A Detailed Report on Agile and Waterfall Project Management Approaches

This report provides a detailed comparative analysis of Agile and Waterfall project management methodologies, examining their respective backgrounds, pros and cons, challenges and benefits, and key performance indicators (KPIs) for enhancing best practices. Agile methodology is characterized by its iterative and flexible approach, emphasizing collaboration and adaptability to changing requirements, making it suitable for complex and uncertain projects, particularly in software development. Conversely, the Waterfall methodology follows a linear, sequential design, providing clear upfront planning and documentation but lacking flexibility, making it appropriate for projects with well-defined requirements and stable environments. The report concludes by highlighting the strengths and weaknesses of each methodology, offering insights into selecting the most appropriate approach based on project characteristics and organizational needs, and emphasizing the importance of KPIs in monitoring progress and ensuring successful project outcomes. Desklib is a platform that provides all the necessary AI based study tools for students.

Project Management
Methodologies and
theories

Table of Contents
INTRODUCTION...........................................................................................................................1
Background......................................................................................................................................1
Agile project management methodology.........................................................................................2
Pros/cons.................................................................................................................................2
Challenges/benefits.................................................................................................................3
KPIs that can help enhance best practice...............................................................................3
Analysis/discussion................................................................................................................3
Waterfall project management methodology...................................................................................4
Pros/cons.................................................................................................................................5
Challenges/benefits.................................................................................................................5
KPIs that can help enhance best practice...............................................................................5
Analysis/discussion................................................................................................................6
CONCLUSION................................................................................................................................6
References........................................................................................................................................8

INTRODUCTION
Project management can be defined as the application of the various methods and skills
along with the processes and knowledge in order to achieve the objectives of the project in an
experienced manner. It has some agreed parameters through which the final deliverables and
constrains like timescale and budgets are taken care of for the ultimate accomplishments of the
project. Its purpose is to plan and manage the project completion in a successful manner. It also
involves the identification and management of risks along with the resource management and
clear communication among all the stakeholders of the project. It mainly focuses on the optimum
utilization of the resources in an efficient and effective manner (Nicholas and Steyn, 2020). The
following discussion is based on the project management methodologies and theories. They are
related to the real time projects. So that the recognition can be made that which theory or method
is most best suited or appropriate for the specific project. Moreover, the below information
provides the insight of pros and cons of the project management methodology. Moreover,
challenges and benefits and also the key performance indicators that can help in enhancing the
best practice with analysis and discussions.
Background
Project management methodologies and theories can be defined as the systematic way of
handling the projects. It uses the principles and techniques along with the procedures of the
various methodologies and theories associated with the project management. It helps in
managing the project in organising in a structurized manner. It also requires the several
deliverables and workflows to follow up for an effective and efficient way of monitoring and
administering the projects in a potential manner. Following up the methodologies and theories
requires the expertise and in depth knowledge of application so that project can be successful as
expected. There are several methodologies and theories of project management which are used
by different project managers as per the needs and requirements of the project. Project managers
selects the best suited methodologies for their particular projects in terms of the size or timescale
or budgets and many more. Then they follow up according to the methodologies principles
(Meredith, Shafer, Mantel Jr and Sutton, 2020). For example, the most popular project
management methodologies are agile and scrum along with the kanban and lean which is
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followed by the waterfall and six sigma and also the PMI or PMBOK. The following discussion
is based on the agile and waterfall project management methodologies.
Agile project management methodology
Agile project management methodology can be defined as the type of process from where
the evolution of demands and solutions takes place. It is done by the collaborative effort of cross
functional teams and self organising along with the customers. It has the purpose to discover the
most appropriate manners of developing the project. This is done while rendering the measurable
and clear structure. It fosters the iterative evolution and team collaboration or change recognition
as well. It has four basic values to follow up such as there must the interactions over tools and
processes among individuals. It must contain the comprehensive documentation for better
analysis and approval process for the same. There should be the contract negotiation with the
help of customers collaboration. Project must respond to change in terms of following up the
plan. This methodology also consist of several principles such as customer satisfaction at every
stage of implementation. Project manager must accommodate changing requirements at the time
of development process. This is can be done by collaborating with the business stakeholders in
terms of support and trust or motivate the people who are involved in the project. There must be
the face to face interactions. It maintains the simplicity and also performing the regular
reflections for future improvements (Buganová and Šimíčková, 2019).
