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The Ultimate Guide…

Waterfall Model

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What Is the Waterfall Methodology in Project Management?

The phases of the waterfall model, waterfall software development life cycle.

• What Is Waterfall Software?
• Desktop vs Online Waterfall Software

Must-Have Features of Waterfall Software

• The Waterfall Model & ProjectManager.com

Waterfall vs. Agile

• Pros & Cons of the Waterfall Model

Benefits of Project Management Software for Waterfall Projects

Waterfall methodology resources.

The waterfall methodology is a linear project management approach, where stakeholder and customer requirements are gathered at the beginning of the project, and then a sequential project plan is created to accommodate those requirements. The waterfall model is so named because each phase of the project cascades into the next, following steadily down like a waterfall.

It’s a thorough, structured methodology and one that’s been around for a long time, because it works. Some of the industries that regularly use the waterfall model include construction, IT and software development. As an example, the waterfall software development life cycle, or waterfall SDLC, is widely used to manage software engineering projects.

Related: 15 Free IT Project Management Templates for Excel & Word

Gantt charts are the preferred tool for project managers working in waterfall method. Using a Gantt chart allows you to map subtasks, dependencies and each phase of the project as it moves through the waterfall lifecycle. ProjectManager’s waterfall software offers these features and more.

Manage waterfall projects in minutes with ProjectManager— learn more .

The waterfall approach has, at least, five to seven phases that follow in strict linear order, where a phase can’t begin until the previous phase has been completed. The specific names of the waterfall steps vary, but they were originally defined by its inventor, Winston W. Royce, in the following way:

Requirements: The key aspect of the waterfall methodology is that all customer requirements are gathered at the beginning of the project, allowing every other phase to be planned without further customer correspondence until the product is complete. It is assumed that all requirements can be gathered at this waterfall management phase.

Design: The design phase of the waterfall process is best broken up into two subphases: logical design and physical design. The logical design subphase is when possible solutions are brainstormed and theorized. The physical design subphase is when those theoretical ideas and schemas are made into concrete specifications.

Implementation: The implementation phase is when programmers assimilate the requirements and specifications from the previous phases and produce actual code.

Verification: This phase is when the customer reviews the product to make sure that it meets the requirements laid out at the beginning of the waterfall project. This is done by releasing the completed product to the customer.

Maintenance: The customer is regularly using the product during the maintenance phase, discovering bugs, inadequate features and other errors that occurred during production. The production team applies these fixes as necessary until the customer is satisfied.

Related: Free Gantt Chart Template for Excel

Let’s hypothesize a simple project, then plan and execute it with the waterfall approach phases that you just learned. For our waterfall software development life cycle example, we’ll say that you’re building an app for a client. The following are the steps you’d take to reach the final deliverable.

Requirements & Documents

First, you must gather all the requirements and documentation you need to get started on the app.

• Project Scope: This is one of the most important documents in your project, where you determine what the goals associated with building your app are: functional requirements, deliverables, features, deadlines, costs, and so on.
• Stakeholder Expectations: In order to align the project scope with the expectations of your stakeholders—the people who have a vested interest in the development of the app—you want to conduct interviews and get a clear idea of exactly what they want.
• Research: To better serve your plan, do some market research about competing apps, the current market, customer needs and anything else that will help you find the unserved niche your app can serve.
• Assemble Team: Now, you need to get the people and resources together who will create the app, from programmers to designers.
• Kickoff: The kickoff meeting is the first meeting with your team and stakeholders where you cover the information you’ve gathered and set expectations.

System Design

Next, you can begin planning the project proper. You’ve done the research, and you know what’s expected from your stakeholders . Now, you have to figure out how you’re going to get to the final deliverable by creating a system design. Based on the information you gathered during the first phase, you’ll determine hardware and software requirements and the system architecture needed for the project.

• Collect Tasks: Use a work breakdown structure to list all of the tasks that are necessary to get to the final deliverable.
• Create Schedule: With your tasks in place, you now need to estimate the time each task will take. Once you’ve figured that out, map them onto a Gantt chart , and diligently link dependencies. You can also add costs to the Gantt, and start building a budget.

Implementation

Now you’re ready to get started in earnest. This is the phase in which the app will be built and tested. The system from the previous phase is first developed in smaller programs known as units. Then each goes through a unit testing process before being integrated.

• Assign Team Tasks: Team members will own their tasks and be responsible for completing them, and for collaborating with the rest of the team. You can make these tasks from a Gantt chart and add descriptions, priority, etc.
• Monitor & Track: While the team is executing the tasks, you need to monitor and track their progress in order to make sure that the project is moving forward per your schedule.
• Manage Resources & Workload: As you monitor, you’ll discover issues and will need to reallocate resources and balance workload to avoid bottlenecks.
• Report to Stakeholders: Throughout the project, stakeholders need updates to show them progress. Meet with them and discuss a regular schedule for presentations.
• Test: Once the team has delivered the working app, it must go through extensive testing to make sure everything is working as designed.
• Deliver App: After all the bugs have been worked out, you’re ready to give the finished app to the stakeholders.

System Testing and Deployment

During this phase you’ll integrate all the units of your system and conduct an integration testing process to verify that the components of your app work properly together.

Once you verify that your app is working, you’re ready to deploy it.

Verification

Though the app has been delivered, the software development life cycle is not quite over until you’ve done some administrative tasks to tie everything up. This is technically the final step.

• Pay Contracts: Fulfil your contractual obligations to your team and any freelance contractors. This releases them from the project.
• Create Template: In software like ProjectManager, you can create a template from your project, so you have a head start when beginning another, similar one.
• Close Out Paperwork: Make sure all paperwork has been rubber stamped and archived.
• Celebrate: Get everyone together, and enjoy the conclusion of a successful project!

Maintenance

Of course, the nature of any software development project is that, through use by customers, new bugs will arise and must be squashed. So, past the verification stage, it’s typically expected that you will provide maintenance beyond launch. This is an ongoing, post-launch phase that extends for as long as your contract dictates.

What Is Waterfall Project Management Software?

Waterfall project management software is used to help you structure your project processes from start to finish. It allows managers to organize their tasks, sets up clear schedules in Gantt charts and monitor and control the project as it moves through its phases.

A waterfall project is broken up into phases, which can be achieved on a Gantt chart in the waterfall project management software. Managers can set the duration for each task on the Gantt and link tasks that are dependent on one another to start or finish.

While waterfall software can be less flexible and iterative than more agile frameworks, projects do change frequently—and there must be features that can capture these changes in real-time with dashboards and reports, so that the manager can clear up bottlenecks or reallocate resources to keep teams from having their work blocked. Microsoft Project is one of the most commonly used project management software, but it has major drawbacks that make ProjectManager a great alternative .

Desktop vs Online Project Management Waterfall Software

When it comes to waterfall software, you can choose from either a desktop application or online, cloud-based project management software. This might not seem to be a big issue, but there are important distinctions between these two types of offerings.

That’s because there are differences between the two applications, and knowing those differences will help you make an informed decision.

Desktop waterfall software tends to have a more expensive up-front cost, and that cost can rise exponentially if you are required to pay per-user licensing fees for every member of your team.

Online waterfall software, on the other hand, is typically paid for on a subscription basis, and that subscription is usually a tiered payment plan depending on the number of users.

Connectivity

Online software, naturally, must be connected to the internet. This means your speed and reliability can vary depending on your internet service provider. It also means that if you lose connectivity, you can’t work.

Although the difference is minor, desktop waterfall software never has to worry about connection outages.

If security is a concern, rest assured that both options are highly secure. Desktop software that operates on a company intranet is nigh impenetrable, which can provide your company with a greater sense of security.

Strides in web security, like two-factor authentication and single-sign have made online, cloud-based waterfall software far more secure. Also, online tools have their data saved to the cloud, so if you suffer a crash on your desktop that might mean the end of your work.

Accessibility

Desktops are tied to the computers they are installed to or, at best, your office’s infrastructure. That doesn’t help much if you have distributed teams or work off site, in the field, at home and so on.

Online software is accessible anywhere, any time—so long as you have an internet connection. This makes it always accessible, but even more importantly, it delivers real-time data, so you’re always working on the current state of the project.

Waterfall software helps to organize your projects and make them run smoothly. When you’re looking for the right software to match your needs, make sure it has the following features.

Keep Your Project Structured

Managing a project with the waterfall method is all about structure. One phase follows another. To break your project into these stages, you need an online Gantt chart that has a milestone feature. This indicates the date where one phase of the waterfall process stops and another begins.

Control Your Task and Schedule

The Gantt chart is a waterfall’s best friend. It organizes your tasks, sets the duration and links tasks that are dependent to keep work flowing later on. When scheduling, you want a Gantt that can automatically calculate your critical path to help you know how much float you have.

Have Your Files Organized

Waterfall projects, like all projects, collect a lot of paperwork. You want a tool with the storage capacity to hold all your documents and make them easy to find when you need them. Also, attaching files to tasks gives teams direction and helps them collaborate.

Know If You’re on Schedule

Keeping on track means having accurate information. Real-time data makes it timely, but you also need to set your baseline and have dashboard metrics and reporting to compare your actual progress to your planned progress. This makes sure you stay on schedule.

Get an Overview of Performance

Dashboards are designed to collect data and display it over several metrics, such as overall health, workload and more. This high-level view is important, so you want to have a feature that automatically calculates this data and doesn’t require you to manually input it.

Make Data-Based Decisions

Reports dive deeper into data and get more details on a project’s progress and performance. Real-time data makes them accurate. Look for ease of use—it should only take a single click to generate and share. You’ll also want to filter the results to see only what you’re interested in.

The Waterfall Model & ProjectManager

ProjectManager is an award-winning project management software that organizes teams and projects. With features such as online Gantt charts, task lists, reporting tools and more, it’s an ideal tool to control your waterfall project management.

Sign up for a free 30-day trial and follow along to make a waterfall project in just a few easy steps. You’ll have that Gantt chart built in no time!

1. Upload Requirements & Documents

Waterfall project management guarantees one thing: a lot of paperwork. All the documentation and requirements needed to address for the project can quickly become overwhelming.

You can attach all documentation and relevant files to our software, or directly on a task. Now, all of your files are collected in one place and are easy to find. Don’t worry about running out of space—we have unlimited file storage.

2. Use a Work Breakdown Structure to Collect Tasks

Getting to your final deliverable will require many tasks. Planning the waterfall project means knowing every one of those tasks, no matter how small, and how they lead to your final deliverable. A work breakdown structure is a tool to help you figure out all those steps.

To start, use a work breakdown structure (WBS) to collect every task that is necessary to create your final deliverable. You can download a free WBS template here . Then, upload the task list to our software.

3. Open in Gantt Project View

Gantt charts are essential project management tools used for planning and scheduling. They collect your tasks in one place on a timeline . From there, you can link dependencies, set milestones, manage resources and more.

In the software, open the Gantt chart view and add deadlines, descriptions, priorities and tags to each task.

4. Create Phases & Milestones

Milestones are what separates major phases in a waterfall method project. Waterfall methodology is all about structure and moving from one phase to the next, so breaking your project into milestones is key to the waterfall method.

In the Gantt view, create phases and milestones to break up the project. Using the milestone feature, determine when one task ends and a new one begins. Milestones are symbolized by a diamond on the Gantt.

5. Set Dependencies in a Gantt Chart

Dependent tasks are those that cannot start or finish until another starts or finishes. They create complexities in managing any waterfall project.

Link dependent tasks in the Gantt chart. Our software allows you to link all four types of dependencies: start-to-start, start-to-finish, finish-to-finish and finish-to-start. This keeps your waterfall project plan moving forward in a sequential order and prevents bottlenecks.

6. Assign From Gantt Charts

Although you’ve planned and scheduled a project, it’s still just an abstraction until you get your team assigned to execute those tasks. Assigning is a major step in managing your waterfall project and needs to happen efficiently.

Assign team members to tasks right from the Gantt chart. You can also attach any related images or files directly to the task. Collaboration is supported by comments at the task level. Anyone assigned or tagged will get an email alert to notify them of a comment or update.

7. Manage Resources & Workload

Resources are anything you need to complete the project. This means not only your team, but also the materials and tools that they need. The workload represents how many tasks your team is assigned, and balancing that work keeps them productive.

Keep track of project resources on the Workload view. See actual costs, and reallocate as needed to stay on budget. Know how many tasks your team is working on with easy-to-read color-coded charts, and balance their workload right on the page.

8. Track Progress in Dashboard & Gantt

Progress must be monitored to know if you’re meeting the targets you set in your waterfall method plan. The Gantt shows percentage complete, but a dashboard calculates several metrics and shows them in graphs and charts.

Monitor your project in real time and track progress across several metrics with our project dashboard . We automatically calculate project health, costs, tasks and more and then display them in a high-level view of your project. Progress is also tracked by shading on the Gantt’s duration bar.

9. Create Reports

Reporting serves two purposes: it gives project managers greater detail into the inner-workings of their waterfall project to help them make better decisions, and acts as a communication tool to keep stakeholders informed.

Easily generate data-rich reports that show project variance, timesheets , status and more. Get reports on your planned vs. the actual progress. Filter to show just the information you want. Then, share with stakeholders during presentations and keep everyone in the loop.

