COEPD – Center of Excellence for Professional Development Happy Learning
A suitable development model is selected by considering several factors like requirement, application type, application software, level of customer intervention etc.
Lets go through the major differences between the Agile and Waterfall methodologies.
- Agile is a multi-iterated lifecycle i.e. by which a project is broken into several pieces whereas Waterfall is a non iterative lifecycle i.e. by which project is not broken into many pieces.
- Agile methodology segregates the project development lifecycle into sprints whereas In Waterfall model the software development process is divided into different phases.
- Agile methodology is known for its flexibility. It allows changes to be made in the requirements in any sprint even after the initial planning has been completed whereas Waterfall model is quite rigid. For using this model its very essential to be clear with all the project development requirements beforehand as there is no scope of changing the requirements once the development phase starts.
- The Agile methodology emphasizes on working software that can deliver the real progress or value. No documentation.The waterfall model majorly focuses on Comprehensive and extensive documentation.
- As agile follows an iterative development approach the software development phases like planning, development, testing etc can repeat whereas In waterfall model all the software development phases like development, design, testing etc can appear once.
- In Agile methodology continuous testing is performed simultaneously with coding whereas In waterfall model, the testing phase comes after the Coding phase.
- Producing an increment quickly is more important than quality whereas For waterfall model Quality is more important than producing a result quickly.
- For waterfall model Quality is more important than producing a result quickly whereas Incase of waterfall before the development start there is a very clear picture of the final product.
- In Agile methodology responding to change is quite essential as customer suggestions are incorporated to deliver the value the customer wants. The waterfall model strictly focusses in following a plan to complete the project development and there is less transparency to customer till the product is ready.
- Roles in agile methodology are Scrum Master, Product Owner etc. Roles in Waterfall methodology are Project Manager, Tech lead, Business Analyst, Technical Architect etc.
- Constructing a house is an example of Agile Methodology.
Buying a flat is an example of Waterfall Methodology.