Pros/cons
There are various pros of agile project management methodology such as it helps in
making the development process more adaptable. It facilitates the designers to be more free at
the time of development. It supports in the simultaneous feedback and testing systems which
renders faster review cycles. It assists in the revisiting and rewriting of the stages in order to
achieve the desired outcomes. It aids in the faster delivery ad better accomplishment of the
projects. Moreover, frequent delivery supports in the rapid changes to direct the project while
maintaining scope of the project. There are various cons of agile project management
methodology such as it highly needs collaboration which is difficult to acquire in this method. It
is challenging to meet up the expected cost and time frames as well due to the delay in decision
making. It do not sets the strict schedule to follow up which can result in difficulty in completing
the project under tight deadlines. Moreover, if project requirements are changed in the middle
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then it can led to the problems in other departments of the company. It highly needs the
consistent teams because weak links can cause the problem of wasted time and money (Loiro,
Castro, Ávila and Ferreira, 2019).
Challenges/benefits
There are various benefits of agile project management methodology such as it has a
nature of high flexibility in the every stage from planning to the executing. This is because
testing are done in every step which provides the facility of flexibility. It results in the creativity
and innovation with new ideas and thoughts in the process of development. Customers can get
the value of the project earlier than later as it quickly responds to change and always being
updated at every phase. It has the ability to detect issues and fix it faster with immediate
feedback. There are various challenges of agile project management methodology. Such as it
highly requires the daily meetings and also even after completing every phase of the project. It
also needs more time commitment which causes delays (Özkan and Mishra, 2019).
KPIs that can help enhance best practice
Velocity is one of the KPI that enhances best practice. It helps in measuring the amount
of work done in a sprint and it also helps in providing the idea that how much work can be
completed in a next sprint. Sprint burn-down is an another KPI that enhances best practice. It
measures the remaining work which is to be done before the end of sprint and it also uncovers
the planning mistakes done by the team. Release burn-down is also one of the KPI. It measures
that the amount of work that must be completed before the release that illustrates the progress
overview order to implement changes and on time delivery as well. Cycle time is also an another
KPI. It measures that how much time is spent on each task and on its completion. Cumulative
flow is one of the KPI. It helps in visualizing that how the tasks are distributed at each phase of
the project. Flow efficiency is an another KPI. It helps in viewing the actual work and the
waiting periods distribution (Mkoba and Marnewick, 2020).
Analysis/discussion
It analysed and discussed that agile project management methodology has the adaptive
nature and is most commonly used in the delivery of more complicated projects. It mainly
utilises the deliverables in order to track the progress and also to formulate the product which has
the product vision statement. It also consists of product roadmap and product backlog along with
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the release plan and sprint backlog or increments. These are the features which establishes the
proper systems of methodologies used in the project of agile method. It majorly targets the
collaboration and flexibility along with the continuous improvement and high quality results as
well. It is also analysed that this type of project management methodology is best suited for the
projects which highly requires the flexible nature and is of the nature of complex or uncertain.
This is because project testing is done at every stage of the project. That is why this methodology
is considered as one of the most recognisable and best suited for the projects like the iterative
and incremental projects. It is mostly used in the projects of software development by the
information technology expertise and professionals. So that they resolve any bugs or errors at
every stage of implementation for better outcomes. That is why it also known as the iterative
model of project management (Halani and Jhajharia, 2022).