10. Duplicate Plan for New Projects

Having a means to quickly copy projects is helpful in waterfall methodology, as it jumpstarts the next project by recreating the major steps and allowing you to make tweaks as needed.

Create templates to quickly plan any recurring waterfall projects. If you know exactly what it takes to get the project done, then you can make it into a template. Plus, you can import proven project plans from MSP, and task lists from Excel and Word.

The waterfall methodology is one of two popular methods to tackle software engineering projects; the other method is known as Agile .

It can be easier to understand waterfall when you compare it to Agile. Waterfall and Agile are two very different project management methodologies , but both are equally valid, and can be more or less useful depending on the project.

Waterfall Project Management

If the waterfall model is to be executed properly, each of the phases we outlined earlier must be executed in a linear fashion. Meaning, each phase has to be completed before the next phase can begin, and phases are never repeated—unless there is a massive failure that comes to light in the verification or maintenance phase.

Furthermore, each phase is discrete, and pretty much exists in isolation from stakeholders outside of your team. This is especially true in the requirements phase. Once the customer’s requirements are collected, the customers cease to play any role in the actual waterfall software development life cycle.

Agile Project Management

The agile methodology differs greatly from the waterfall approach in two major ways; namely in regards to linear action and customer involvement. Agile is a nimble and iterative process, where the product is delivered in stages to the customer for them to review and provide feedback.

Instead of having everything planned out by milestones, like in waterfall, the Agile software development method operates in “sprints” where prioritized tasks are completed within a short window, typically around two weeks.

These prioritized tasks are fluid, and appear based on the success of previous sprints and customer feedback, rather than having all tasks prioritized at the onset in the requirements phase.

Understanding the Difference Between Waterfall & Agile

The important difference to remember is that a waterfall project is a fixed, linear plan. Everything is mapped out ahead of time, and customers interact only at the beginning and end of the project. The Agile method, on the other hand, is an iterative process, where new priorities and requirements are injected into the project after sprints and customer feedback sessions.

Pros & Cons of the Waterfall Project Management

There are several reasons why project managers choose to use the waterfall project management methodology. Here are some benefits:

• Project requirements are agreed upon in the first phase, so planning and scheduling is simple and clear.
• With a fully laid out project schedule , you can give accurate estimates for your project cost, resources and deadlines.
• It’s easy to measure progress as you move through the waterfall model phases and hit milestones.
• Customers aren’t perpetually adding new requirements to the project, which can delay production.

Of course, there are drawbacks to using the waterfall method as well. Here are some disadvantages to this approach:

• It can be difficult for customers to articulate all of their needs at the beginning of the project.
• If the customer is dissatisfied with the product in the verification phase, it can be very costly to go back and design the code again.
• A linear project plan is rigid, and lacks flexibility for adapting to unexpected events.

Although it has its drawbacks, a waterfall project management plan is very effective in situations where you are encountering a familiar scenario with several knowns, or in software engineering projects where your customer knows exactly what they want at the onset.

Using a project management software is a great way to get the most out of your waterfall project. You can map out the steps and link dependencies to see exactly what needs to go where.

As illustrated above, ProjectManager is made with waterfall methodology in mind, with a Gantt chart that can structure the project step-by-step. However, we have a full suite of features, including kanban boards that are great for Agile teams that need to manage their sprints.

With multiple project views, both agile and waterfall teams and more traditional ones can work from the same data, delivered in real time, only filtered through the project view most aligned to their work style. We take the waterfall methodology and bring it into the modern world.

Now that you know how to plan a waterfall project, give yourself the best tools for the job. Take a free 30-day trial and see how ProjectManager can help you plan with precision, track with accuracy and deliver your projects on time and under budget.

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What Is the Waterfall Methodology?

The waterfall methodology is an approach used by software and product development teams  manage projects. The methodology separates the different parts of the project into phases specifying the necessary activities and steps. For example, at the beginning of the project, the waterfall methodology focuses on gathering all requirements from stakeholders that project team members will later use to design and implement the product. 

However, waterfall has its, well…downfalls, which I’ll discuss in more detail below. In short, waterfall may not be suitable for every development process and you can find modified or extended versions of the waterfall methodology that try to solve some of these issues. 

One example of an extended version of the waterfall methodology is the V-model . A key distinction of the V-model from the original Waterfall methodology is its emphasis on validation and testing during the entire project duration, as opposed to only testing after an implementation phase.

More From This Expert What Is JSON?

What Is the Waterfall Methodology in Software Engineering?

The waterfall methodology is a software development life cycle (SDLC) model used to build software projects. 

One thing that distinguishes waterfall from other SDLC models (like Agile ) is that phases are performed sequentially. In other words, the project team must complete each phase in a specific order. If you look at the diagram below, you can see the flow is similar to a waterfall.

Working with SDLC models often includes additional software to keep track of planning, tasks and more. So it’s possible to find tools designed to support the waterfall methodology’s specific workflow, for example.

What Are the Different Phases of the Waterfall Methodology? 

The waterfall methodology was one of the first established SDLC models. In fact, waterfall dates back to 1970 when Dr. Winston W. Royce described it in “ Managing the Development of Large Software Systems .” However, we should note that Royce didn’t refer to the methodology as “waterfall” in the paper. The waterfall nomenclature came later. In his original paper, Royce specified the following phases.

7 Stages of the Waterfall Model

• System requirements 
• Software requirements
• Program design

The system and software requirement phase involves gathering and documenting the requirements defining the product. This process typically involves stakeholders such as the customer and project managers. The analysis phase involves steps such as analyzing the requirements to identify risks and documenting strategies.

The design phase focuses on designing architecture, business logic and concepts for the software. The design phase is followed by the coding phase which involves writing the source code for the software based on the planned design.

The testing phase concerns testing the software to ensure it meets expectations. The last phase, operations , involves deploying the application as well as planning support and maintenance.

Advantages of the Waterfall Methdology

Waterfall provides a systematic and predictable framework that helps reconcile expectations, improve planning, increase efficiency and ensure quality control. What’s more, waterfall documentation provides an entry for people outside the project to build on the software without having to rely on its creators, which is helpful if you need to bring in external assistance or implement changes to the project team.

Disadvantages of the Waterfall Methodology

The structural limitations of the waterfall methodology may introduce some problems for projects with many uncertainties. For instance, the methodology’s linear flow requires that each phase be completed before moving on to the next, which means the methodology doesn’t support revisiting and refining data based on new information that may come later in the project life cycle. A specific example of this limitation is the methodology’s focus on defining all requirements at the beginning of the project. After all, stakeholders may not know everything about the project at the very start or they may change their opinion later about what the product should actually do or what customer segment they’re trying to serve. 

On the other hand, a project with well-defined and stable requirements may benefit from waterfall because it ensures the establishment and documentation of the requirements as soon as possible.

Another disadvantage of the waterfall methodology can be the late implementation of the actual software, which may result in a product not correlating with stakeholders’ expectations. For example, if the developers have misunderstood the customer’s idea about a specific feature due to poorly defined requirements, the final product will not behave as expected. Late testing can also lead to finding systemic problems too late in the project’s development when it’s more difficult to correct the design.

More From the Built In Tech Dictionary What Is Agile?

Waterfall Methodology vs. Agile

Another approach to software development is the Agile methodology . Agile is more flexible and open to changes than waterfall, which makes Agile more suitable for projects affected by rapid changes.

A key difference between the two methodologies is the project’s flow. While waterfall is a linear and sequential approach, Agile is an iterative and incremental approach. In practice this means that software created using Agile has development phases we perform several times with smaller chunks of implemented functionality. 

The two methodologies also have different approaches to testing . The waterfall methodology tests implementation very late in the process while Agile integrates tests for each iteration.

Another key difference is the two methodologies’ approach to stakeholders. When we use waterfall, the customer doesn’t see the implemented software until quite late in the project. When we use Agile, customers have the opportunity to follow the progress along the way.

Which methodology you choose will come down to the project’s context. Stable and well-defined projects may benefit more from the waterfall methodology and other projects affected by rapid changes may benefit more from Agile.

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Everything you need to know about waterfall project management

Waterfall project management is a sequential project management methodology that's divided into distinct phases. Each phase begins only after the previous phase is completed. This article explains the phases of waterfall project management and how it can help your team achieve their goals.

But what if your project requires a more linear approach? Waterfall methodology is a linear project management methodology that can help you and your team achieve your shared goals—one task or milestone at a time. 

What is waterfall project management?

Waterfall is a sequential project management methodology in which a project is divided into distinct phases. Each phase begins only after the previous phase is completed. 

This project management approach originated from the manufacturing and construction industries, where each milestone needs to be completed before the production process can move forward. For example, you cannot build the walls of a house if foundation has not been poured. 

Even though it began in manufacturing, waterfall project management has since adapted to fit the needs of many different industries, including software development. For example, here’s what a waterfall project might look like:

The waterfall methodology is often visualized in the form of a flow chart or a Gantt chart . This methodology is called waterfall because each task cascades into the next step. In a Gantt chart, you can see the previous phase "fall" into the next phase.

The 6 phases of the waterfall project management methodology

Any team can implement waterfall project management, but this methodology is most useful for processes that need to happen sequentially. If the project you’re working on has tasks that can be completed concurrently, try another framework, like the Agile methodology . 

If you’re ready to get started with waterfall project management, follow these six steps: 

1. Requirements phase

This is the initial planning process in which the team gathers as much information as possible to ensure a successful project. Because tasks in the waterfall method are dependent on previous steps, it requires a lot of forethought. This planning process is a crucial part of the waterfall model, and because of that, most of the project timeline is often spent planning.

To make this method work for you, compile a detailed project plan that explains each phase of the project. This includes everything from what resources are needed and what specific team members are working on the project. This document is commonly referred to as a project requirements document. 

By the end of the requirements phase, you should have a very clear outline of the project from start to finish, including:

Each stage of the process

Who’s working on each stage

Key dependencies

Required resources

A timeline of how long each stage will take.

2. System design phase

In a software development process, the design phase is when the project team specifies what hardware the team will be using, and other detailed information such as programming languages and user interface. 

There are two steps of the system design phase: the high-level design phase and low-level design phase. In the high-level design phase, the team builds out the skeleton of how the software will work and how information will be accessed. During the low-level design phase, the team builds the more specific parts of the software. If the high-level design phase is the skeleton, the low-level design phase is the organs of the project. 

Those team members developing using the waterfall method should document each step so the team can refer back to what was done as the project progresses.

3. Implementation phase

This is the stage where everything is put into action. Based on the requirements document in step one and the system design process in step two, the team begins the full development process to build the software as outlined by both the requirements phase and the system design phase.

4. Testing phase

This is the stage in which the development team hands the project over to the quality assurance testing team. QA testers search for any bugs or errors that need to be fixed before the project is deployed. 

Testers should clearly document all of the issues they find when QAing. In the event that another developer comes across a similar bug, they can reference previous documentation to help fix the issue. 

5. Deployment phase

For development projects, this is the stage in which the software is deployed to the end user. For other industries, this is when the final deliverable is launched and delivered to end customers. 

6. Maintenance phase

Once a project is deployed, there may be instances where a new bug is discovered, or a software update is required. This is known as the maintenance phase, and it's common in software development to be continuously working on this phase.

When to use the waterfall methodology

The waterfall methodology is a common form of project management because it allows for thorough planning and detailed documentation. However, this framework isn’t right for every project. Here are a few examples for when to use this type of project management. 

Project has a well defined end goal

One of the strengths of the waterfall approach is that it allows for a clear path from point A to point B. If you're unsure of what your point B is, your project is probably better off using an iterative form of project management like the Agile approach. 

Projects with an easily defined goal are well-suited for the waterfall method because project managers can work backwards from the goal to create a clear and detailed path with all of the requirements necessary.

No restraints on budget or time

If your project has no restraints on budget or time, team members can spend as much time as possible in the requirements and system design phase. They can tweak and tailor the needs of the project as much as they want until they land on a well thought out and defined project plan.

Creating repeatable processes

The waterfall model requires documentation at almost every step of the process. This makes it easy to repeat your project for a new team member; each step is clearly detailed so you can recreate the process.

Creating repeatable processes also makes it easy to train new team members on what exactly needs to be done in similar projects. This makes the waterfall process an effective approach to project management for standardizing processes.

Benefits of waterfall project management

Consistent documentation makes it easy to backtrack.

When you implement the waterfall project management process, you’re creating documentation every step of the way. This can be beneficial—if your team needs to backtrack your processes, you can easily find mistakes. It's also great for creating repeatable processes for new team members, as mentioned earlier. 

Tracking progress is easy

By laying out a waterfall project in a Gantt chart, you can easily track project progress. The timeline itself serves as a progress bar, so it’s always clear what stage a project is in.

Team members can manage time effectively

Because the waterfall methodology requires so much planning during the requirement and design phase, this makes it easy for stakeholders to estimate how much time their specific part of the waterfall process will take.

Downsides of the waterfall model

Roadblocks can drastically affect timeline.

