Escolar Documentos
Profissional Documentos
Cultura Documentos
WrittenbyMaryLotzonJuly5,2013 SHARE+
OneofthefirstdecisionswefaceforeachofourprojectimplementationsatSegueisWhich
developmentmethodologyshouldweuse?Thisisatopicthatgetsalotofdiscussion(andoften
heateddebate).Ifthisisnotsomethingyouveworkedwithbefore,adefinitionofdevelopment
http://www.seguetech.com/waterfallvsagilemethodology/ 1/10
07/05/2017 Waterfallvs.Agile:WhichMethodologyisRightforYourProject?
methodologyisinorder;putverysimply,itsawayoforganizingtheworkofsoftware
development.ThisisNOTaboutastyleofprojectmanagementoraspecifictechnicalapproach,
althoughyouwilloftenhearthesetermsallthrowntogetherorusedinterchangeably.
Thetwobasic,mostpopularmethodologiesare:
1.Waterfall:(ugh,terriblename!),whichmightbemoreproperlycalledthetraditional
approach,and
2.Agile:aspecifictypeofRapidApplicationDevelopmentandnewerthanWaterfall,butnot
thatnew,whichisoftenimplementedusingScrum.
Bothoftheseareusable,maturemethodologies.Havingbeeninvolvedinsoftwaredevelopment
projectsforalongtime,herearemythoughtsonthestrengthsandweaknessesofeach.
Waterfallisalinearapproachtosoftwaredevelopment.Inthismethodology,thesequenceof
eventsissomethinglike:
1.Gatheranddocumentrequirements
2.Design
3.Codeandunittest
4.Performsystemtesting
5.Performuseracceptancetesting(UAT)
6.Fixanyissues
7.Deliverthefinishedproduct
InatrueWaterfalldevelopmentproject,eachoftheserepresentsadistinctstageofsoftware
development,andeachstagegenerallyfinishesbeforethenextonecanbegin.Thereisalso
typicallyastagegatebetweeneach;forexample,requirementsmustbereviewedandapproved
bythecustomerbeforedesigncanbegin.
TherearegoodthingsandbadabouttheWaterfallapproach.Onthepositiveside:
Developersandcustomersagreeonwhatwillbedeliveredearlyinthedevelopment
lifecycle.Thismakesplanninganddesigningmorestraightforward.
Progressismoreeasilymeasured,asthefullscopeoftheworkisknowninadvance.
Throughoutthedevelopmenteffort,itspossibleforvariousmembersoftheteamtobe
involvedortocontinuewithotherwork,dependingontheactivephaseoftheproject.For
example,businessanalystscanlearnaboutanddocumentwhatneedstobedone,while
thedevelopersareworkingonotherprojects.Testerscanpreparetestscriptsfrom
requirementsdocumentationwhilecodingisunderway.
http://www.seguetech.com/waterfallvsagilemethodology/ 2/10
07/05/2017 Waterfallvs.Agile:WhichMethodologyisRightforYourProject?
Exceptforreviews,approvals,statusmeetings,etc.,acustomerpresenceisnotstrictly
requiredaftertherequirementsphase.
Becausedesigniscompletedearlyinthedevelopmentlifecycle,thisapproachlends
itselftoprojectswheremultiplesoftwarecomponentsmustbedesigned(sometimesin
parallel)forintegrationwithexternalsystems.
Finally,thesoftwarecanbedesignedcompletelyandmorecarefully,baseduponamore
completeunderstandingofallsoftwaredeliverables.Thisprovidesabettersoftware
designwithlesslikelihoodofthepiecemealeffect,adevelopmentphenomenonthat
canoccuraspiecesofcodearedefinedandsubsequentlyaddedtoanapplicationwhere
theymayormaynotfitwell.
HerearesomeissueswehaveencounteredusingapureWaterfallapproach:
Oneareawhichalmostalwaysfallsshortistheeffectivenessofrequirements.Gathering
anddocumentingrequirementsinawaythatismeaningfultoacustomerisoftenthe
mostdifficultpartofsoftwaredevelopment,inmyopinion.Customersaresometimes
intimidatedbydetails,andspecificdetails,providedearlyintheproject,arerequired
withthisapproach.Inaddition,customersarenotalwaysabletovisualizeanapplication
fromarequirementsdocument.Wireframesandmockupscanhelp,buttheresno
questionthatmostendusershavesomedifficultyputtingtheseelementstogetherwith
writtenrequirementstoarriveatagoodpictureofwhattheywillbegetting.
