Comparison of Waterfall and PRINCE2 Project Management Methodologies

This report discusses the contrasting characters of waterfall and PRINCE2 project management methodologies, along with their pros and cons. It also provides a comparison between the two methodologies and suggests the use of PRINCE2 for class projects.

Running head: PROJECT MANAGEMENT
Project Management
Name of Student
Name of University
Author Note

1PROJECT MANAGEMENT
Table of Contents
1. Introduction......................................................................................................................2
2. Waterfall Vs Prince..........................................................................................................2
2.1. Waterfall Method......................................................................................................2
2.1.1. Pros of waterfall.................................................................................................4
2.1.2. Cons of Waterfall...............................................................................................5
2.2. PRINCE2 Model.......................................................................................................5
2.2.1. Pros of Prince 2..................................................................................................6
2.2.2. Cons of Prince 2.................................................................................................6
2.3. Comparison between PRINCE2 and Waterfall........................................................6
3. Method for the Project.....................................................................................................7
4. Conclusion.......................................................................................................................7
References............................................................................................................................9

2PROJECT MANAGEMENT
1. Introduction
A project management methodology is considered to be a planned model, used by the
project managers in designing, planning, implementation and achievement of the identified
objectives of the project. Each and every project management methodology has some unique
feature that is beneficial for the execution of a project. Choosing an appropriate project
management methodology provide an opportunity for implementation of an undertaken project
in a planned manner. A number of methodologies of project management, are used in
implementing a project, which include scrum, Extreme programming, lean, Prince2 DSDM,
waterfall and others. Each methodology provide different functionalities and therefore, it is
necessary to choose the methodology as per the requirements and the specification of the project
(Alshamrani & Bahattab, 2015). This report will be discussing the contrasting characters of
waterfall and Prince2 project management methodologies. The details of each of the identified
methodologies will be provided in the report along with the pros and cons of each methodology.
The pros and cons of each methodologies are analyzed in the sections below.
2. Waterfall Vs Prince
In this report, a discussion about two different project management methodologies will be
provided. Waterfall project management methodology will be analyze on basis of PRINCE2
project management method. Details of each project management methodology is analyzed in
the sections below.
2.1. Waterfall Method
Waterfall method is known to be the very first process models that were introduced. The
model is also known as model of sequential life cycle that is quite easily understandable and

3PROJECT MANAGEMENT
implement (Model, 2015). This sequential model needs completion of a particular phase before
start of the next phase. Waterfall model is considered to be the earliest SDLC approach that is
used of developing a software. A linear sequential flow is illustrated in this methodology, and
therefore, it is considered to be a widely used approach of ascertaining the success of a project.
The following illustration provides the representation of model of waterfall.
Figure 1: Showing the Waterfall Model
(Source: Elghondakly, Moussa & Badr, 2015)
From the figure 1, it can be analyzed that the entire waterfall model is segregated into
different phases. The first phase of the model is requirement gathering and analysis. This phase
is important for documenting all the specifications that are to be documented in a project (Stoica
et al. 2016). The next phase of the model is the system design. As per the requirements that are

4PROJECT MANAGEMENT
identified in the previous phase, the designing of the project execution approach is prepared
(Kuhrmann et al., 2017). This phase is important for specifying the hardware as well as the
system requirements of the project. The next phase, that is, the implementation phase in the
waterfall model is a main phase of project execution, which deliver the project in small units.
After completion of the development of each unit, all the units are integrated and delivered in the
next phase. In the integration and the testing phase, the units that are delivered in the previous
phase will be integrated (Kumar & Prashanth, 2014). After successful project integration, the
whole system that is integrated, is tested to identify the errors and the failure. After completion
of integration and testing, the entire system is deployed in the deployment phase. Followed by
successful deployment, the maintenance phase initiates. In waterfall method, the all the
discussed phases are cascaded with each other and therefore, the progress of the project is seen
flowing steadily downwards through a number of phases. On achieving of the goal of each
phase, the next phase kick starts and therefore, in this particular method, there is no overlapping
of the phases.
2.1.1. Pros of waterfall
The waterfall model is mainly used in execution of the software projects. The pros and
cons of waterfall project methodology is indicated as follows.
The waterfall model is a simple model that is easily manageable. The pros of waterfall
model are indicated as follows-
1. The waterfall model is very simple and easily understandable. This is possible as each
phase has specific deliverables (Hasnine, Chayon & Rahman, 2015).

5PROJECT MANAGEMENT
2. A sequential process of project execution is followed and therefore, each phase of a
particular project is processed and completed one at a time (Velmourougan et al., 2014).
3. Waterfall Model has clear identified states and therefore task arrangement becomes
easy in this model.
2.1.2. Cons of Waterfall
There are certain disadvantage of making use of waterfall model in execution of the
project. The cons of waterfall model are indicated as follows-
1. Waterfall model involves high amount of risk and uncertainty as the testing is done
towards the completion phase of the project (Krishnan, 2015).
2. In the waterfall phase, no working software is produced until the completion of all the
phases (Rajagopalan, 2014).
3. This method cannot be applied for complex projects and the projects of long duration
2.2. PRINCE2 Model
The PRINCE2 model of project execution is a process of applying best possible methods
of managing and controlling the project works (Tomanek & Juricek, 2015). Execution of
Projects IN a Controlled Environment, is a process-based method of managing and execution of
the project in an effective manner. PRINCE2 mainly focus on business justification related to the
defining the project’s structure along with the organization of the project. One of the main
advantages of PRINCE2 is that it gives a great control on the resources and the risks related to
the project. In this particular methodology, the entire control is provided to the project and its
processes (Hinde, 2018). There are seven processes that relates to the PRINCE2. These process