The waterfall methodology is linear by nature, so if there's a bump in the road or a task gets delayed, the entire timeline is shifted. For example, if a third party vendor is late on sending a specific part to a manufacturing team, the entire process has to be put on pause until that specific piece is received.

Linear progress can make backtracking challenging

One of the major challenges of the waterfall methodology is that it's hard to go back to a phase once it's already completed. For example, if someone is painting the walls of a house, they wouldn’t be able to go back and increase the size of one of the rooms. 

QA is late in the process

In comparison to some of the more iterative project management methodologies like Kanban and Agile, the review stage in a waterfall approach happens later in the process. If a mistake is made early on in the process, it can be challenging to go back and fix it. Because of how the waterfall process works, it doesn’t allow for room for iteration or searching for the best solution.

Managing your waterfall project

With waterfall projects, there are many moving pieces and different team members to keep track of. One of the best ways to stay on the same page is to use work management software to keep workflows, timelines, and deliverables all in one place. 

If you're ready to try waterfall project management with your team, try a template in Asana . You can view Asana projects in several ways, including Timeline view which visualizes your project as a linear timeline.

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Understanding the waterfall methodology

Have you ever wondered how bridges and big buildings are built? And do you know the difference between building a bridge, an airport, and a software product? The difference lies in how the workflows are managed.

Buildings, bridges, or even space programs are planned and executed in a project-oriented waterfall style. On the other hand, there are agile methodologies and frameworks like scrum that execute development in an agile way.

In this article, you will learn about the waterfall methodology in depth, including its core principles, phases, pros and cons, and how it compares to the agile methodology.

What is the waterfall methodology?

The waterfall methodology is a linear and sequential project management approach where each phase of a project must be completed before moving to the next. It emphasizes thorough documentation, well-defined project requirements, and a structured, predetermined timeline.

Waterfall is commonly used for projects with clear, unchanging requirements and minimal need for adaptability or frequent stakeholder involvement.

Core principles of the waterfall methodology

The waterfall methodology utilizes three core principles: sequential phases, defined requirements, and an emphasis on documentation.

Sequential phases

The waterfall methodology is characterized by its sequential and linear approach to project management. A project is divided into distinct phases and each phase must be completed before the next one begins. The sequence ensures that there is clear progress from one stage of the project to the next.

Defined requirements

Before beginning any implementation work, the project must move through the requirements analysis and design phase. The project must be planned and the requirements must be known and well-defined. This means a significant portion of the overall project time is spent on requirement gathering, analyzing, and documenting requirements.

The requirements can only be used as a foundation for the project plan and the execution of the project if they are well-defined. With properly defined requirements, you can test the results of each phase and ensure a certain quality to both the output of the project, as well as the project plan and project management.

Emphasis on documentation

An important foundation of the waterfall methodology is the emphasis on documentation at each phase. Comprehensive documentation helps with planning and executing the project.

It is needed:

• To caption and clarify project requirements
• To support communication and collaboration with the customers
• To design and implement the project
• To ensure the quality and coordinate the team efforts
• To verify if the team is on track and the project meets the specifications
• To share knowledge especially when topics are handed over in between project phases

Phases of the waterfall methodology

The waterfall methodology comprises several distinct phases, each building upon the previous one. Understanding these phases is important for you to effectively implement a waterfall approach in your project management.

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Requirements phase

The requirements phase is the initial step in every waterfall project as it lays the foundation for the project plan and the following work. During this phase, the project team works closely with the project stakeholders and customers to gather, analyze, and document the project’s requirements and desired output.

Key activities in this phase include:

• Conducting user interviews
• Conducting stakeholder and customer interviews
• Executing requirement workshops
• Documenting requirements
• Defining acceptance criteria, quality metrics, and nonfunctional requirements
• Defining a project plan with concrete project goals, a resource plan, a test plan, and a communication plan
• Gathering the needed budget and resources for the project
• Gaining feedback from the customers and the stakeholders to move on with the design phase

In this phase it is important to gather all the essential information for the upcoming phases, to set clear project goals, and to manage expectations by aligning with the stakeholders and customers.

Design phase

After the requirements are clear and the project is planned, the project team can start with the design phase. In the design phase, the focus lies on creating a detailed design and architecture based on the defined requirements.

• Developing the architectural plan and creating blueprints
• Creating detailed design documents, including models, user interfaces, and workflows
• Identifying dependencies between different components and creating component integration plans
• Updating project plans as more is learned
• Testing the designs against the documented requirements

The design phase serves as a bridge between the requirements phase and the implementation phase providing a clear “how” to the developer and the stakeholders. The developers can then follow a clear plan in the implementation phase.

Implementation phase

Once the how is clear and the design phase is completed and approved, the team can start with the development in the implementation phase. During this phase the team begins with the actual work. This phase is where the project starts taking shape and where actual value is realized.

• Developing code and creating software components
• Conducting code reviews, tests, and creating unit tests
• Integrating different components and modulus to a bigger system
• Creating the system and integration tests
• Manually testing the system and its parts
• Ensuring that the implementation is aligned with the designs and architectural requirements
• Ensuring that the implementation is also aligned with the requirements of the stakeholders
• Budget monitoring and ensuring that the project is on track and in scope

In the implementation phase, the team needs to be careful and pay attention to details, while also adhering to the design and requirements. The output of the implementation phase must be a functional and tested product. Only when the output can be considered finished can the project move onto the verification phase.

Verification phase

After the implementation phase, the verification phase begins. It focuses on testing and quality assurance with the stakeholders and users. It is used to identify and rectify defects and ensure that the project meets all requirements and quality standards.

• System testing to evaluate the overall functionality and performance
• Load testing
• User acceptance testing
• Regression testing to check for unintended side effects of code changes
• Bug tracking and fixing the bugs
• Final approval and handover to the customers

The verification phase is a critical phase to ensure that the output of the project is error-free and ready to use.

Maintenance phase

The final phase of a waterfall project is the maintenance phase. This phase begins after the product is deployed and in active use by its intended users. During this phase the focus shifts to ongoing support, delivering updates and enhancements, and maybe starting follow-up projects.

Often the maintenance phase is the end of the project and only consists of one or two months of customer care. After this period the project and the waterfall ends.

Key activities of this phase include:

• Monitoring the system and identifying potential issues
• Addressing and resolving defects, errors, and bugs
• Implementing updates and delivering them based on user feedback
• Ensuring the operation and sustainability of the system

The maintenance phase is the end of the project and the last effort to improve the quality to evolving needs of the user.

Pros and cons of the waterfall methodology

Everything in life comes with pros and cons, and so does the waterfall methodology. It also highly depends on you, your project, and your personal experience and skill.

Pros of waterfall projects

Predictability.

Especially for simple to complex projects the sequential nature of the waterfall approach provides a structured timeline and clear milestones. This helps to better understand the project and the project plan and allows stakeholders to have a reasonable expectation of when the project will be completed successfully and under what conditions.

Good documentation

Waterfall approaches focus on documentation and thereby ensure transparency. Even late in the project, you can understand why something happened as it happened. This can be valuable for compliance, audits, and further maintenance.

Clear milestones

If everything is prepared well the project will have clear milestones and a plan to achieve them. This will make it easy to measure the progress of the project. This increases the transparency for the stakeholders as they can easily see if everything is still on track or not.

Stakeholder involvement

Transparency and the frequent milestone presentations between the phases lead to stakeholder involvement along every major step of the waterfall.

Cons of waterfall projects

Late feedback.

Although the stakeholders are involved in waterfall projects, they are only involved at the beginning and end of each phase and of the project. In between they have no transparency and no way to steer and give feedback, which can lead to increased project costs.

Excessive documentation

Waterfall projects also lack internal feedback between phases, which often leads to the creation of excessive documentation. This also increases costs and consumes budgets.

Limited flexibility

Because of the late feedback, the project is also less flexible to change. The later the phase and the more progress the project has made, the harder it is to change things. Stakeholder feedback typically comes late in the process, which can result in costly revisions if the project doesn’t align with user expectations.

Late value creation

The creation of actual value, (e.g. the time when the first code is created and deployed) is also delayed and very late in the process. This is a major risk since a lot of effort runs in the first design and requirement phases.

Risk of overlooking major issues

Major problems may not become apparent until the verification or maintenance phases, which makes it challenging to address them effectively.

Expensive repairs

If a major flaw is detected in the verification phase, or even later in the maintenance phase it is very costly to repair it since a lot of work has already been done and components typically build on each other.

Waterfall vs. agile

The choice between waterfall and agile depends on the project’s nature, the requirements, and the organization’s culture. Waterfall is suitable for projects with stable, well-defined requirements and organizations with a preference for predictability. Agile approaches excel in dynamic environments where flexibility, collaboration, and rapid adaptation are crucial.

Tools for waterfall project management

While Waterfall projects rely heavily on documentation and structured processes, various tools can enhance efficiency and collaboration:

• Project management software — Tools like Microsoft Project help in planning, scheduling, and tracking project activities
• Requirements management — Tools like Jira can help manage and track project requirements and bugs
• Version control — Version control systems like Git are essential for managing code changes and ensuring traceability
• Collaboration platforms — Tools like Microsoft Teams , Slack , and Confluence enable seamless communication and document sharing among team members

Using these tools in conjunction with Waterfall methodology can streamline project management processes and improve overall project efficiency.

Final thoughts

The Waterfall approach, with its core principles of sequential phases, documentation emphasis, and defined requirements, offers a structured approach to project management. Understanding its pros and cons is essential for making informed decisions about its suitability for specific projects.

Depending on the environment a project is executed it makes sense to choose either agile or waterfall approaches. If the environment is complicated or simple, waterfall projects deliver predictability and structure. If the environment is complex or chaotic, agile approaches are more suitable. Ultimately, the choice between waterfall and agile depends on the project’s nature, the requirements, the technology, and the organization’s culture.

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The Waterfall Methodology in Project Management

The term “waterfall” might make you think you’re headed for a quick rush down a river and over a cliff, but Waterfall project management isn’t that extreme. It’s more like stair steps that get you from point A to point Z in a clear and orderly fashion.

The Empire State Building, huge websites, and some of the most successful marketing campaigns have been built on this tried-and-true process. But is it right for you?

In this chapter, we’ll cover what the Waterfall methodology is, how the Waterfall process works, and the pros and cons of Waterfall project management.

What is the Waterfall methodology in project management?

The Waterfall method is a traditional project management methodology that takes a well-defined project idea to completion through a sequential series of linear steps, tasks, and hand-offs. This straightforward and somewhat rigid method uses early planning and estimation to define and document project requirements prior to executing on the work.

The Waterfall methodology centers around a visual timeline—or gantt chart —of your project. This makes it easy to see how long every task should take, who should be working on it, and what order work should be done in.

The history of Waterfall: A method with roots in software development

The Waterfall model was first presented in 1970 by American computer scientist Winston W. Royce—though he didn’t actually use that term to describe it—in his article titled, "Managing the development of large software systems.” The first mention of “Waterfall” is often attributed to a paper written by T.E. Bell and T.A. Thayer in 1976.

Since then, the Waterfall approach has made an impact on many projects and project managers. It’s still widely used across industries and has even inspired formalized education around project management.

In Royce’s original article, he expressed his personal views on software development and presented Waterfall as a case of a flawed, non-working software development methodology—a critical view that persists today and has led to the rise of newer methods, including Agile project management .

Industries that use Waterfall project management

Any industry that relies on a well-defined process can use the Waterfall methodology. Those may include, but are certainly not limited to:

• Construction
• Manufacturing
• Software development
• Design and creative

How the Waterfall process works

Waterfall project management follows a linear process designed to deliver project quality and cost-efficiency. Each phase of the Waterfall process happens in sequential order, meaning one step must finish before the next one begins. You start at point A, finish that step, move on to step B, and continue that way until your project’s complete.

The Waterfall lifecycle doesn’t allow for a ton of iteration unless it’s planned. So if you’re working with a client, be very clear about how much time is scoped for feedback and iteration on your deliverables. Those steps will be built directly into your project plan. 

The same goes for change! If a client wants to change the direction of your Waterfall project midstream, you’ll face challenges with your project scope , budget, and deadline. That’s because the Waterfall method is grouped by phases and tasks that depend wholly on previous tasks and decisions. The minute you go off track with the plan, things start to fall apart.

Waterfall methodology phases

The Waterfall development process can be broken down into 6 key phases. Let’s take a closer look at the Waterfall methodology phases so you can get familiar with the high-level steps of the process.

Phase 1: Requirements gathering and documentation

The first step of any Waterfall project is to question and analyze business needs and understand project goals with a focus on documenting project requirements . 

This phase is critical to project success because it fully explains what’s needed—in detail—to complete the project both at a high level and as it relates to each requirement, which will be tracked throughout the project.

Phase 2: Planning and design 

The second phase of the Waterfall lifecycle builds on the first step by creating an overall plan for what’s being built. After all, you’ve got to know what you’re designing before setting out to design it.

Here are a few ways this plan might come together, depending on the project you’re working on:

• Architecture plan
• Detailed project brief

In this Waterfall phase, the goal is to come away with a foundational design document everyone agrees on that acts as a true north for your project. Once that plan’s complete, you can hand it to a designer who will bring the plan to life.

