Welcome to IT Project Management: A Combined Methodology.
In this learning activity, you'll explore how to combine waterfall and agile
methodologies for your next software development project.
Waterfall has been around since the 1950s.
It's a sequential design process, which means work flows steadily downward.
The team completes all of the software development in one phase and then hands
the project to the client.
Agile was introduced in the late 1980s.
Unlike waterfall, agile is an iterative development process that uses
sprints for quick validation.
It also places an emphasis on early testing to ensure the product actually works.
Today, it's common to find software developers combining these two
methodologies.
While there is no correct way to use these together,
developers typically take the best bits of each one to create their own
project management plan.
Before we examine how a team combines these methods,
let's take a moment to review some weaknesses of the waterfall methodology
that agile addresses.
We can also review agile weaknesses that the waterfall methodology addresses.
As you can see, each methodology has its pros and cons.
Let's look at how a project blends waterfall and agile and uses the best
parts of each process.
Daisy's dog-walking business is growing so rapidly that Daisy has double-booked
herself a few times, which causes a doggy disaster.
She needs a tool that organizes her business and allows her clients to
schedule their dog walking times.
Daisy needs this project completed as quickly as possible, so she hires your
company to design and build the software.
Your team meets with Daisy and a few of
her clients to understand everyone's needs.
Once your team knows what they need to do, they use the traditional waterfall
methodology to create a project plan for Daisy's dog-walking software.
It identifies target deliverable dates as well as itemized costs for Daisy to
review and approve.
Once the project gets started, your team switches to agile and works in iterative
cycles to provide Daisy with a working prototype within a week.
Daisy and her clients test the prototype and provide feedback.
Your team makes changes based on their comments to ensure the software is meeting
everyone's needs and they publish the next version of Daisy's software.
Within a few weeks, Daisy has new software that keeps her business growing,
her clients organized, and their dogs exercised.
As an added bonus, Daisy is so thrilled with her new software that she
recommends your company to all of her friends and your work triples.
If your team only used the traditional waterfall methodology,
Daisy and her clients would have to wait until the end for the finalized software.
This could cause her several weeks of continued scheduling mix ups.
If your team only used agile, Daisy wouldn't have the target delivery dates
and itemized costs up front.
Blending both methodologies enables your team to meet Daisy's needs much quicker.
Combining the agile and waterfall methodologies is a successful approach
to completing many software projects.
Using the strengths from both, by
incorporating agile methodologies into a less rigid waterfall process,
increases the flexibility and speed at which the projects are completed.
You have finished, IT Project Management: A Combined Methodology.