6PROJECT MANAGEMENT
include, start of the project, initiation of the project, direction of the project, managing the stages
of the project, controlling the effective project delivery, management of the stage boundary and
closure of the project. Successful completion of each phase of the project ascertains that all the
major risks and the issues associate with the project are addressed.
2.2.1. Pros of Prince 2
There are a number of advantages of making use of PRINCE2 in execution of the project.
The pros of execution of the project are as follows-
1. PRINCE2 method promotes communication among the team members and therefore,
each and every issues arising in the project are rightly communicated to the project team.
2. This is a flexible method that allows improvements to be made to the project unlike
that of waterfall method (Mousaei & Javdani, 2018).
3. Although the project’s control is given to the manager of the project, the methodology
provide an opportunity to all the stakeholders of the project to participate in decision making.
2.2.2. Cons of Prince 2
The cons of Prince 2 method in execution and management of a project is indicated as
follows-
1. The method allows changes to be made even if the project is in its execution phase.
This often delays the schedule of the project
2. The PRINCE2 methodology may not be capable of catering the needs of certain
modern projects.

7PROJECT MANAGEMENT
2.3. Comparison between PRINCE2 and Waterfall
Waterfall method is mainly suitable for projects that has clear requirements
specifications. Therefore, it is quite difficult to execute a construction project by following a
waterfall project method. Waterfall method is suitable for small scale software development
projects.
On the other hand, PRINCE2 method is generally used for execution of construction
project as it prioritizes the risk assessment and risk management process of project execution
(Siegelaub, 2017). Apart from the construction project, PRINCE2 is flexible for software
projects as well and therefore, it can be used for execution of complex software projects.
3. Method for the Project
The method that is chosen for the class project is PRINCE2 method. This method is a
good fit as it is quite flexible and focuses on the risk management aspects of execution of a
project. The PRINCE2 method is suitable for execution of the class projects as it will help in
splitting the entire project into different number of manageable and controllable stages that is
flexible enough to manage the risks in the project in an effective manner (Velmourougan et al.,
2014). PRINCE2 method will be suitable for the class project as it provide the skills and the
confidence of successfully managing the complex projects. Furthermore, the use of PRINCE2
will enable us to save time, money and the effort needed for completion of the projects.
4. Conclusion
The report draws a comparison between waterfall and PRINCE2 method of project
execution. The waterfall project management method is one of the oldest project management

8PROJECT MANAGEMENT
methodology. The report analyses a strong distinction between waterfall and PRINCE2 and
comments on the effectiveness of each methodology in software and construction projects. The
method that can be used for successful execution of the class projects are further discussed. The
advantage of flexibility that is provided by the PRINCE2 methodology prove that it is possible to
complete the project undertaken, as per plan. The pros and cons of each of the methodologies are
discussed in the report to justify the choice of the method for the class project.

9PROJECT MANAGEMENT
References
Alshamrani, A., & Bahattab, A. (2015). A comparison between three SDLC models waterfall
model, spiral model, and Incremental/Iterative model. International Journal of Computer
Science Issues (IJCSI), 12(1), 106.
Elghondakly, R., Moussa, S., & Badr, N. (2015, December). Waterfall and agile requirements-
based model for automated test cases generation. In 2015 IEEE Seventh International
Conference on Intelligent Computing and Information Systems (ICICIS) (pp. 607-612).
IEEE.
Hasnine, M. N., Chayon, M. K. H., & Rahman, M. M. (2015). A Cost Effective Approach to
Develop Mid-size Enterprise Software Adopted the Waterfall Model. World Academy of
Science, Engineering and Technology, International Journal of Computer, Electrical,
Automation, Control and Information Engineering, 9(5), 1140-1149.
Hinde, D. (2018). PRINCE2 Study Guide: 2017 Update. John Wiley & Sons.
Krishnan, M. S. (2015). Software development risk aspects and success frequency on spiral and
agile model. International Journal of Innovative research in computer and
communication Engineering, (3), 1.
Kuhrmann, M., Diebold, P., Münch, J., Tell, P., Garousi, V., Felderer, M., ... & Prause, C. R.
(2017, July). Hybrid software and system development in practice: waterfall, scrum, and
beyond. In Proceedings of the 2017 International Conference on Software and System
Process (pp. 30-39). ACM.

10PROJECT MANAGEMENT
Kumar, B. P., & Prashanth, Y. (2014, March). Improving the rapid application development
process model. In 2014 Conference on IT in Business, Industry and Government
(CSIBIG) (pp. 1-3). IEEE.
Model, W. (2015). Waterfall model. Luettavissa: http://www. waterfall-model. com/. Luettu, 3.
Mousaei, M., & Javdani, T. (2018). A New Project Risk Management Model Based on Scrum
Framework and Prince2 Methodology. International Journal of Advanced Computer
Science and Applications, 9.
Rajagopalan, S. (2014). Review of the myths on original software development
model. International Journal of Software Engineering & Applications, 5(6), 103.
Siegelaub, J. M. (2017). How PRINCE2® Can Complement the PMBOK® Guide and Your
PMP®.
Stoica, M., Ghilic-Micu, B., Mircea, M., & Uscatu, C. (2016). Analyzing Agile Development-
from Waterfall Style to Scrumban. Informatica Economica, 20(4).
Tomanek, M., & Juricek, J. (2015). Project risk management model based on PRINCE2 and
SCRUM frameworks. arXiv preprint arXiv:1502.03595.
Velmourougan, S., Dhavachelvan, P., Baskaran, R., & Ravikumar, B. (2014, September).
Software development Life cycle model to build software applications with usability.
In 2014 International Conference on Advances in Computing, Communications and
Informatics (ICACCI) (pp. 271-276). IEEE.