AnotherpotentialdrawbackofpureWaterfalldevelopmentisthepossibilitythatthe
customerwillbedissatisfiedwiththeirdeliveredsoftwareproduct.Asalldeliverablesare
basedupondocumentedrequirements,acustomermaynotseewhatwillbedelivered
untilitsalmostfinished.Bythattime,changescanbedifficult(andcostly)to
implement.
Agileisaniterative,team-basedapproachtodevelopment.Thisapproachemphasizestherapid
deliveryofanapplicationincompletefunctionalcomponents.Ratherthancreatingtasksand
schedules,alltimeistime-boxedintophasescalledsprints.Eachsprinthasadefined
duration(usuallyinweeks)witharunninglistofdeliverables,plannedatthestartofthesprint.
Deliverablesareprioritizedbybusinessvalueasdeterminedbythecustomer.Ifallplannedwork
forthesprintcannotbecompleted,workisreprioritizedandtheinformationisusedforfuture
sprintplanning.
Asworkiscompleted,itcanbereviewedandevaluatedbytheprojectteamandcustomer,
throughdailybuildsandend-of-sprintdemos.Agilereliesonaveryhighlevelofcustomer
involvementthroughouttheproject,butespeciallyduringthesereviews.
SomeadvantagesoftheAgileapproachareeasytosee:
Thecustomerhasfrequentandearlyopportunitiestoseetheworkbeingdelivered,and
tomakedecisionsandchangesthroughoutthedevelopmentproject.
Thecustomergainsastrongsenseofownershipbyworkingextensivelyanddirectlywith
theprojectteamthroughouttheproject.
http://www.seguetech.com/waterfallvsagilemethodology/ 3/10
07/05/2017 Waterfallvs.Agile:WhichMethodologyisRightforYourProject?
Iftimetomarketforaspecificapplicationisagreaterconcernthanreleasingafull
featuresetatinitiallaunch,Agilecanmorequicklyproduceabasicversionofworking
softwarewhichcanbebuiltuponinsuccessiveiterations.
Developmentisoftenmoreuser-focused,likelyaresultofmoreandfrequentdirection
fromthecustomer.
FormoreAgileDevelopmentbenefits,pleasesee8BenefitsofAgileSoftware
Development
And,ofcourse,therearesomedisadvantages:
Theveryhighdegreeofcustomerinvolvement,whilegreatfortheproject,maypresent
problemsforsomecustomerswhosimplymaynothavethetimeorinterestforthistype
ofparticipation.
Agileworksbestwhenmembersofthedevelopmentteamarecompletelydedicatedto
theproject.
BecauseAgilefocusesontime-boxeddeliveryandfrequentreprioritization,itspossible
thatsomeitemssetfordeliverywillnotbecompletedwithintheallottedtimeframe.
Additionalsprints(beyondthoseinitiallyplanned)maybeneeded,addingtotheproject
cost.Inaddition,customerinvolvementoftenleadstoadditionalfeaturesrequested
throughouttheproject.Again,thiscanaddtotheoveralltimeandcostofthe
implementation.
ThecloseworkingrelationshipsinanAgileprojectareeasiesttomanagewhentheteam
membersarelocatedinthesamephysicalspace,whichisnotalwayspossible.However,
thereareavarietyofwaystohandlethisissue,suchaswebcams,collaborationtools,etc.
TheiterativenatureofAgiledevelopmentmayleadtoafrequentrefactoringifthefull
scopeofthesystemisnotconsideredintheintialarchitectureanddesign.Withoutthis
refactoring,thesystemcansufferfromareductioninoverallquality.Thisbecomesmore
pronouncedinlarger-scaleimplementations,orwithsystemsthatincludeahighlevelof
integration.
So,howdowechoose?First,wechangethegamealittle(whichiswhatmostsoftware
developmentorganizationsdo)bydefiningourownprocess.AtSegue,itscalledourProcess
Framework,anditsavariationonthetraditionalWaterfallmethodology.Ourmodifications
includeuseofprototypingwherepossibletoprovidethecustomerabetterviewoftheirfinished
productearlyinthedesign/developmentcycle.Thishelpstoimprovetheteamsunderstanding
ofrequirementsandcommunicationwiththecustomer.Aftertheprimaryframeworkofthe
applicationiscompletedperhighlevelrequirements,wecontinuetodevelopandalsotoreach
outtothecustomerforrefinementofrequirements.Inthisway,westrivetobeasiterativeas
possiblewithoutcompromisingouroverallsystemarchitecture.
