difference between agile and waterfall project management

Unlike Agile, this more linear approach often means that team members only need to be available for their specific project phases and can thus continue to focus in other areas. Equally a project’s customers may only need to be involved heavily in the early initial scoping phase and then at delivery.Progress is more easily tracked as the full scope of the project is known from the beginning. Project stakeholders agree upfront on what will be delivered, which makes planning and design much easier. Waterfall is particularly efficient for well-defined projects.For teams new to working in an Agile way, there is a risk that people can feel unsure of what they should focus on when the scope is developing.Because of its flexibility, an Agile project can run the risk of causing problems in other areas of the organisation as priorities shift if the changes are not managed and communicated effectively.This helps with overall motivation and commitment to a project’s outcomes and goals. Agile encourages teamwork, collaboration, self-organisation and accountability.Stakeholders and team members have opportunities to observe and test throughout the project which allows for adjustments and changes to be made as things move forward. This greater ‘user focus’ means that on delivery it’s likely the outcome will be more in line with expectations – even if they have evolved along the way. Together, Agile team members focus on delivering outcomes rather than individually delivering a single pre-defined component of a project.” Melinda Harrington, Enterprise Agile Coach at Woolworths Group Practices used by teams working in a more Agile way lead away from Waterfall in aim of better flow, more teamwork, and a greater focus on business value. “In Waterfall, members of a team work on their part of a project sequentially: define, design, build, test, deploy and maintain. Each phase needs to be completed before the next one can begin. Like its name suggests, work cascades, much like a waterfall, through different project phases.

Waterfall, on the other hand, is much more linear, focusing on up front planning with requirements fully defined before a project commences. Want to learn more? Check out our guide, Agile: Everything You Need to Know. Agile frameworks and methods do not generally manage the project lifecycle, rather provide a flexible and iterative solution, which allow you to adapt as the situation demands. Underneath the umbrella of Agile are a range of frameworks and product delivery methods, such as Scrum, Lean, Six Sigma, and Kanban. What is the difference?Īgile includes a set of principles and values that came to life in 2001, created by 17 technology leaders. Instead, Agile can be defined as a mindset to approaching projects which provides flexibility, while Waterfall offers a pre-defined framework to follow that is sequential in nature.

The important thing to remember about both Agile and Waterfall is neither are technically a project management methodology. In the ever-expanding world of project management approaches and frameworks two of the heaviest hitters are Agile and Waterfall.

Difference between agile and waterfall project management