That said, it’s important to remember to keep an eye on your project requirements and documentation so the design work can be handed over in the next phase to begin implementation.

Phase 3: Build and development 

The next phase of the Waterfall process involves the actual build or development of a product. 

This is where the documentation you’ve created in the previous 2 steps proves critical, as it will guide your team to implement the design work. Hold your team accountable for checking those requirements—as well as their work in this step—to ease the pain of rework or fixes in the testing phase.

Phase 4: Testing 

Now it’s time to ensure your product meets all the requirements with the utmost quality and precision possible. Here are just a few activities testing might include:

• Review and check of the project requirements and goals
• Design review to ensure the integrity of the look and feel
• Review of usability
• Quality assurance test
• Bug tracking and reporting

The testing step carries the most risk in a Waterfall project because you just don’t know what issues or defects will pop up and how they’ll impact the timeline. That’s why careful planning is so important. Adding a buffer into your testing schedule can help ensure your team has adequate time to make fixes. 

You’re close to completion, so do everything you can to perfect the project in the testing phase before it launches.

Phase 5: Deployment 

At this point, requirements have been met, the product’s fully tested and approved, and everyone’s confident your product is 100% ready to release.

Depending on the type of product you’re launching, you’ll have a plan to ensure your deployment is smooth and drama-free. Be sure to discuss what the deployment or launch will look like far in advance of actually doing it. Working out the details early will enable you to approach your release day with a checklist and some confidence.

It may feel like time to celebrate, but you’re not done yet.

Phase 6: Support and maintenance

Not every project needs this step. But many products require a team to hang on for updates. So while you might have a product out in the wild, there’s a chance you might need to continue to support it after launch.

These 6 phases make up the core of the Waterfall process. What you don’t see here are the tasks, milestones , and hand-offs that occur within each phase. To get a sense for that, check out this Waterfall model and example .

Waterfall model pros and cons

Every method has advantages and disadvantages. So let’s take a look at some of the reasons people choose the Waterfall approach for their projects—and some of the downsides you should be aware of.

Advantages of the Waterfall methodology

We’ll start with the benefits of the Waterfall methodology. Here are some advantages you may find when you use the Waterfall method for your projects:

• Clear and complete documentation paves the way for straightforward feedback and decisions. The fact that Waterfall produces detailed project requirements means every piece of your project will be well-defined and documented. If someone wants to change a requirement , discuss it head-on because scope and budget will always be affected.
• Solid estimates set clear expectations. Most Waterfall practitioners will create a work breakdown structure of all tasks and subtasks. That detailed estimate can then translate to a firm project scope that correlates to a detailed project plan , creating very clear expectations about timing and scope.
• Visual project plans are easy to understand. Creating a Waterfall project plan is fairly straightforward because projects run in a linear manner with defined dependencies and responsibilities. Plus, the division of steps and tasks is simple to interpret. This makes planning your team’s time easier (and expected) and leads to a clear hand-off or end date.  ‍
• It’s easy to measure the impact of project changes. While it’s difficult to make up for changes or missed deadlines, it’s easy to determine the impact of a change and quickly make adjustments (though that does usually mean your deadline will be affected). ‍
• Communicating progress is simple. It’s easy to measure the completeness of your project because all tasks and milestones are mapped out with dependencies . ‍
• Accountability is clear. Each person can see when they’re expected to do their part and what happens if there’s a delay. ‍
• Communications are easier. When everyone can visualize the project, you’re able to easily communicate with bosses, clients, and team members. Everyone can review the project plan together when it’s drafted and spot potential issues or areas that might require special attention.

Waterfall method disadvantages

Of course, Waterfall project management comes with a few limitations too. Consider these important factors before deciding if the Waterfall method is right for you:

• Silos and lack of collaboration : Because team members work on specific tasks in phases and hand work off to someone else, it leaves little room for collaboration. Instead, it’s all about getting work done to documentation and ensuring the next person in line can use what was previously created or documented.
• Speed to launch : When you build one thing at a time, it means you take a considerable amount of time to get just one thing done—even if you could be working on other things at the same time.
• Ideation : If you don’t know what you want to build, Waterfall project management is not for you. The idea here is to receive or create project requirements and act on them—not iterate on them throughout the process.
• Change and documentation : Things change in business, and when documentation is built at the beginning of a project, the project can’t always change with the business without serious impact. (Sometimes that impact might be to start over.) So, while the documentation is strong, it can serve as a risk on longer projects.

Continue your learning

Now that you’ve got the Waterfall basics down, you’re ready to move onto another popular approach to project management! Keep reading to learn all about Agile.

NEXT CHAPTER: Agile Project Management Methodology

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A complete guide to the Waterfall methodology

The analogy of a waterfall for the Waterfall methodology isn’t the best. When someone thinks “well-controlled, step-by-step process,” whose mind jumps straight to a waterfall?

Maybe someone who has never seen its chaos and churn in person…A staircase would be a better analogy to illustrate how the methodology works. Waterfall gives your team a structure to help them navigate the treacherous terrain of project management — just like it’s easier to walk up or down stairs than a steep incline.

It adds predictability and stability to the process — a key priority for many projects.

In this guide, we’ll explain what the Waterfall method is, how it compares to other options, and how you can better implement it in your own company.

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What is the Waterfall methodology in project management?

The Waterfall methodology is an approach to project management where you break down a large project into clear-cut linear stages, from requirement gathering to implementation.

The linear approach allows you to plan and set a structure for the project early on. That makes it easier to execute and manage progress in your projects. Traditionally, the Waterfall model divides a project into 5 specific phases or stages. Let’s take a closer look.

What are the 5 phases of the Waterfall method?

• The Requirements phase: estimating requirements and assessing the viability of a project or proposed solution.
• The Design phase: planning the schedule, milestones, and deliverables of the project; this may also include creating the designs or blueprints for the final deliverable(s).
• The Implementation phase: implementing the plan and making the project a reality.
• The Verification, or testing phase: testing and checking that the resulting product or feature solves the intended problem.
• The Maintenance phase: phasing out older products, implementing a maintenance plan for the new machinery, or anything else needed after project completion.

If you’re familiar with the project life cycle, you might notice that the Waterfall methodology closely mirrors it. Every stage is critical to project success, but pay extra attention to requirements and design.

Any shortcomings during these stages can lead to a lot of wasted time and money. If you pick an unstable area for a construction project, making adjustments later can cost a fortune and take months. That’s the key difference between this and playing Jenga. The end goal is definitely not for everything to come crashing down.

Is the Waterfall methodology still used?

Yes, even in 2022, a wide range of companies use the Waterfall methodology in various industries.

According to a study by PMI, 56% of projects used traditional — AKA Waterfall — methods in the past 12 months.

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So, rather than being “dead,” the Waterfall approach is, in fact, the most popular project management methodology among professionals.

Some managers might refer to it as an ancient relic of a bygone age. But — like in sci-fi novels — it often turns out that these can be just as powerful as the newest of new technologies.

Of course, which project management model is right for you depends on your industry, goals, team size, and project.

Let’s explore how Waterfall measures up against some of the newer methods like Agile and Kanban.

What is the difference between Waterfall and Agile?

The main difference between Waterfall and Agile is that the Agile methodology focuses much less on up-front planning. There’s no goal of a perfect, step-by-step plan before launch.

Agile outlines the high-level objectives, goals, and deliverables in a roadmap, sure, but it’s not the detailed battle plan from the Waterfall approach. An Agile team adapts to the changing demands of the market and stakeholders during the project.

That often takes the shape of dividing the project into iterations or “sprints” — lasting a few weeks or months — and adapting the course after each one.

There’s a misconception that Waterfall and Agile project management have nothing in common. But, in many ways, they follow the same fundamental process, with slightly different phases.

The difference is that in Agile, the stages don’t happen in a linear order. You don’t plan once and then start the project. The requirements and planning phases are never over. You keep going back to them with the finish of each iteration.

The Agile principles also dictate that you involve internal and external stakeholders throughout the process, which is something the Waterfall method was silent on. Another crucial aspect of Agile is that teams typically self-organize, with less top-down management input.

To sum it all up, these are the key differences between Waterfall and Agile:

If you’re not sure which is better for you, you can read more in our post about Agile vs. Waterfall .

What about Waterfall vs. Kanban?

Kanban is a framework within the Agile method, so it too focuses on flexibility and ongoing adaptation. But instead of dividing the project into sprints, in Kanban, your team is focused on continuous improvement. The main tool for achieving this is a “Kanban board.”

It is a digital or physical whiteboard divided into a few columns, from to-do to done.

You can add new ideas to the to-do column on an ongoing basis. Then, the teams or individuals will assume these tasks, or managers will assign them. For a Waterfall project — unlike one managed with Kanban — you don’t continually adapt as you go along. You carefully manage changes to the scope or schedule, but constant change isn’t built-in to the model.

In Kanban, you maintain the original company structure, involve stakeholders more, and give every employee a platform to voice their ideas.

Some of the key differences are:

When should you use the Waterfall methodology?

The Waterfall methodology is the best choice for reasonably predictable projects with strict time constraints or flawless operation requirements.

These projects can come in many shapes and sizes, in many different industries.

Some examples include:

• Projects where you fully understand the scope and requirements through previous experience
• Manufacturing or construction projects where there’s no room for variation in schedule or implementation
• Projects that rely heavily on repeatable processes
• Other projects with strict time or schedule constraints

Impact of industry and marketplace

According to the 2020 State of Agile report , technology and financial industries are Agile’s primary users.

Traditional physical industries like manufacturing or energy represent a small minority of users. The majority of Agile teams are in fast-moving sectors, and for a good reason.

If a marketplace is likely to change completely before your project is ready, it makes little sense to try to plan a multi-year project from start to finish.

Our R&D team might use Scrum — an Agile framework — but we wouldn’t push it on the construction company creating our new main office. On some projects, predictable, reliable results are a much bigger priority than adaptability.

Sure, there are some equally unpredictable manufacturing, government, and construction projects. That’s why some teams in these industries manage the occasional Agile project.

Advantages of the Waterfall methodology

The distinct benefits of Waterfall make it an excellent choice for a lot of teams and projects.

• Predictable: the detailed schedule means each team knows when they should start working
• Repeatable: with entire workflows outlined, you can easily standardize and create a repeatable process
• Reasonable: with a well-planned budget including contingency costs, it’s easier to allocate resources to a project

But for long-term projects with lofty goals and lots of unpredictability, it’s probably not the best choice.

Of course, you don’t need to 100% commit to one or the other.

The Waterfall project management methodology can be your foundation, and you can add to it. For many companies, modified Waterfall models can be a better choice than jumping straight to Agile. For example, you can make stakeholder engagement an ongoing priority and cultivate a more self-organizing team.

There’s no need to forego long-term planning — and all your processes — just because some “experts” say so.

A Waterfall methodology example: what goes into each phase?

In this example, we’ll outline key activities in each stage of the Waterfall methodology.

1. Cover all your bases in the requirements phase

Too many projects fail because management overlooks something at the requirements stage. 33% of project managers highlight inaccurate requirements gathering as a leading cause of project failure.

You must look past basic business requirements and involve stakeholders in the process.

• Objectives: work with stakeholders to set project objectives that meet their expectations.
• Project scope: figure out the overall extent in collaboration with stakeholders.
• Risk assessment: find dangerous risks to projects and assess whether the project is worth undertaking.
• Research: if it’s a new product, this is the stage where you would do market research.
• Project team: start assembling the talent for your project.

2. Involve all parties when designing your project plan

Once you reach the 2nd stage — design — you should have a preliminary project team. Don’t be afraid to rely on domain experts when creating the project schedule and budget.

In this process you should:

• Create a work breakdown structure (WBS) and start assigning project activities.
• Create a high-level project schedule with clear project milestones that you can use to benchmark progress.

Carefully consider stakeholder expectations at this stage, if you want to succeed.

3. Don’t lose sight of the plan when implementing the project

Once you start a project “for real,” it’s easy to have tunnel vision and lose sight of the original plan.

Remember to…

• Track progress by seeing how you measure up against milestones.
• Actively work to identify potential roadblocks and bottlenecks to project progress.
• Monitor key project KPIs.

Changes aren’t forbidden, but each request should be carefully considered and managed through a standardized process.

Pro tip: if you don’t know how to measure project performance metrics, monday.com offers a real-time dashboard with data like percentage of tasks completed on time, resource utilization, and more.

4. Test and verify that the result is satisfactory

So, you’ve delivered the project objective? Don’t celebrate just yet.

First, you need to make sure that the product holds water.

You have to:

• Arrange direct user testing with existing — or potential — customers.
• Get the necessary regulatory approvals.
• Standardize any repeatable processes that deliver results.

5. Replace, phase out, and maintain

The last part of the Waterfall life cycle ensures that the project delivers in the long term.

In this phase:

• Replace existing products or services with new ones.
• Phase out the old products.
• Maintain the new product or process to reap the benefits for the long term.

How to take Waterfall project management to the next level with monday.com

What makes monday.com different is that we give you the tools to build the exact project management platform your company needs. With smart automations, tons of native integrations with other tools, and an interface that makes sense, you’ll feel like you hired an extra project manager.

