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The plan you come up with will stay in use until project completion, so it must cover all bases to ensure a successful finish. The difference is that the PM can now work with their team to analyze the project requirements and create a comprehensive plan.Įssentially, if the 1st stage is all about the “what”, the 2nd stage of Waterfall explains the “how”. The Design stage is still mostly planning-oriented. 14 Best requirements gathering techniques.Learn more about requirements gathering and the techniques you can use in our guide: With that in mind, let’s go over the 5 stages of Waterfall one by one. However, that needlessly complicates matters. Some sources divide this methodology into 6 or even 7 stages. And, as mentioned, backtracking to the previous stage isn’t an option either. Until you end a stage, you cannot start the next one. This is the imagery that correctly depicts the Waterfall PM methodology - a single project moving in one direction, divided into 5 Waterfall project phases: After every step, the water levels off for a bit before facing the next plunge. So instead, try to imagine a small stream of water that makes several smaller cascades, as if running down a staircase. But that’s not the image Waterfall is trying to evoke. When you think of a waterfall, you usually imagine a single stream of water cascading from a precipitous height. The project doesn’t allow for iteration.The project is too risky to commit to without a solid plan, and.The timeline, budget, and scope are fixed,.It’s possible to estimate the project timeline,.The project deadline and scope are contractually negotiated,.The project needs to follow a linear trajectory,.The client knows exactly what they want,.According to Elizabeth Harrin, APM Fellow, author of Managing Multiple Projects, and the expert behind Rebel’s Guide to Project Management, changing anything in a Waterfall project doesn’t come cheap:Įssentially, an ideal project for Waterfall often ticks all or most of these requirements: The order in which the project tasks are done is also important and cannot be fiddled with.ĭue to this sequential nature, Waterfall is also highly resistant to change and revision. Waterfall is all about making a detailed and thorough project plan and then sticking to it. Waterfall is a linear project management approach whose phases follow a logical finish-to-start sequence. Conclusion: Waterfall helps you plan for a predictable triumph.What is the difference between Waterfall and other methodologies?.Step #5: Provide top-notch support and maintenance.Step #4: Keep testing and resolving issues.Step #2: Create a schedule and plan the project in detail.Step #1: Research and get granular with the project requirements.
Waterfall project management vs agile project management how to#
How to implement Waterfall in project management.Disadvantage #3: Suffers from a lack of feedback.Disadvantage #2: May succumb to timeline creep.Disadvantage #1: Demands detailed client input.Advantage #5: Maintains easy knowledge transfer between stages.Advantage #4: Easily resists scope creep.Advantage #3: Helps with setting manageable expectations.Advantage #2: Suits repeatable projects well.Advantage #1: Makes it easy to measure progress.Example of Waterfall project management.When is it appropriate to use Waterfall project management?.What is Waterfall and how does it work?.
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