Agile Vs Waterfall

One of the biggest discussions in IT project teams lately is the discussion of which software development methodology to implement - waterfall or agile? If it has left you a little confused, or maybe you just want to understand what the differences are, continue reading.

What Is Agile Software Development

Agile software development is a really concept or methodology involving iterative development in shorter cycles. It offers a high level of communication with users or business representative, and its flexible reaction to change is a positive for both business teams and project teams.

Agile development draws on a perception called the Agile Manifesto, and that is:

We are uncovering better ways of developing software by doing it and helping others do it. Through this work we have come to value:
Individuals and interactions over processes and toolsr
Working software over comprehensive documentationr
Customer collaboration over contract negotiationr
Responding to change over following a pla

Which is, although there is value in the items on the right, we value the items on the left more.

As it claims, the agile development process has distinctive values than different software development methodologies. The other main software development methodology you could be informed about is waterfall.

What Is Waterfall Software Development

Waterfall software development is a development method that consists of stages that are run from start to finish before you start the following stage. These stages are generally classified as:
1. Requirements - getting the requirements of the system and what should be developed
2. Design - designing the system
3. Implementation - developing the software system
4. Verification - testing the system, both system testing and user testing
5. Maintenance - ongoing support or maintenance of the system

In this methodology, the requirements are gathered at the beginning of the project, with the aim of verifying them in the beginning to reduce cost and time impact later in the project. It's a popular belief that locating discrepancies and issues sooner in the project will lead to less time being spent than if they were found later in the project.

Waterfall is the more conventional method of development. It was the main methodology which was taught in schools and universities (at least when I was there!) and depending on your company, it’s the one that is typically used.

Nevertheless, you'll find discussions among the IT market about agile vs waterfall - what are the differences, and what's best?

What is the distinction between agile and waterfall?

• Agile uses iterations, waterfall uses stages
• Agile has continuous business interaction, waterfall has various high and low interaction (high while in requirements and user testing, low during development and system testing)
• Agile has jobs such as scrum master, waterfall has project manager
• Can’t turn back with Waterfall, can with agile

There are various key distinctions between the agile methodology and waterfall methodology, which are:
• Agile uses iterations, waterfall uses stages. The agile method uses quick iterations, referred to as “sprints”, which usually last betwee
4 and 6 weeks. The requirements are verified, system is created and tested, and released during this iteration, and the next one begins. Using the waterfall process, the requirements are all set from the beginning, and then the next stage begins
• Once a stage is finished with waterfall, you can’t go back. If you’ve completed the requirements phase and gathered signoff from the business users, the requirements phase is over. There's no going back - except if a change process is implemented which could take some time. With agile, if requirements need to change, they are better taken care of with this process.
• Agile calls for regular business interaction for the whole cycle, waterfall has high and low points. For every agile sprint or cycle, constant interaction with users and business stakeholders is needed - and this can be difficult to get if you’re not in the same area or if there is no support from their manager. With the waterfall methodology, the business communication is essential at the start (with the requirements gathering) and then once more at the user testing stage - and not a lot in between. This may be a good and a bad thing.
• Agile jobs are different to waterfall roles. Roles in an agile project are generally different to those in a waterfall project. Agile has a role known as a Scrum Master, which is a sort of project manager and release manager, and may not be an IT person. Waterfall has a conventional project manager, which is usually an IT person in the traditional sense.

Which Is Better - Agile Vs Waterfall

This information brings us to our last point - contrasting agile vs waterfall. This depends on a number of factors, such as the work environment and the type of project.

Agile methods are more suited to those projects that require small and regular functionality delivered to the users. Also, it is suited to those projects where delivery time to market is required to be considered.

Waterfall methods fit those projects where a higher level of business involvement is not possible or not essential, and where quality is more vital than speed to market. This isn’t to state agile results in poorer quality projects - it simply means that as there is a committed testing phase, it places more emphasis on it.

The expertise of the project team should also be considered - if they have experience delivering or working on agile projects, as this will likely be a big help.