Create a high-level project plan using a ready-made template

First things first, use our ready-made project proposal template to kickstart your project. The template outlines the core elements that your project plan should include.

The plan should have a problem definition statement, core goals and objectives, milestones, and more. That’s all the basics.

Keep in mind that nothing is set in stone at this stage. You don’t need to spend hours trying to get overly specific.

Engage stakeholders by sharing real-time access to key project documents.

Instead of just talking to them in workshops or on the phone, give them direct access. With monday.com, you can easily share guest access to individual boards — or all of them. You can also control their permission level with the click of a button.

For example, you can give editing access to only the most vital stakeholders.

Use Gantt charts to optimize your project schedule.

It can be hard to create the perfect project timeline without seeing all the moving parts. That’s where our interactive Gantt view comes in. The drag-and-drop editor makes it easy to make small changes until it feels just right.

Use integrations and automation to improve cross-departmental collaboration.

We’ve entered the age of SaaS. Most companies use 100s of different apps throughout the organization. And it’s not likely every team and department uses the same software, either.

That’s where monday.com’s robust integrations come in. You can democratize data within your company by automatically sharing it with everyone involved.

For example, if a customer submits a relevant complaint to customer support via Zendesk , monday.com can automatically let your whole team know.

And that’s just an example of what you can do with 1 of 40+ integrations.

Standardize processes with custom templates.

Once you start to get the hang of this project management thing, it’d be a waste of time to start from scratch every time a new project came along. Create custom templates tailored to your company’s unique requirements and workflow. With monday.com, it’s as easy as clicking a button.

Custom templates are crucial if you decide to develop your own unique hybrid approach.

Create a strict process for managing project change.

One of the main benefits of Waterfall, when done right, is the predictability of projects. But nothing will be predictable if you mindlessly change the base plan as much as you want. The difference between a positive change — and a destructive one — isn’t always clear at first glance.

That’s why you should put in place a rigorous change management process. Again, monday.com has ready-made templates for change request management. You can even set up change request forms and share them directly with your stakeholders.

Adapt it to your own needs and make sure you only implement change with positive potential.

The right order is key to project execution

The Waterfall methodology isn’t “dead” in 2022. The majority of large projects implement it. Plus, it tends to make more sense than Agile for more physical projects.

But, using the Waterfall method shouldn’t be an excuse for complacency. You can still optimize how you handle projects through each stage of planning, testing, and implementation.

Use monday.com’s project proposal template — and our 14-day free trial — to reach a new level of control over your projects.

Send this article to someone who’d like it.

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What is Waterfall Project Management Methodology? Here’s the Complete Guide

• Written by Contributing Writer
• Updated on March 31, 2023

Project management is a broad term that encompasses several methods and strategies that are used to develop, plan, organize, and execute all phases of a project’s lifecycle. There are a plethora of popular project management methodologies that each have their strengths and weaknesses and best use cases. Some of the most commonly used strategies include Lean, Scrum, Critical Path, Kanban, Six Sigma, Prince2®, Agile, and Waterfall.

To determine the optimal methodology, the project manager needs to take several factors into account. Initially, the nature of the project itself must be considered, as certain methods may be better suited. In cases where the advantages of one approach aren’t distinct, the company’s objectives, culture, and preferences should also influence the decision. The waterfall project management methodology, a longstanding industry dominator, remains a preferred choice in many organizations. Additionally, for professionals seeking to enhance their project management skills, the Post Graduate Program in Project Management provides valuable insights and knowledge.

What Is Waterfall Project Management?

The waterfall approach to project management methodology is a strategy that is used to manage all aspects of a project using a linear and sequential process. The name is derived from the linear strategy wherein one category “falls” into the next. Much like a waterfall cascade, one process cannot start until the other has been completed and approved. Once a stage closes and the next begins, it can be difficult and expensive to revisit a previous stage using this method. Because of this, it is preferred when there are clearly defined goals and processes in place. Essentially, it is the opposite approach of agile project management, where adjustments and adaptations are made continuously throughout a project to consider feedback and other alternations as they arise.

Also Read: Understanding KPIs in Project Management

Phases of the Waterfall Project Management Methodology

When following the waterfall project management methodology, there are five distinct phases. Because returning to a phase is immensely difficult and expensive once completed, anyone implementing this strategy must have a deep, thorough understanding of what is included within each phase.

Like most others, the waterfall methodology for project management starts with an initial planning phase. Through planning, the project manager works with leaders/stakeholders to identify the requirements for the project and the goals that they are aiming to meet. At this point, they are loosely defined, and any perceived risks and assumptions are identified and detailed.

After the project manager has successfully closed the planning phase, the team can begin with the design portion. Here, the basic ideas gathered within the planning phase are narrowed down and transformed into more definitive, actionable concepts. All these factors are then addressed and used to create a project roadmap. Within this guide, matters like the budget, timeframe, and overall objectives are clearly defined.

3. Implement

The implementation phase starts after all design work has been hashed out and everyone is on the same page with the direction that the project will take. After receiving approval to close the design phase, everyone on the team is assigned specific roles and duties. They can begin working on the important tasks at hand. This phase of the waterfall project management methodology is where most of the time will be spent on each project. While doing the work, project managers will continually document the progress made and mitigate any risks or problems as they arise.

4. Verification

The fourth step when following the waterfall methodology for project management is the verification or testing phase. Moving on to this section verifies that all the work outlined in the design phase has since been completed according to plan. Relying on certain metrics like customer satisfaction, for instance, allows the project manager to identify any areas of concern. If errors are detected or the project has failed to meet all of the objectives outlined, the team must re-evaluate the entire project starting at phase one to identify what went wrong before moving on to the final stage of the waterfall method.

5. Maintenance

The maintenance phase is an ongoing process that extends beyond the lifecycle of the initial project and spills over into the whole lifespan of a project/product/service/application. This may last several years as flaws, errors, omissions, and other nuances are addressed to improve functionality. It also involves routine maintenance. The goal is to ensure that the project, over time, continues to meet the needs that it originally set out to fulfill.

Also Read: 5 Essential Project Management Steps You Need to Know

Advantages of the Waterfall Project Management Methodology

As a more traditional form of project management, the waterfall method has been relied on for projects within large organizations and in software development fields for over 20 years. While it isn’t a suitable approach for all projects, it does offer several advantages over project management methods, including:

Clear Timelines

Because the waterfall approach to project management requires one phase to be completed before moving on to the next, it offers a much more predictable timeline than methods like Agile. Having such distinct phases also helps the team continually assess whether they are on par to meet milestones along the way or if they are falling behind. They can take this information and adjust their processes accordingly to get back on track.

Enhanced Collaboration

With Agile and Scrum methodologies, one of the biggest challenges is keeping everyone involved on the same page. Because continuous evaluations and adaptations are being made, it can be tough to keep up. The waterfall method makes collaboration much easier because everyone is working on the same goals at the same time before moving on to the next stage.

Reduced Risk of Error

Errors that require teams to restart projects or re-work their strategies are costly. A minor mistake can ruin the entire budget and timeline if it isn’t caught early. Waterfall project management successfully avoids most errors because all portions are completed before moving on to the next stage. This allows the majority of problems to be identified early in the lifecycle of the project, whereas other strategies do not have this advantage.

Well-Defined Objectives

Before any work is performed, the waterfall method requires all objectives, tasks, and goals to be outlined. This is crucial for keeping all team members committed to the same objectives while also ensuring less rework or delays due to misunderstandings or scope creep.

Improved Control of the Project

One of the biggest challenges a project manager faces, particularly in large organizations or projects, is losing control of the project. This can happen for many reasons, like misunderstandings, delays, missed milestones, vendor or supply issues, and the list goes on. The likelihood of losing control of a project increases with methods that are less organized and structured. Because the waterfall method is highly structured, project managers have better control over all aspects of the project. When sticking to a budget and goals is a primary concern, this level of control is imperative.

Also Read: Project Management Frameworks and Methodologies Explained

Disadvantages of Waterfall Project Management

Despite the widespread use of the waterfall strategy, it isn’t the best option for all projects or industries. Because of this, project managers must ensure that the strategy aligns with the needs of the company and the tasks at hand. In some cases, control may be crucial, while in others, there may be a need for flexibility. Let’s explore the most common disadvantages.

Little to No Flexibility

In scenarios where flexibility is necessary, the waterfall methodology for project management is not ideal. Because of its highly structured nature, it is inherently difficult to make changes along the way. This is particularly true when the changes concern major alterations to the project outline or scope.

Limited Involvement of Stakeholders/Leaders

When stakeholders and leaders are interested in being intricately involved in decision-making throughout the project, the waterfall method provides challenges. Because each stage is completed before moving on to the next, there are fewer opportunities for stakeholders/leaders to provide feedback and request changes along the way. Other strategies provide more hands-on involvement and can lead to a higher level of satisfaction.

Larger Time/Cost Investments

Project management styles that adapt well to changes have an advantage when it comes to time and cost investments. Because they can adapt at the drop of a dime, little time or money is wasted before errors are identified and remedied. Unfortunately, the opposite is true of the waterfall method. It takes an immense amount of time to complete many of these stages, and once they are completed, it is a hefty investment in terms of both time and money to go back and re-work phases to remedy errors.

Learn Waterfall Project Management Methodology

Obtaining project management certification through this project management bootcamp, delivered by Simplilearn in collaboration with the University of Massachusetts, shows managers are taking the initiative to advance in their careers. For those not currently in leadership positions, it can showcase that they are ready to take on more responsibility and lead a team to success.

The program takes approximately six months to complete and educates participants on the best project management methodologies, such as the waterfall method. It also delves deep into the technologies used to manage projects, like JIRA, Microsoft Office, and risk management software systems.

Enroll today to jumpstart your career!

You might also like to read:

What is a WBS in Project Management, and How Do You Use it?

What’s a Requirements Traceability Matrix (RTM), and How Do You Create It?

13 Key Project Management Principles and How to Use Them

Project Management Phases: A Full Breakdown

The Top 24 Project Management Interview Questions for 22-23

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Waterfall Methodology: A Complete Guide

The waterfall methodology is a project management approach that emphasizes a linear progression from beginning to end of a project. This methodology, often used by engineers, is front-loaded to rely on careful planning, detailed documentation, and consecutive execution.

In this waterfall methodology guide you will discover,

What is the Waterfall methodology?

• 5 common stages in a Waterfall process
• Advantages of the Waterfall methodology
• Disadvantages of the Waterfall methodology

Who uses the Waterfall model?

• Waterfall project management FAQs

The Waterfall methodology — also known as the Waterfall model — is a sequential development process that flows like a waterfall through all phases of a project (analysis, design, development, and testing, for example), with each phase completely wrapping up before the next phase begins.

It is said that the Waterfall methodology follows the adage to “measure twice, cut once.” The success of the Waterfall method depends on the amount and quality of the work done on the front end, documenting everything in advance, including the user interface,  user stories , and all the features’ variations and outcomes.

With the majority of the research done upfront,  estimates of the time needed  for each requirement are more accurate, and this can provide a more predictable release date. With a Waterfall project, if parameters change along the way, it’s harder to change course than it is with  Agile methodology .

https://main--bacom-blog--adobecom.hlx.page/blog/fragments/waterfall-to-agile

https://main--bacom-blog--adobecom.hlx.page/blog/fragments/mixing-agile-and-waterfall

What is Waterfall software?

Waterfall software helps project managers handle the task. As Waterfalls are a relatively complex, phased approach, they require close attention and coordination.

Waterfall software can be desktop or cloud-based. It helps you:

• Structure your processes
• Organize tasks
• Set up Gantt charts and schedules
• Monitor project progress

5 common stages in a Waterfall process.

The Waterfall methodology follows a chronological process and works based on fixed dates, requirements, and outcomes. With this method, the individual execution teams aren’t required to be in constant communication and, unless specific integrations are required, are usually self-contained.

Team members also tend to work independently and aren’t expected to provide  status reports  as often as with the Agile approach. Usually, one phase doesn’t begin until the previous one is finished.

Using a software development project as an example, the Waterfall process usually includes stages that look like this:

Requirements.

The Waterfall methodology depends on the belief that all  project requirements  can be gathered and understood upfront. The  project manager  does their best to get a detailed understanding of the project sponsor’s requirements. Written requirements, usually contained in a single document, are used to describe each stage of the project, including the  costs , assumptions,  risks , dependencies,  success metrics , and  timelines  for completion.

Here, software developers design a technical solution to the problems set out by the product requirements, including scenarios, layouts, and data models. First, a higher-level or logical design is created that describes the purpose and  scope of the project , the general traffic flow of each component, and the integration points. Once this is complete, it is transformed into a physical design using specific hardware and software technologies.

Implementation.

Once the design is complete, technical implementation starts. This might be the shortest phase of the Waterfall process because painstaking research and design have already been done. In this phase, programmers code applications based on project requirements and specifications, with some testing and implementation taking place as well. If significant changes are required during this stage, this may mean going back to the design phase.

Verification or testing.

Before a product can be released to customers, testing needs to be done to ensure the product has no errors and all of the requirements have been completed, ensuring a good user experience with the software. The testing team will turn to the design documents, personas, and user case scenarios supplied by the product manager to create their test cases.

