Yardstick College

Post graduate program

Project Implementation and closure course

Assignment II submission (case study)

The Waterfall Model and the Agile Methodologies:

A comparison by project characteristics

Section E Group members: -

1. Getachew Demissie (275/13);

2. Fekadu Alemayhu (274/13);
3. Habtamu W/senbet (179/13);
4. Mekdes Nigusse (291/13);
5. Anteneh Asmamaw (257/13),
6. Mohammed Ahmed (283/13),
7. Derege Fekadu (263/13),
8. Wondemagegn Abate (309/13)

December 2021

Addis Ababa

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Table of contents
Abstract............................................................................................................................................1

Introduction......................................................................................................................................1

Waterfall Methodology....................................................................................................................1

The Waterfall issues........................................................................................................................1

Agile Development..........................................................................................................................2

Agile issues......................................................................................................................................2

Comparison by project characteristics.............................................................................................3

Conclusion.......................................................................................................................................4

Reference.........................................................................................................................................5

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Abstract

The Author has clearly pointed out Software development projects have long been plan driven

processes and the emergence of Agile Methodologies has given rise to a more adaptive approach

to software or system development. The purpose of the paper is to give a short presentation of

two Software Development Models (SDMs), The Waterfall Model and the Agile Methodologies

(AM), and offer for both SDMs issues and typical project characteristics.

Introduction

The author said this paper will offer a limited insight in the aspects determining a project’s

suitability for an Agile or a Waterfall approach. However, both the agile and waterfall

methodologies carry their own set of advantages and disadvantages. Overall, both can be

beneficial to a software development team. The choice is highly dependent on the project type as

well as existing situation.

Waterfall Methodology

The waterfall approach to software development is highly sequential and can be broken down

into seven distinct phases. There is a set line of phases, each following the other, that needs to be

completed one by one. Phase two cannot be started until step one has been completed.

The Waterfall issues

As the author said Waterfall model is likely to be unsuitable if requirements are not well

understood or defined or are likely to change in the course of the project. No single approach to

software development will work every time, for every team. There are a few drawbacks to the

waterfall approach.

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Waterfall project management is a traditional model for developing engineering systems and is

originally based on manufacturing and construction industry projects. When applied to software

development, specialized tasks completed in one phase need to be reviewed and verified before

moving to the next phase. It is a linear and sequential approach, where phases flow downward

(waterfalls) to the next.

Clients can find it difficult to outline all of their requirements at the beginning of the project,

leading to gaps in documentation. Minimal customer collaboration during the development

process can lead to costly changes if the product does not meet expectations. Testers report

issues and bugs later in the process, which could have informed alternative program architecture.

Agile Development

Agile methodology is a type of incremental approach to software development based on

principles that focuses more on people, results, collaboration, and flexible responses to change.

Instead of planning for the whole project, it breaks down the development process in small

increments completed in iterations, or short time frames and each iteration includes all SDLC

phases such that a working product is delivered at the end. After several iterations, a new or

updated product is released.

Agile issues

The author overlooks the benefits of the Agile development model but focused on the

weaknesses. The benefits of agile development have everything to do with customer satisfaction

and the end result of the development project. The agile technique can be an adjustment, but that

work may prove worth it for the right development team. An agile approach to development

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allows continuous engagement between the development team and the customer. Agile lets

stakeholders set deliverables by order of importance. In other words, if a customer wants to

release the basic software before the full suite, this is exactly what agile allows. Moreover,

adaptability above is a crucial element of agile development, and it is also one of its major

benefits. As customers get a better idea of what they need out of the software, the development

can adapt planned sprints accordingly. 

An agile approach can lack comprehensive documentation. Therefore, this makes it difficult to

on board new developers, project timelines to stakeholders, and provide accurate cost estimates

and can be difficult to scale.

Comparison by project characteristics

 Agile is an incremental and iterative approach; Waterfall is a linear and sequential approach.

 Agile separates a project into sprints; Waterfall divides a project into phases.

 Agile helps complete many small projects; Waterfall helps complete one single project.

 Agile introduces a product mindset with a focus on customer satisfaction; Waterfall focuses

on successful project delivery.

 Requirements are prepared everyday in Agile, while requirements are prepared once at the

start in Waterfall.

 Agile allows requirement changes at any time; Waterfall avoids scope changes once the

project starts.

 Testing is performed concurrently with development in Agile; testing phase comes only after

the build phase in a Waterfall project.

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 Test teams in Agile can take part in requirements change; test teams in Waterfall do not get

involved in requirements change

 Agile enables the project team to operate without a dedicated project manager; Waterfall

requires a project manager who plays an essential role in every phase.

Conclusion

Here the author concluded that both models have their uses, advantages and disadvantages.

Small projects are almost always suitable for an Agile approach and almost never for a Waterfall

approach. A big and complex project with multiple teams working simultaneously on different

parts of the application is almost always a Waterfall project.

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Reference

David Cohen, M. L. (2003). Agile software development. DACS SOAR.

M. Steven Palmquist, M. A. (2013). Parallel Worlds: Agile and Waterfall . software engineering
institute .

Royce, W. W. (1970). Managing the development of large software. IEEE WESCON, (pp. 328–
338). Los Angeles.

Thayer, T. E. (1976). Software requirements:. the 2nd internationa confrence on software

engineering (pp. 61–68). IEEE Computer Society Press.