5 reasons why Agile Methodology is better than Waterfall

IT deployments relied on the waterfall model and it worked really fine. But, with the advent of the agile model, the speed and agility of project development are taken to an all-new level, and thus businesses are steadily shifting their focus in adopting the agile methodology. The Waterfall model has some flaws where the dominance of agile wins. In this article, you will get to know about the five reasons as to why agile methodology is better than the waterfall model.

What is agile methodology?

It is a process where a project is broken down into several phases and each of these phases is developed in an iterative manner till a specific objective is attained. Teams collaborate and communicate constantly to discuss and work on the project’s progress. Stakeholders are constantly collaborated and continuous improvement takes place at every stage. Team members are properly assigned with their specific roles and responsibilities and simultaneously values, opportunities and problems are strategically addressed.      

 What is waterfall methodology?

It is a process where a project is broken down into a linear and sequential manner. Every phase has specific tasks that need to be completed successfully. The next phase is worked upon only when the previous phase of development has been successfully completed. It is basically a project management approach that focuses on the linear progression method right from project initiation till the end.  Detailed documentation, strategic planning pertaining to software development and subsequent execution are the core focus areas of this testing methodology.

 

Following are the five reasons that project the significance of agile over waterfall:

1. The flexibility factor: In the waterfall model, once a particular phase has been worked out completely, it becomes quite difficult to make any further changes in this particular phase. In the case of agile, a working version of the whole project is built and the customer is made aware of the project’s progress as and when required. Through this, even customers can provide timely inputs while the software is being developed and thus build a high quality product.

2. The inclusion of customers: The implementation team of agile views a customer as an integral part of the project development and thus involve them in the development process. In the waterfall model, customers are only involved at the beginning of the project by documenting all the specific requirements of the customers. Once the project is rolled on, the customer isn’t involved in the progression of the project.

3. Errors are tackled coherently: Waterfall model focuses and relies a lot on initial requirements. This means that all the customer inputs are taken at the beginning itself. Once the development starts, there is no customer involvement and by chance, if some of the inputs given by the customer are not in line with the project, then the entire project can take a totally different direction. In the case of agile, customers are involved right from the beginning till the project ends, and this in fact turns out to be rewarding because the end product will be in exact accordance with the customer requirements.

4. A better product can be expected: In the waterfall model, software testing is carried out only after the entire product has been developed, which means it has gone through all the phases of development successfully. If the customer requirements are not communicated or captured by the team properly, then testing may not prove to be worthwhile. In agile, software product is tested at regular intervals and the customer examines the product tested during these specific intervals in order to ascertain whether the product that is being built is as per the goal or not. This in turn helps in saving time and cost.

5. Modifications/changes can be done as and when required: Waterfall model does not encourage constant feedback from customers in terms of making modifications and changes to the product. The Agile model encourages customers to provide their timely inputs throughout the project development so that the end product that has been built is not only of high quality but also is in line with customer’s precise requirements.

Conclusion: If you are looking forward to implementing agile methods  or waterfall methodology for your specific project, then do get connected with a top-notch software testing services company that will provide you with a step-by-step implementation methodology that is precisely in line with your project specific requirements.

About the author: I am a technical content writer focused on writing technology specific articles. I strive to provide well-researched information on the leading market savvy technologies.