By IT Brew Staff
less than 3 min read
Definition:
In contrast to agile, a popular methodology that prioritizes flexibility and speed, waterfall methodology is based on a rigid adherence to sequence; an iteration cannot begin until the previous one is completed. Waterfall is ideal for projects with fixed requirements, and its benefits include stability and transparency, where everyone on the team is aware of the goals and project structure, and the steps needed to get from point A to B. However, it’s also inflexible, with little room to revise or adjust based on end-user or marketplace feedback.
Waterfall’s stages include requirements, design, implementation, testing, deployment, and maintenance. From the beginning, managers utilizing waterfall should have a solid grasp on the necessary resources, personnel, timelines, and dependencies. This extensive up-front planning is one of the relatively few points where clients have a good deal of input on the finished product, in contrast to agile, where feedback is absorbed throughout the project’s lifespan. If executed correctly, waterfall also features extensive documentation that future teams can use to replicate the project, as well as data about what problems the team were confronted with at which stage (and how they were solved).
While many software teams have embraced agile methodologies over the past few decades as an effective way to produce software quickly, waterfall has its uses within software development. For example, firmware and other software developed for embedded systems, particularly for industrial or commercial settings, can benefit from the stringency of a waterfall development process.
