end point, andprogress can be conclusively identified (through the use of milestones) by
bothvendor and client. The emphasis on requirements and design before writing asingle line
of code ensures minimal wastage of time and effort and reduces therisk of schedule slippage,
or of customer expectations not being met.

Getting the requirements and design out of the way firstalso improves quality; it's much
easier to catch and correct possible flaws atthe design stage than at the testing stage, after all
the components have beenintegrated and tracking down specific errors is more complex.
Finally, becausethe first two phases end in the production of a formal specification,
thewaterfall model can aid efficient knowledge transfer when team members aredispersed in
different locations.

Criticisms
Despite the seemingly obvious advantages, the waterfallmodel has come in for a fair share of
criticism in recent times. The mostprominent criticism revolves around the fact that very
often, customers don'treally know what they want up-front; rather, what they want emerges
out ofrepeated two-way interactions over the course of the project. In thissituation, the
waterfall model, with its emphasis on up-front requirementscapture and design, is seen as
somewhat unrealistic and unsuitable for thevagaries of the real world. Further, given the
uncertain nature of customerneeds, estimating time and costs with any degree of accuracy (as
the modelsuggests) is often extremely difficult. In general, therefore, the model
isrecommended for use only in projects which are relatively stable and wherecustomer needs
can be clearly identified at an early stage.

Another criticism revolves around the model's implicitassumption that designs can be
feasibly translated into real products; thissometimes runs into roadblocks when developers
actually begin implementation.Often, designs that look feasible on paper turn out to be
expensive ordifficult in practice, requiring a re-design and hence destroying the
cleardistinctions between phases of the traditional waterfall model. Some criticismsalso
center on the fact that the waterfall model implies a clear division of laborbetween, say,
"designers", "programmers" and"testers"; in reality, such a division of labor in most
softwarefirms is neither realistic nor efficient.

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Pros & Cons of Water Fall Model

* Enforced discipline through documents.

* No phase is complete until the docs are done & checked by SQA group.
* Concrete evidence or progress.
* Testing is inherent in every phase.
* No fair division of phases in the life cycle.
* The following phase should not start until the previous phase has finished
* Document driven model as a result customers cannot understand these.
* Re-design is problematic.

MIS vs DSS

MIS and DSS are two abbreviations that are often heard in the field of Business Management. They differ
in a few aspects. It is important to know that MIS stands for Management Information Systems whereas
DSS stands for Decision Support Systems.

It is interesting to note that MIS is a type of link that assists in the communication between managers of
various disciplines in a business firm or an organization. On the whole it plays a very important role in
building up communication among the corporate people.

DSS on the other hand is an improvement of the concept of MIS. It is true that both of them differ in terms
of their focus. DSS focuses more on leadership. It is all about senior management in a firm providing
innovative vision.

On the other hand MIS focuses more on the information gathered and the information that has poured from
different quarters. Experts on managerial behavior say that DSS focuses more on decision making. MIS on
the other hand focuses more on planning the report of various topics concerned with the organization that
would assist the managers to take vital decisions pertaining to the functioning of the organization.

One of the finest differences between MIS and DSS is that MIS focuses on operational efficiency whereas
DSS focuses more on making effective decision or in other words helping the company to do the right
thing. Flow of information is from both sides, up and down in the case of MIS. On the other flow of
information is only upward in the case of DSS.

In the case of DSS the report can be flexible whereas in the case of MIS the report is usually not flexible.
MIS is characterized by an input of large volume of data, an output of summary reports and process
characterized by a simple model. On the other hand DSS is featured by an input of low volume of data, an
output of decision analysis and a process characterized by interactive model.

Experts would also say that MIS is a primary level of decision making whereas DSS is the ultimate and the
main part of the decision. This is one of the most talked about different between the two.

As a matter of fact MIS is all about theory whereas DSS is all about practice and analysis. An organization
should employ both the systems effectively.

Read more: http://www.differencebetween.com/difference-between-mis-and-vs-dss/#ixzz1JI2cvXhs