Deployment and maintenance.

Once the software has been deployed in the market or released to customers, the maintenance phase begins. As defects are found and change requests come in from users, a team will be assigned to take care of updates and release new versions of the software.

Advantages of the Waterfall methodology.

The Waterfall methodology is a straightforward, well-defined  project management methodology  with a proven track record. Since the requirements are clearly laid out from the beginning, each contributor knows what must be done when, and they can effectively plan their time for the duration of the project.

Other benefits of the Waterfall method include:

• Developers can catch design errors during the analysis and design stages, helping them to avoid writing faulty code during the implementation phase.
• The total cost of the project can be accurately estimated, as can the timeline, after the requirements have been defined.
• With the structured approach, it is easier to measure progress according to clearly defined milestones.
• Developers who join the project in progress can easily get up to speed because everything they need to know should be in the requirements document.
• Customers aren’t always adding new requirements to the project, delaying production.

Disadvantages of the Waterfall methodology.

Like any development process, the strengths in one area might mean weaknesses in the other. The Waterfall methodology’s insistence on upfront  project planning  and commitment to a certain defined progress means that it is less flexible, or agile, later in the game. Changes that come further in the process can be time-consuming, painful, and costly.

Other reasons the Waterfall methodology  may not work  include:

• Projects can take longer to deliver with this chronological approach than with an iterative one, such as the Agile method.
• Clients often don’t fully know what they want at the front end, opening the door to requests for changes and new features later in the process when they’re harder to accommodate.
• Clients are not involved in the design and implementation stages.
• Deadline creep — when one phase in the process is delayed, all the other phases are delayed.

The Waterfall process is adopted by project managers who are faced with development projects that:

• Don’t have ambiguous requirements.
• Offer a clear picture of how things will proceed from the outset.
• Have clients who seem unlikely to change the scope of the project once it is underway.

If a project manager prefers clearly defined processes, where cost, design, and  time requirements  are known upfront, then the Waterfall method is the way to go, as long as the project itself is conducive to those constraints.

Frequently asked questions about waterfall methodology.

What are the benefits of Waterfall?

While the Waterfall methodology may sound overly restrictive for certain kinds of projects, it can be a great way to keep a well-defined, predictable project from exceeding time and budget guidelines. The clear and detailed organization can also help during complex projects that involve a lot of people working toward a clearly outlined goal.

What is the difference between Waterfall and Agile?

While the Waterfall model relies on thorough up-front planning in which each phase must be fully completed before the next one starts, Agile is a more flexible, iterative process that tackles the planning, design, implementation, and testing tasks in shorter, repeating cycles.

https://main--bacom-blog--adobecom.hlx.page/blog/fragments/agile-vs-waterfall

Can I make changes during a Waterfall?

Alterations are easy to accommodate in the early stages of development, such as when the project manager is still fleshing out the specification documents with the development team and clients. Later in the Waterfall process, once coding has already begun, design changes can be difficult and expensive to make.

What the waterfall project management methodology can (and can’t) do for you

Reading time: about 7 min

If you work in project management, you have probably heard a number of strange terms thrown around as you try to decide what approach will work best for your team: critical path, scrum, PMBOK, Six Sigma, etc. Amongst all these terms, you may have heard about the waterfall project management methodology, even if you’ve never used it.

Curious as to whether this approach would be a good fit for your project management needs? In this guide, learn how the waterfall methodology uses a sequential process to simplify project management and how you might implement aspects of this methodology in your own work.

What is the waterfall project management methodology?

Simply put, traditional waterfall project management is a sequential, linear process of project management. It consists of several discrete phases. No phase begins until the prior phase is complete, and each phase’s completion is terminal—waterfall management does not allow you to return to a previous phase. The only way to revisit a phase is to start over at phase one.

If waterfall methodology sounds strict, that’s because the system’s history demanded it. Waterfall project management has its roots in non-software industries like manufacturing and construction, where the system arose out of necessity. In these fields, project phases must happen sequentially. You can’t put up drywall if you haven’t framed a house. Likewise, it’s impossible to revisit a phase. There’s no good way to un-pour a concrete foundation.  

As you can imagine, proper planning is a must in the waterfall system. A project’s requirements must be clear upfront, and everyone involved in a project must be well aware of those requirements. Each team member should also understand what their role will be in the project and what that role entails.

All of this information must be thoroughly documented and then distributed to everyone on the project. We recommend outlining this information as a flowchart, as shown below, so your team can quickly understand and reference requirements as needed. You may also want to try adding swimlanes to show which tasks go to which team member. 

Team members will refer to the documentation you provide throughout the process. When followed properly, this document makes expectations clear. It will also provide project milestones that will make it simple to determine progress.

Consequently, thorough documentation is a priority in traditional waterfall project management methodology. Documentation should take place throughout every phase of the process, ensuring that everyone involved is on the same page despite the sequential progression of the project.

Phases of waterfall project management

The specific waterfall phases vary somewhat from source to source, but they generally include:

1. Requirement gathering and documentation

In this stage, you should gather comprehensive information about what this project requires. You can gather this information in a variety of ways, from interviews to questionnaires to interactive brainstorming. By the end of this phase, the project requirements should be clear, and you should have a requirements document that has been distributed to your team.

2. System design

Using the established requirements, your team designs the system. No coding takes place during this phase, but the team establishes specs such as programming language or hardware requirements.

3. Implementation

Coding takes place in this phase. Programmers take information from the previous stage and create a functional product. They typically implement code in small pieces, which are integrated at the end of this phase or the beginning of the next.

Once all coding is done, testing of the product can begin. Testers methodically find and report any problems. If serious issues arise, your project may need to return to phase one for reevaluation.

5. Delivery/deployment

In this phase, the product is complete, and your team submits the deliverables to be deployed or released.

6. Maintenance

The product has been delivered to the client and is being used. As issues arise, your team may need to create patches and updates may to address them. Again, big issues may necessitate a return to phase one.

Benefits of waterfall project management

Keeps training simple

This methodology could ensure your project’s success even if there are unanticipated changes in bandwidth. Because waterfall project management emphasizes thorough documentation, you can easily and seamlessly add new team members to any project. There’s no need to intuit what an absent programmer was trying to do, as everything—from the project’s conception to its completion—is recorded. New team members can simply refer to documentation to get quickly up to speed.

Shows progress

Waterfall project management also shows progress simply. The clear milestones delineated in the first phase make it easy to determine if a project is moving forward on schedule. Likewise, the discrete phases indicate how close a project is to overall completion at any given time, as the waterfall system does not allow for revisiting a prior phase. This eliminates much of the guesswork related to a project’s timeline.

Makes the project easy to manage

These benefits, combined with the linear nature of the system, make waterfall projects easy to manage. Because of the sequential system, you’ll know where the project is at any given time and if that’s where it should be. Rather than scrambling to manage a large team, a manager can focus exclusively on team members participating in a given phase. And should there be unexpected outside delays or personnel changes, waterfall documentation allow you to quickly get your team back on track.

Saves time and money

Whether you decide to fully commit to waterfall project management, there’s no question that certain aspects of this methodology—namely, thorough conceptualization and detailed documentation—better prepare you to execute a project the right way the first time. Taking the time early on to discover and plan for requirements can save you time and money down the line.

When to use waterfall methodology

Because of its linear approach, waterfall methodology project management works best for projects that have clear and fixed requirements and/or time constraints. That’s why waterfall steps work well in manufacturing and construction industries, where schedules and plans are clear from the start.

Late-stage testing makes any revision a serious undertaking. In fact, strict adherents to the waterfall timeline would argue that a need for revision means the product requirements were not clear, and therefore the project must return to stage one. This can be a serious problem in many industries, such as the ever-changing world of software.

An agile approach is more likely to suit your project if you suspect that requirements could change during production or that revision will be necessary. Realistically, most software development fits in this category.

Because of its inability to adapt to change, the waterfall methodology is best suited to short projects that are well-defined from the beginning. If you are certain that the project requirements are static, then waterfall project management provides a straightforward way to push a project through a clearly defined process. It’s simple to manage and easy to track.

How Lucidchart can help you document your project

Want to try the waterfall methodology? Now that you’ve seen the importance of documentation within this method, you know the first step is to find a platform to track all the necessary tasks and share them with your team.

Lucidchart can help in every project stage:

• Utilize a mind map as you gather requirements. You can even share your Lucidchart document during a meeting with stakeholders and add suggestions in real time.
• If you work in software development, you might want to create a user flow diagram based on the requirements you’ve received. With this document, developers can see a high-level view of how the software should function.
• Once you finalize requirements and understand the tasks needed to accomplish those requirements, create a workflow for your team. In Lucidchart, your team will be able to see dependencies at a glance. 
• Make documentation available for everyone involved with the project. Sharing is simple since you can access Lucidchart documents from any operating system or embed your diagrams into popular apps  you already use in your workflow.

Try Lucidchart and see how to improve documentation throughout the entire waterfall process.

Explore all the ways Lucidchart can support project management.

Lucidchart, a cloud-based intelligent diagramming application, is a core component of Lucid Software's Visual Collaboration Suite. This intuitive, cloud-based solution empowers teams to collaborate in real-time to build flowcharts, mockups, UML diagrams, customer journey maps, and more. Lucidchart propels teams forward to build the future faster. Lucid is proud to serve top businesses around the world, including customers such as Google, GE, and NBC Universal, and 99% of the Fortune 500. Lucid partners with industry leaders, including Google, Atlassian, and Microsoft. Since its founding, Lucid has received numerous awards for its products, business, and workplace culture. For more information, visit lucidchart.com.

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• Software Testing Life Cycle (STLC)

Software Development Models & Methodologies

• What is SDLC(Software Development Life Cycle) and its phases
• 5 Most Commonly used Software Development Methodologies
• Top 8 Software Development Life Cycle (SDLC) Models used in Industry
• Waterfall Model - Software Engineering
• Spiral Model - Software Engineering
• Advantages and Disadvantages of using Spiral Model
• SDLC V-Model - Software Engineering
• Prototyping Model - Software Engineering
• Rapid application development model (RAD) - Software Engineering
• Agile Software Development - Software Engineering
• Waterfall vs Agile Development | Software Development Life Cycle Models

Agile Software Development

• Agile Software Development Methodology | Framework, Principles, and Benefits
• Agile Development Models - Software Engineering
• Agile Methodology Advantages and Disadvantages
• Agile SDLC (Software Development Life Cycle)
• User Stories in Agile Software Development
• Crystal methods in Agile Development/Framework
• Agile Software Testing
• Agile Software Process and it's Principles
• What are the 4 Agile Values?
• Scrum (software development)
• Lean Software Development (LSD)

Software Developer Jobs

• Software Developer - Salary, Skills and Future Career
• Software Development Team: Designations & Structure
• 10 Crucial Team Roles in a Software Development Team
• Senior Software Engineer Job Description
• 7 Best Software Development Trends to Follow

Comparisons in Software Development

• Difference between Software Development, Web Development and App Development
• Difference between Traditional and Agile Software Development
• Competitive Programming vs Software Development - Where Should I Invest My Time?
• Difference between Full stack developer and Software developer
• Difference between Software Developer and Software Designer
• Difference between Agile and SDLC

Software Development Advanced Topics

• A Complete Overview of Android Software Development for Beginners
• What is Software Security - Definition and Best Practice?
• Introduction to Exploratory Style of Software Development
• How to Keep Your Skills Updated As a Software Developer?
• Characteristics of Adaptive Software Development

Waterfall Model – Software Engineering

The classical waterfall model is the basic software development life cycle model. It is very simple but idealistic. Earlier this model was very popular but nowadays it is not used. However, it is very important because all the other software development life cycle models are based on the classical waterfall model.

Table of Content

What is the SDLC Waterfall Model?

Features of the sdlc waterfall model, importance of sdlc waterfall model, phases of sdlc waterfall model – design, advantages of the sdlc waterfall model, disadvantages of the sdlc waterfall model.

• When to Use the Waterfall Model?

Applications of SDLC Waterfall Model

Frequently asked questions on waterfall model (sdlc) – faqs.

The waterfall model is a software development model used in the context of large, complex projects, typically in the field of information technology. It is characterized by a structured, sequential approach to project management and software development .

The waterfall model is useful in situations where the project requirements are well-defined and the project goals are clear. It is often used for large-scale projects with long timelines, where there is little room for error and the project stakeholders need to have a high level of confidence in the outcome.

• Sequential Approach : The waterfall model involves a sequential approach to software development, where each phase of the project is completed before moving on to the next one.
• Document-Driven: The waterfall model relies heavily on documentation to ensure that the project is well-defined and the project team is working towards a clear set of goals.
• Quality Control: The waterfall model places a high emphasis on quality control and testing at each phase of the project, to ensure that the final product meets the requirements and expectations of the stakeholders.
• Rigorous Planning : The waterfall model involves a rigorous planning process, where the project scope, timelines, and deliverables are carefully defined and monitored throughout the project lifecycle.

Overall, the waterfall model is used in situations where there is a need for a highly structured and systematic approach to software development. It can be effective in ensuring that large, complex projects are completed on time and within budget, with a high level of quality and customer satisfaction.

