Project Management Methodologies: Waterfall vs Agile

Running head: PROJECT MANAGEMENT 1
Project Management
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PROJECT MANAGEMENT 2
1. Define what a methodology is and the role it serves in project management.
Methodology is a sequential process, technique, practice and regulations applied by the
project manager and project team in delivering a successful project (Kerzner & Kerzner,
2017). The methodology supports a top-down approach to a project manager which directly
ties the project life cycle stages and the initiation project flow by providing common ground.
The methodology serves various roles in project management such as offering a common
ground for planning and communicating before the inception of the project work (Joslin &
Müller, 2015). It supports suitable planning and communication before the beginning of the
project work; acts as a mean for effective management and control of the project and helps to
develop a set of activities that are learnt over time.
2. Research and Study about various methodologies & processes in the list below.
There are various methods and approaches used in project management to manage
multiple types of development, design and delivery of products. In this case, the two
methodologies that are discussed include waterfall and agile methods.
Waterfall methodology
Waterfall methodology is a progressive project management technique whereby the
stakeholders and customer requirements are collected at the start of the project. Waterfall
model consists of five phases that are requirements, design, implementation, verification and
maintenance. In this sense, a project can only move to the next phase when the initial phase
has been accomplished.
Agile Methodology
Agile is a process where the project team mange the project by subdividing it into
different stages which involves continued collaboration with stakeholders with continuous

PROJECT MANAGEMENT 3
improvement and iteration at each stage (Hiekata, Mitsuyuki, Goto, & Moser, 2016). The
Agile methodology starts with customers describing how the end product will be used and the
type of problems that it anticipates to solve. Consequently, this clarifies the client's
expectations of the project team.
Similarities between Waterfall and Agile Model
The objective of both Waterfall and Agile methodologies is to deliver a high quality
product over a specified period in a responsive and efficient way. Therefore, both
methodologies perform similar actions such as collecting project information, coding, testing,
maintenance, product release and implementation among other things.
Difference between Waterfall and Agile Model
 In waterfall model all project development stages like planning, design, and testing
among others are accomplished once that is when the final product is built while agile
methodology it follows an iterative development approach whereby development
stages such as prototyping, design, and development among others can appear several
times in the course of the whole software development life cycle (SDLC)
(Elghondakly, Moussa, & Badr, 2015).
 Waterfall model is an internal process which does not involve the customer’s
participation once the project takes off. On the other hand, an agile model is an
approach which concentrates on the customer’s satisfaction; hence it involves
customer’s participation throughout the project development period.
 Waterfall methodology is subdivided into distinct development stages whereas Agile
methodology has segregated the project development lifecycle into sprints (Siqueira,
Reinehr, & Malucelli, 2017).