Weconsiderthefollowingfactorswhenconsideringwhichmethodologytouse:
http://www.seguetech.com/waterfallvsagilemethodology/ 4/10
07/05/2017 Waterfallvs.Agile:WhichMethodologyisRightforYourProject?
http://www.seguetech.com/waterfallvsagilemethodology/ 5/10
07/05/2017 Waterfallvs.Agile:WhichMethodologyisRightforYourProject?
Thefactorsabovearenotequallyweighted;eachisassesseddependingontheindividualproject
andcircumstances.
Oncewevedecidedwhichbasicmethodologytoutilize,wecanfurtherrefinetheprocesstobest
fitourprojectgoals.Ultimately,althoughthewayinwhichwedoourworkisimportant,delivering
asolidandmaintainableproductthatsatisfiesourcustomeriswhatreallycounts.
MaryLotzisSegue'sDirectorofEngineering.Sheisacertifiedprojectmanager(PMP)
andscrummaster(CSM),andhasbeendirectingapplicationdevelopmentteams
andprojectsforavarietyofcustomersandindustriesforover15years.Aformer
applicationdeveloper,MaryholdsbothB.S.andM.S.degreesinAppliedComputer
Science.
Related Content
ApplyingAgileMethodologiesinNon-AgileContractualScenarios
WaterfallandAgile:AnInfographicComparisonofTwoDevelopmentMethodologies
WhatisAgileSoftwareDevelopment?
8BenefitsofAgileSoftwareDevelopment
AgileDevelopmenttheTruth,theWholeTruth,andNothingbuttheTruth
DownloadSeguesNeweBook,AdoptingAgileDevelopment
http://www.seguetech.com/waterfallvsagilemethodology/ 6/10
07/05/2017 Waterfallvs.Agile:WhichMethodologyisRightforYourProject?
Enteremailaddress
SUBMIT
Read Next
BACK TO ALL POSTS
NEW BLOGS
SegueEmployeeSpotlight:JeremyGalliani
SegueTechnologiesRecognizedasTopWebDesignCompanyinDC
AFMCsSmallBusinessOfficeHostsCyberSecurityDialogueSeriesOutreachEvent
TheBenefitsofWorkingforSegueTechnologies:OpportunitiestoGiveBack
SegueTechnologiesRecognizedasTopAppDevelopmentCompanyinDCbyKumulos
BenefitsofWorkingforSegue:Work/LifeBalance
RELATED CONTENT
ApplyingAgileMethodologiesinNon-AgileContractualScenarios
WaterfallandAgile:AnInfographicComparisonofTwoDevelopmentMethodologies
WhatisAgileSoftwareDevelopment?
8BenefitsofAgileSoftwareDevelopment
AgileDevelopmenttheTruth,theWholeTruth,andNothingbuttheTruth
http://www.seguetech.com/waterfallvsagilemethodology/ 7/10
07/05/2017 Waterfallvs.Agile:WhichMethodologyisRightforYourProject?
DownloadSeguesNeweBook,AdoptingAgileDevelopment
NEW EBOOKS
AdoptingAgileDevelopment
PlanningYourMobileApplication
SeguesDiscoveryProcess
CONTACT US
http://www.seguetech.com/waterfallvsagilemethodology/ 8/10
07/05/2017 Waterfallvs.Agile:WhichMethodologyisRightforYourProject?
QUICK LINKS
Services
Government
Commercial
HealthIT
OurWork
OurStory
Blogs
KnowledgeCenter
Careers
News
CONNECT WITH US
Copyright2016SegueTechnologiesInc.AllRightsReserved.
PrivacyPolicy
2300WilsonBlvd,Suite420
Arlington,VA22201
http://www.seguetech.com/waterfallvsagilemethodology/ 9/10
07/05/2017 Waterfallvs.Agile:WhichMethodologyisRightforYourProject?
Tel:703-549-8033|Toll-free:1-888-549-8033
4031ColonelGlennHighway
Beavercreek,OH45431
Tel:937-427-5477
http://www.seguetech.com/waterfallvsagilemethodology/ 10/10