• Clarity and Simplicity: The linear form of the Waterfall Model offers a simple and unambiguous foundation for project development.
• Clearly Defined Phases: The Waterfall Model’s phases each have unique inputs and outputs, guaranteeing a planned development with obvious checkpoints.
• Documentation: A focus on thorough documentation helps with software comprehension, upkeep, and future growth.
• Stability in Requirements: Suitable for projects when the requirements are clear and steady, reducing modifications as the project progresses.
• Resource Optimization: It encourages effective task-focused work without continuously changing contexts by allocating resources according to project phases.
• Relevance for Small Projects: Economical for modest projects with simple specifications and minimal complexity.

The Waterfall Model is a classical software development methodology that was first introduced by Winston W. Royce in 1970. It is a linear and sequential approach to software development that consists of several phases that must be completed in a specific order.

The Waterfall Model has six phases which are:

1. Requirements: The first phase involves gathering requirements from stakeholders and analyzing them to understand the scope and objectives of the project.

2. Design: Once the requirements are understood, the design phase begins. This involves creating a detailed design document that outlines the software architecture, user interface, and system components.

3. Development: The Development phase include implementation involves coding the software based on the design specifications. This phase also includes unit testing to ensure that each component of the software is working as expected.

4. Testing: In the testing phase, the software is tested as a whole to ensure that it meets the requirements and is free from defects.

5. Deployment: Once the software has been tested and approved, it is deployed to the production environment.

6. Maintenance: The final phase of the Waterfall Model is maintenance, which involves fixing any issues that arise after the software has been deployed and ensuring that it continues to meet the requirements over time. 

The classical waterfall model divides the life cycle into a set of phases. This model considers that one phase can be started after the completion of the previous phase. That is the output of one phase will be the input to the next phase. Thus the development process can be considered as a sequential flow in the waterfall. Here the phases do not overlap with each other. The different sequential phases of the classical waterfall model are shown in the below figure.

Waterfall Model-Software Engineering

Let us now learn about each of these phases in detail which include further phases.

1. Feasibility Study:

The main goal of this phase is to determine whether it would be financially and technically feasible to develop the software.  The feasibility study involves understanding the problem and then determining the various possible strategies to solve the problem. These different identified solutions are analyzed based on their benefits and drawbacks, The best solution is chosen and all the other phases are carried out as per this solution strategy. 

2. Requirements Analysis and Specification:

The requirement analysis and specification phase aims to understand the exact requirements of the customer and document them properly. This phase consists of two different activities. 

• Requirement gathering and analysis: Firstly all the requirements regarding the software are gathered from the customer and then the gathered requirements are analyzed. The goal of the analysis part is to remove incompleteness (an incomplete requirement is one in which some parts of the actual requirements have been omitted) and inconsistencies (an inconsistent requirement is one in which some part of the requirement contradicts some other part).
• Requirement specification: These analyzed requirements are documented in a software requirement specification (SRS) document. SRS document serves as a contract between the development team and customers. Any future dispute between the customers and the developers can be settled by examining the SRS document.

The goal of this phase is to convert the requirements acquired in the SRS into a format that can be coded in a programming language. It includes high-level and detailed design as well as the overall software architecture. A Software Design Document is used to document all of this effort (SDD).

4. Coding and Unit Testing :

In the coding phase software design is translated into source code using any suitable programming language. Thus each designed module is coded. The unit testing phase aims to check whether each module is working properly or not. 

5. Integration and System testing:

Integration of different modules is undertaken soon after they have been coded and unit tested. Integration of various modules is carried out incrementally over several steps. During each integration step, previously planned modules are added to the partially integrated system and the resultant system is tested. Finally, after all the modules have been successfully integrated and tested, the full working system is obtained and system testing is carried out on this.  System testing consists of three different kinds of testing activities as described below.

• Alpha testing: Alpha testing is the system testing performed by the development team.
• Beta testing: Beta testing is the system testing performed by a friendly set of customers.
• Acceptance testing: After the software has been delivered, the customer performs acceptance testing to determine whether to accept the delivered software or reject it.

6. Maintenance:

Maintenance is the most important phase of a software life cycle. The effort spent on maintenance is 60% of the total effort spent to develop a full software. There are three types of maintenance.

• Corrective Maintenance: This type of maintenance is carried out to correct errors that were not discovered during the product development phase.
• Perfective Maintenance: This type of maintenance is carried out to enhance the functionalities of the system based on the customer’s request.
• Adaptive Maintenance: Adaptive maintenance is usually required for porting the software to work in a new environment such as working on a new computer platform or with a new operating system.

The classical waterfall model is an idealistic model for software development. It is very simple, so it can be considered the basis for other software development life cycle models. Below are some of the major advantages of this SDLC model.

• Easy to Understand: The Classical Waterfall Model is very simple and easy to understand.
• Individual Processing: Phases in the Classical Waterfall model are processed one at a time.
• Properly Defined: In the classical waterfall model, each stage in the model is clearly defined.
• Clear Milestones: The classical Waterfall model has very clear and well-understood milestones.
• Properly Documented: Processes, actions, and results are very well documented.
• Reinforces Good Habits: The Classical Waterfall Model reinforces good habits like define-before-design and design-before-code.
• Working: Classical Waterfall Model works well for smaller projects and projects where requirements are well understood.

The Classical Waterfall Model suffers from various shortcomings we can’t use it in real projects, but we use other software development lifecycle models which are based on the classical waterfall model. Below are some major drawbacks of this model.

• No Feedback Path: In the classical waterfall model evolution of software from one phase to another phase is like a waterfall. It assumes that no error is ever committed by developers during any phase. Therefore, it does not incorporate any mechanism for error correction. 
• Difficult to accommodate Change Requests: This model assumes that all the customer requirements can be completely and correctly defined at the beginning of the project, but the customer’s requirements keep on changing with time. It is difficult to accommodate any change requests after the requirements specification phase is complete. 
• No Overlapping of Phases: This model recommends that a new phase can start only after the completion of the previous phase. But in real projects, this can’t be maintained. To increase efficiency and reduce cost, phases may overlap. 
• Limited Flexibility: The Waterfall Model is a rigid and linear approach to software development, which means that it is not well-suited for projects with changing or uncertain requirements. Once a phase has been completed, it is difficult to make changes or go back to a previous phase.
• Limited Stakeholder Involvement: The Waterfall Model is a structured and sequential approach, which means that stakeholders are typically involved in the early phases of the project (requirements gathering and analysis) but may not be involved in the later phases (implementation, testing, and deployment).
• Late Defect Detection: In the Waterfall Model, testing is typically done toward the end of the development process. This means that defects may not be discovered until late in the development process, which can be expensive and time-consuming to fix.
• Lengthy Development Cycle: The Waterfall Model can result in a lengthy development cycle, as each phase must be completed before moving on to the next. This can result in delays and increased costs if requirements change or new issues arise.
• Not Suitable for Complex Projects: The Waterfall Model is not well-suited for complex projects, as the linear and sequential nature of the model can make it difficult to manage multiple dependencies and interrelated components.

When to Use the SDLC Waterfall Model?

Here are some cases where the use of the Waterfall Model is best suited:

• Well-understood Requirements: Before beginning development, there are precise, reliable, and thoroughly documented requirements available.
• Very Little Changes Expected: During development, very little adjustments or expansions to the project’s scope are anticipated.
• Small to Medium-Sized Projects : Ideal for more manageable projects with a clear development path and little complexity.
• Predictable: Projects that are predictable, low-risk, and able to be addressed early in the development life cycle are those that have known, controllable risks.
• Regulatory Compliance is Critical: Circumstances in which paperwork is of utmost importance and stringent regulatory compliance is required.
• Client Prefers a Linear and Sequential Approach : This situation describes the client’s preference for a linear and sequential approach to project development.
• Limited Resources : Projects with limited resources can benefit from a set-up strategy, which enables targeted resource allocation.

The Waterfall approach involves little client engagement in the product development process. The product can only be shown to end consumers when it is ready.

• Large-scale Software Development Projects: The Waterfall Model is often used for large-scale software development projects, where a structured and sequential approach is necessary to ensure that the project is completed on time and within budget.
• Safety-Critical Systems: The Waterfall Model is often used in the development of safety-critical systems, such as aerospace or medical systems, where the consequences of errors or defects can be severe.
• Government and Defense Projects: The Waterfall Model is also commonly used in government and defense projects, where a rigorous and structured approach is necessary to ensure that the project meets all requirements and is delivered on time.
• Projects with well-defined Requirements: The Waterfall Model is best suited for projects with well-defined requirements, as the sequential nature of the model requires a clear understanding of the project objectives and scope.
• Projects with Stable Requirements: The Waterfall Model is also well-suited for projects with stable requirements, as the linear nature of the model does not allow for changes to be made once a phase has been completed.

For more, you can refer to the Uses of Waterfall Model .

The Waterfall Model has greatly influenced conventional software development processes. This methodical, sequential technique provides an easily understood and applied structured framework. Project teams have a clear roadmap due to the model’s methodical evolution through the phases of requirements, design, implementation, testing, deployment, and maintenance.

1. What is the difference between the Waterfall Model and Agile Model?

Ans: The main difference between the Waterfall Model and the Agile Model is that the Waterfall model relies on thorough front planning whereas the Agile model is more flexible as it takes these processes in repeating cycles.

2. What is the Waterfall Process?

Ans: The Waterfall process is a step-by-step development and project management process. As the name suggests, this model follows a straight path where each step (like planning, designing, building, testing, and launching) needs to be finished before moving to the next. This approach works well for projects where all the steps are clear from the beginning.

3. What are the benefits of the Waterfall Model?

Ans: The waterfall Model has several benefits as it helps projects keep a well-defined, predictable project under the budget.

4. Is Waterfall better than Agile?

Ans: Waterfall works best for well-defined, unchanging projects, while Agile is for dynamic, evolving projects. For more differences, refer – Waterfall vs Agile .

Related Articles:

For more Software Engineering Models, you can refer to:

• Iterative Model
• Agile Model
• Spiral Model

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Agile vs. waterfall project management

Which project management approach is best for you? It depends on the project.

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Editorial contribution: Laureli Mallek, Program Manager

Early adopters of agile development were often small, self-contained teams working on small, self-contained projects. They proved the agile model can work, to the joy and betterment of software makers around the world. It turned out the waterfall development model wasn't as effective for the development of software as agile project management was for most teams

The popularity of agile project management has led to more organizations scaling agile beyond single teams or projects and applying it to whole programs. Agile has even spread beyond development teams to include IT, marketing, business development, and more.

What is agile project management?

Agile project management is an iterative approach to delivering a project, which focuses on continuous releases that incorporate customer feedback. The ability to adjust during each iteration promotes velocity and adaptability. This approach is different from a linear, waterfall project management approach, which follows a set path with limited deviation.

With today’s customers and businesses requiring rapid responses and changes, agile provides the flexibility to adjust and iterate during the development process. Agile project management is also a cornerstone of DevOps practices , where development and operations teams work collaboratively.

What is waterfall project management?

The waterfall project management approach entails a clearly defined sequence of execution with project phases that do not advance until a phase receives final approval. Once a phase is completed, it can be difficult and costly to revisit a previous stage. Agile teams may follow a similar sequence yet do so in smaller increments with regular feedback loops. 

The waterfall project management approach follows a linear, sequential formula. It works well for work that has predictable, recurring processes, yet it can leave development teams flat-footed and unable to adjust faster than a competitor. 

A single missed deadline or scope change during a waterfall project can cause outsized impacts on subsequent releases. Additionally, when a team is fully focused on the next phase of work, resolving technical debt or fixing bugs can be painful if the team is fully allocated to new feature work and always pressing forward to the next stage.

Below is an illustration of a standard waterfall project with rigidly segmented blocks of time. This creates a “use it or lose it” mentality that encourages developers, product owners, and stakeholders to request as much time as possible in each time window, since there may be no opportunity to iterate in the future. Typically teams using waterfall try to control scope creep through “change control”, where everyone agrees the original contract is not changed.

The waterfall model can exacerbate some of the known challenges of building products:

• Blockers and dependency management: Traditional project management styles often create "critical paths", where the project can't move forward until a blocking issue is resolved.
• Difficulty getting user feedback and product validation: To add insult to injury, the end customer can't interact with the product until it's fully complete. Thus, important issues in the product design and code go undiscovered until release.

The advantages of waterfall

• Requires less coordination due to clearly defined phases sequential processes
• A clear project phase helps to clearly define dependencies of work.
• The cost of the project can be estimated after the requirements are defined
• Better focus on documentation of designs and requirements
• The design phase is more methodical and structured before any software is written

The disadvantages of waterfall

• Harder to break up and share work because of stricter phase sequences teams are more specialized
• Risk of time waste due to delays and setbacks during phase transitions
• Additional hiring requirements to fulfill specialized phase teams whereas agile encourages more cross-functional team composition.
• Extra communication overhead during handoff between phase transitions
• Product ownership and engagement may not be as strong when compared to agile since the focus is brought to the current phase.

Agile vs. waterfall

Agile was first adopted by software teams, who moved from the traditional, sequential waterfall approach to a method that garnered consistent feedback and adjustment throughout the development lifecycle.

