Analyzing Differences Between Waterfall Methodology and Agile Methodology in Application Development

¶ … Waterfall Methodology and Agile Methodology in Application Development Waterfall methodology represents a process of sequential designing, much like manufacturing and construction workflows. This implies that as each step (idea formation, initiation, evaluation, design, creation, testing, execution, and maintenance) is accomplished, developers progress to the subsequent step. Since the process is of a sequential nature, a developer will not be able to revert to any prior stage after its completion -- at least, not without having to begin from scratch.

One cannot afford to err or make changes; therefore, the venture's outcome and a broad plan should be established right at the start and followed carefully thereafter (Agile & Waterfall Methodologies -- A Side-By-Side Comparison, n.d). In true Waterfall ventures, each of the above will constitute a separate software development stage, with each stage normally completed before beginning with the subsequent one. Also, stage gates typically exist between each. One example is -- requirement review and customer approval is needed prior to commencing with the design stage (Lotz, 2013).

The waterfall technique has no definite inventor as such. Rather, business software developers derived this strategy from other sectors where, after a given production phase is completed (for instance, laying a building's foundations), going back and making any changes was impractical or too expensive. Waterfall methodology was codified only after developers later understood that it did not mark the sole means of doing anything. All requirement collection and designing, in case of waterfall methodologies, occurs prior to coding.

These methodologies generally have stages addressing what must be done before embarking on a venture, in the course of start-up, planning, execution and termination phases. Further, they are also linked to a sequence of processes to take care of work packages, risks, issues, exceptions, and reporting (Bowes, 2014). The agile methodology is a team-based, iterative development approach. This approach stresses rapid application delivery in fully functional parts. Instead of creating schedules and tasks, time is totally "time-boxed" into "sprints" (i.e., phases).

Every sprint has some definite duration (often in weeks), accompanied by a running deliverables list, that is decided at the beginning. Deliverable prioritization occurs by their customer-defined business value. If all of the work planned for a sprint can't be completed, reprioritization of work is done, and information gleaned is employed for future planning of sprints. After work completion, the customer and project team can review and evaluate it, by means of sprint-end presentations and daily builds.

Agile methodology is reliant on very high customer involvement levels all through the course of the project, and particularly in the review stage (Lotz, 2013). Rather than going for upfront designing and extensive planning, agile methods take into account changing requirements with time, using a cross-functional team that includes planners, developers, testers, and designers. The team works on continuous product iterations over "time-boxes" or fixed periods of time. Work is structured in backlog form, prioritized into precise priority order depending on user or business value.

The teams will be self-organising, and will include an organizational (product owner) representative. Emphasis is given to effective, direct communication and small feedback loops. Each iteration aims at producing a functional product that one can demonstrate to stakeholders. After the demo phase, the feedback element may be added to subsequent iterations. The agile methodology developed from multiple.