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These two terms are popular regarding project management: Agile and Waterfall methodology, but which one should you use? How do you determine the difference, and which one is better and has a practical approach?
These two are both general project management principles. However, they drastically have a unique approach to project development. Organizing and using a sophisticated method to work on a specific project at a given time must enable the development team to effectively and precisely complete the task.
Here’s how these two differ and when it’s best suitable to use during developing a complex or simple project.
What is Agile Manifesto
Agile methodology is the incremental and iterative project management procedure that is based on flexibility and change. It breaks down massive projects to smaller and manageable phases (sprints). The project development team is divided into independent, small groups that focus on their sprints.
The sprints allow the team to release and develop segments from the project to the client for a quick insight. With helpful and detailed feedback, sprints enable adaptability and flexibility to repeat sprints before moving forward to the next phase.
To fully understand the Agile methodology, you must first be familiar with how the process works. The principle of manifesto is a short summation of the core principles behind this popular project methodology. The laws of quality, customer satisfaction, teamwork, and project management are Agiles secret to successful project development.
Agile principles in a nutshell:
- Customer satisfaction
It’s about putting your customer’s best interest in project development. With respect and flexibility on your clients’ ever-changing demands through insights, delivering the project on progress satisfies their needs based on their requirements.
- Quality principles
To measure the project’s success is to provide optimum customer satisfaction. It is achieved from sustainable and quality-driven project development through continuous improvements.
- Teamwork
Your project development team must have full cooperation and motivation. By empowering the team and treating them as essential factors to project success and completion, they’ll exert effort to succeed and work.
- Project management
The Agile principle allows you to maintain a simple process and constant project evaluation. Removing unnecessary procedures can speed and optimize things up.
With this, Agile methodology is not the sole process to apply this manifesto. There are various agile techniques used based on this principle. Kanban and Scrum are two prevalent agile methodologies.
Scrum is ideal for complex projects which require expert team members. There’s not much of a difference with Agile because it’s the process that inspires it. What sets it apart is the team master leasing the process.
These methodologies are commonly compared between each other, Agile to Scrum and Agile to Waterfall with minimal differences.
Kaban has a unique approach by using an interactive board to set up and visualize the progress quickly. There is no need to implement the whole procedure but to focus on visualizing a consolidated view of the sprint life and development.
Understanding Water Methodology
When it comes to a traditional project development process, the Waterfall procedure is known for its linear approach to task completion before moving forward to a new one. Like the name itself, it’s all about one process before jumping to the next phase.
The process allows your team to focus on one project until it’s complete then present it to the client for approval.
The Waterfall method starts with planning, designing, testing, and delivery. The Waterfall methodology requires you to follow this procedure before starting a new one.
If you choose to use this software development method, your client will only check the product once it’s completed and tested.
Understanding the benefits of this method is essential to determine its efficacy in developing projects. It’s most suitable for small and concise projects. Since it’s easy to prepare, versatile, and fixed, it’s incredibly easy to adopt and understand.
There is no need to learn new principles or cope with a new mindset in dealing with specific projects. With this, the Waterfall methodology has a higher testing risk. You may find more issues once the project is done than Agile’s iterative and client interaction along the process of project completion.
Which One Is Suitable For Project Management
Agile and Waterfall have a unique approach when it comes to project development. Determining which methodology to use must be based on the following:
- Project size
- Team size
- Clients
- Project’s demand
The Waterfall is suitable for small, quick, and cheaper projects in which clients prefer not to actively get involved in the procedure and just wait for the outcome. It’s best suitable for fixed and precise requirements and set goals.
While Agile is ideal for projects with changing requirements along the process, with a flexible structure, your clients get involved during the process. Agile is best suitable for complex and large projects that require breaking into smaller sprints to effectively focus on small factors that significantly affect the overall process.
Conclusion
Regardless of which methodology you’ll be using, Waterfall or Agile, finding the perfect project management principle and tool should allow you to effectively manage your team’s activity and productivity. Each policy has a unique approach to simplifying and helping your development team achieve set goals at a given time.