Agile project management takes an iterative approach to development by creating several incremental steps with regular feedback intervals. This promotes adaptability since a team can adjust throughout the product development process, rather than being confined to a linear path. It also allows for regular, high-impact releases that enable teams to deliver a series of wins over time.

Iterative releases unlock multiple opportunities for a team to:

• adapt to changing circumstances from newly discovered requirements to a blocked piece of work.
• gather feedback from stakeholders during the process and iterate responsively without the stress of a final delivery deadline.
• build relationships and connections across roles that make it easier for people to connect and communicate effectively.

Agile allows teams to be more resilient to changes that inevitably occur during a project.

An even greater benefit is shared skill sets among the software team. The team's overlapping skill sets add flexibility to the work in all parts of the team's codebase. This way, work and time aren’t wasted if the project direction changes. (For more see our article on building great agile teams .)

Agile principles

• An agile project is segmented into several incremental steps that include regular feedback intervals.
• A project requirement is segmented into smaller pieces, which are then prioritized by importance.
• Promotes collaboration, especially with the customer. 
• Adjusts at regular intervals to ensure a customer’s needs are met
• Integrates planning with execution, which allows a team to effectively respond to changing requirements  

The advantages of agile project management

• Faster feedback cycles
• Identifies problems early
• Higher potential for customer satisfaction
• Time to market is dramatically improved
• Better visibility / accountability
• Dedicated teams drive better productivity over time
• Flexible prioritization focused on value delivery

The disadvantages of agile

• Critical path and inter-project dependencies may not be clearly defined as in waterfall
• There is an organizational learning curve cost
• True agile execution with a continuous deployment pipeline has many technical dependencies and engineering costs to establish

Elements to consider when moving to agile

Moving to agile can be challenging, especially when a team or organization is rooted in a more traditional project management approach. Moving to agile practices may require a number of process changes, especially when adopting a DevOps approach, where development and operations teams work closely together to develop and maintain software. When adopting agile principles, a team and the stakeholders must embrace two important concepts:

• The product owner's focus is to optimize the value of the team's output. The team relies on the product owner to prioritize the most important work first.
• The development team can only accept work that it has the capacity for. The product owner doesn't push work to the team or commit them to arbitrary deadlines. The development team pulls work from the program's backlog as it can accept new work.

Let's explore the mechanisms agile programs use to organize, run, and structure work in an iterative way.

A product roadmap outlines how a product or solution develops over time. A roadmap in agile development provides important context that empowers teams to reach both incremental and project-wide goals. Roadmaps are composed of initiatives, which are large areas of functionality, and include timelines that communicate when a feature will be available. As the work proceeds and teams learn more, it's accepted that the roadmap will change to reflect that new information - possibly in subtle or broad ways. The goal is to keep the roadmap focused on current conditions that impact the project and long-term goals in order to effectively work with stakeholders and respond to the competitive landscape. 

The following is a simple roadmap for a product team, with initiatives in the boxes and timelines indicated by the milestone-markers in red. 

Requirements

Each initiative in the roadmap breaks down into a set of requirements. Agile requirements are lightweight descriptions of required functionality, rather than the 100-page documents associated with traditional projects. They evolve over time and capitalize on the team's shared understanding of the customer and the desired product. Agile requirements remain lean while everyone on the team develops a shared understanding via ongoing conversation and collaboration. Only when implementation is about to begin are they fleshed out with full details.

The  backlog  sets the priorities for the agile program. The team includes all work items in the backlog: new features, bugs, enhancements, technical or architectural tasks, etc. The product owner prioritizes the work on the backlog for the engineering team. The development team then uses the prioritized backlog as its single source of truth for what work needs to be done.

Agile metrics

Agile teams thrive on  metrics .  Work in progress  (WIP) limits keep the team, and the business, focused on delivering the highest priority work. Graphs like burndown charts and control charts help the team predict their delivery cadence, and continuous flow diagrams help identify bottlenecks. These metrics and artifacts keep everyone focused on the big goals and boost confidence in the team's ability to deliver future work. 

Agile runs on trust

Agile processes cannot function without a high level of trust amongst team members and therefore create trust. It requires candor to have difficult conversations regarding what's right for the program and the product. Because conversations happen at regular intervals, ideas and concerns are regularly expressed. That means team members need to be confident in each other's ability (and willingness) to execute on the decisions made during those conversations.

In conclusion…

Agile project management is an innovative approach not only for software projects but for projects of all stripes. By providing the flexibility to respond to change during the development lifecycle, agile allows teams to ship higher quality products that meet customers’ needs. Agile empowers teams, builds accountability, and encourages innovation while promoting continuous improvement. Agile gives you the ability to respond to change without going off the rails. And that’s great for any program. 

Learn more about  agile project management  and check out our free project management template . Plus, dive into agile adoption with agile tools for software teams , and learn how to communicate the progress of work  across teams.

Agile has had a huge impact on me both professionally and personally as I've learned the best experiences are agile, both in code and in life. You'll often find me at the intersection of technology, photography, and motorcycling. 

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Agile vs. Waterfall

There’s no shortage of processes, frameworks, and philosophies when it comes to project management, but they ultimately fall into one of two camps: Agile vs. waterfall. Understanding what these two approaches are and how they differ is important for anyone involved in product development, organizational change, program management, or almost any other kind of structured project.

Agile and waterfall often represent an irreversible fork in the road for any initiative. Once you choose one path, it’s quite challenging to change course for that project, so it’s not a decision to take lightly. That’s not to say that Agile and waterfall can’t coexist in the same organization, but for a particular project, it’s usually a “one-or-the-other” inflection point.

Let’s begin by covering the basics of each philosophy.

What is Waterfall?

Waterfall is the “old school” way of managing projects. Throughout the life of the project, there are well-defined stages with formalized hand-offs from one to the next. Moreover, all of the requirements for each step is completed before the next begins.

Although there are dates and schedules in a waterfall environment, each stage and project lasts until completion unless the rolling out initiative was specifically designed to be in phases comprised of multiple projects that build on one another.

A healthy waterfall environment doesn’t employ a “throw it over the wall” mindset where stakeholders pass on responsibility to the owner of the next phase. It is, however, primarily a linear process beginning with requirements and terminating in a final release or completion of the project.

What is Agile?

Agile is the new kid on the block, relatively speaking, and prizes rapid iteration, autonomy, and flexibility. It was conceived specifically as a reaction to waterfall’s perceived shortcomings.

In an Agile environment, you are divvying up work into Sprints, which are time-based bursts of activity, typically one-to-four weeks in length. This cadence dictates how much work is completed during a given period.

The goal is to deliver value to the customer or user as quickly and often as possible. Thus larger projects are broken down into smaller pieces so that progress can be made during each Sprint.

Comparing the Two methodologies Side by Side:

Waterfall would look something like this:

Agile would look something like this

When Should Agile vs. Waterfall Be Used?

Strict adherents of Agile or waterfall might insist it’s appropriate for any situation, but in reality, different types of projects are better suited for one versus the other.

Waterfall is particularly useful for large, complex projects with very specific and unchanging requirements. Development teams will be less resistant to detailed product requirements documents and design specifications since that’s what’s expected.

It can also be easier to map out dependencies and structure the overall project plan in a waterfall setting. Individual teams don’t have the option to “go rogue” on their particular piece of the puzzle. That independence and creativity is prized in Agile, but may not be a great fit for larger or more complex initiatives.

Organizationally, stakeholders must be mentally and emotionally prepared for Agile, which is likely a relatively new concept in many industries. While they may prefer the “sound” of rapid iteration and constant activity, they may not be comfortable with the lack of visibility and oversight required for Agile to thrive truly.

Agile works well for projects that prize learning and are seeking or refining their product-market fit. The speed and flexibility of Sprints dovetail nicely with a continuous feedback loop and ongoing experimentation and tweaking.

Another environment where Agile can thrive is one with a clearly articulated and well-supported product strategy . When everyone is aligned around objectives, goals, and KPIs, there’s more comfort in giving individual teams the freedom and independence to work toward achieving them rapidly.

What are the Key Differences?

Agile and waterfall differ in many ways, but the most significant deltas pertain to oversight, processes, documentation, and timing.

Benefits for different teams

While neither approach is detrimental to any part of the organization, different groups and stakeholders may prefer Agile or waterfall.

As software engineers developed it, Agile is usually favored by the technology organization. They get much more autonomy, have a greater say in what they build and build it, and are less beholden to outside parties.

Other parts of the organization may also prefer Agile for a variety of reasons. Product management gets to see value delivered to users more frequently and faster . UX teams have far more learning cycles and opportunities to improve the customer experience. Customer support may see bugs and other issues resolved faster. Sales and marketing will always have something new to talk about.

However, those same groups may also be fond of waterfall’s benefits, such as seeing large, complete visions delivered all at once, less frequent need for training and education, carefully crafted user documentation, having major milestones to anchor sales and marketing activities, or seeing their meticulously specified mockups brought to life.

At the executive level, it is again a matter of taste. Many may prefer the command-and-control gatekeeper role they can play in waterfall, while others may favor the rapid pace of updates and enhancements Agile facilitates.

What are the Pros and Cons of Agile vs. Waterfall?

Like anything else, waterfall and Agile have their plusses and minuses. Here’s a quick breakdown of the good and the bad of each:

• Flexibility to respond to the market and new intelligence
• The implementation team has room for creative problem solving
• Self-organizing teams and resource allocation
• Frequent updates and increased customer value
• Rigid cadence, deadline flexibility
• Loose planning can lead to unpredictable finished product and date slippage
• Susceptible to a lack of focus and knee-jerk reactions from Sprint to Sprint
• Relentless pace
• Loose testing requirements may let bugs through
• No opportunities to make changes during a Sprint
• Minimal scope creep
• A predictable and well-specified final product
• Well-defined roles and responsibilities
• Infrequent releases that can be carefully rolled out and messaged to users and the market
• Precise project plans and firm deadlines
• Lack of flexibility after a specification
• Fewer opportunities to course correct
• Too many gaps between innovations reaching the market
• Too long until bugs are discovered since testing doesn’t occur until the large project is complete
• Beaurocratic change management process

What is the Difference in Cost for Agile vs. Waterfall?

Neither Agile nor waterfall are particularly expensive to implement. They don’t necessarily require specialized software packages or other capital investments and operating costs.

However, staffing and training are directly impacted by which method is selected, and the transition from Agile to Waterfall can be bumpy . Agile requires small, self-organizing teams to function properly. Each team typically has its own Scrum Master and Product Owner, although these roles sometimes cover multiple teams.

Many organizations may not have enough people to fill those roles, particularly if they create a number of Scrum teams. It will require hiring, paying, and possibly training that staff.

Similarly, Agile doesn’t work well unless everyone involved is well-versed in how it functions. This may require hiring trainers, sending out employees to be certified as Scrum Masters, Product Owners, etc., or hiring Agile Coaches on a permanent or consulting basis.

Waterfall doesn’t have many dedicated resources other than project management. The bigger concern is that some people may be idle or underutilized depending on which phase a project is in and whether their talents and skills are fully needed at that time.

Where Agile is definitely cheaper than waterfall is when companies aren’t exactly sure what they want, be it entering a new market, launching a new product, or making a major extension into a new area. Because Agile allows and encourages rapid learning and course correction, it prevents companies from sinking as much money and resources into a multi-month project only to see it miss the mark.

What About Product Roadmaps?

Whether an organization uses waterfall or Agile, product roadmaps still have an important role to play. But how we build those roadmaps and what they look like might be a little bit different.

Product roadmaps are a long-standing part of waterfall product development. Since the projects are large, well-defined, and scheduled far in advance, product roadmaps are reliable indicators of what’s to come and can offer quite a bit of granularity.

In Agile, there’s not the same level of detail available during the product roadmapping process. That makes those settings excellent candidates for feature-based roadmapping. Although these can also work in a waterfall environment, Agile organizations benefit from the feature-less approach.

These roadmaps capture the product vision and prioritized themes for the coming months and years, but don’t get into the specifics of what particular features and enhancements are being developed. It shifts the focus from features to outcomes and goals, which the organization cares about anyway.

Does an Organization Have to Choose One or the Other?

Although Agile devotees may claim it’s all or nothing when it comes to Agile adoption, there are some organizations that borrow from both methodologies for a hybrid model. Typically, they take the more specific direction and pre-determined implementation aspects of Waterfall and marry them with the iterative, short bursts of productivity parts of Agile.

In this world, there are still large projects with stage gates and overall project plans, but the work is chunked up into Sprints that have a specific scope and timeline. When possible, each Sprint’s output is released, but sometimes large initiatives may take multiple Sprints until they’re ready for prime time.

This frees up the software development team to run as if they were essentially an Agile shop while still giving the business side of the house the structure and oversight that comes with waterfall.

Another take on the hybrid model is basing the decision of which approach to adopt based on the riskiness of the project, as well-defined projects are a good fit for Waterfall, while those with unknowns are more suited for Agile. Most importantly, teams shouldn’t marry themselves to any methodology. Instead, continually evaluate what the best fit is for any initiative at a given time.

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