Waterfall project management methodology
Waterfall project management methodology can be defined as one of the most used
traditional project management methodology. It is an approach of a kind of linear or sequential
design which has the progress and process flow in one direction just like the framework of
waterfall. It has the origination in the construction and in the manufacturing industries. It has the
stages which do not flow on an iterative basis but first the entire project is completed and then it
is tested unlike agile methodology. This results in the lack of flexibility in the changes in design
whenever required. Initially the entire project is designed which cannot be changed in the middle
of the development. This is because it becomes exuberantly more costly due to its structured
physical surroundings. This type of methodology was first discovered by the Winston W. Royce
and its is introduced in an article written in 1970. Waterfall term was not used but the concept
was developed. It has the basic concept that the project manager cannot jump to the next stage of
the methodology until and unless the previous phase is not completed. Testing is not performed
in the middle of development but its done at the end after the completion of the project. Talking
about the stages then it has several stages. Such as requirements and analysis, designing and
developing, testing and operations or maintenance for the future perspectives (Khoza and
Marnewick, 2020).
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Pros/cons
There are various pros of waterfall project management methodology such as it renders
the clear and detailed upfront planning initiations and results to the project manager. The
documentation process is easy. It clearly outlines the expected time and cost along with the scope
of the project which helps the client that exactly what will get delivered. Because of the clear
timeline, if the management team faces any turnover then any new member steps in can easily
understand that what is going on and what is to be done. There are no financial surprises with
easy testing which results in the crystal clear outcomes. There are various cons of waterfall
project management methodology. Such that it has a strict blueprint from where the departure
form the planning is being difficult. Testing is performed at the end of all the phases which takes
a lot of time in QA stage. If any client needs change in the middle of the development process, it
cannot get change due to inflexibility and no respond to any change while developing the project.
Issues are addressed at the end of the entire process (Wu, 2020).
Challenges/benefits
There are various benefits of waterfall project management methodology such as it uses
the clarity in its structure of its entire implementation and execution. It has the ability to
determine the end goal clearly. It further helps in transferring the data or information in an
appropriate and proper way. This method is well documented with easy maintenance of phases
and also the well organised deadlines and specifications. There are various challenges of
waterfall project management methodology. Such as it is difficult to define with lack of
flexibility and longer delivery time. Changes in the middle of the entire process is difficult. It do
not involve the user or a client at the time of developing stages. It delays the testing phase at the
ned of the while process due to the errors and its rectification of it. It lack the adaptability feature
and ignores the feedbacks from clients in the middle of the process (Lawal and Ogbu, 2021).
KPIs that can help enhance best practice
There are basically four key performance indicators of waterfall project management
method. Scope is one of the KPI that enhances the best practice. It helps in measuring and
distinguishing the delivery of the work and the planning of work which is expected and actual
meet ups. It also supports in distinguishing the planned capacity and realized capacity along with
the scope delivered. Budget is an another KPI that enhances the best practices. It assists in
measuring the cost variances of the entire project for easy prediction of the expenses. Schedule is
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also one of the KPI. It aids in measuring the schedule variances of the whole project for simple
prediction of the time frames. Quality is also an another KPI. It helps in analysing and
determining the examination of the defect distribution and customer satisfaction from the project
completion (Chandran and Das Aundhe, 2021).
Analysis/discussion
It analysed and discussed that waterfall project management methodology has the nature
which emphasises on the importance of documentation. It has the fundamental idea which
demonstrates that if any of the staff member has to leave due to some emergency at the time of
development process then it can be replaced from where they left by simply familiarizing
themselves while rendering the information contented on the documents related with the project.
Agile mostly delays the expected time of the project completion due to the testing at every stage.
But waterfall is cutting off such disadvantage of agile while providing the testing in the end in
order to avoid delays in decision making process. This type of methodology is best suited for the
larger projects which highly requires the maintenance of stringent phases of the waterfall model
along with the deadlines as well. This methodology is also considered when the project is done
various times. So that the chances of errors can be low at the time of development process. So
that in the end testing can be successful with less bugs as compared to the previously done
projects based in waterfall model (Wahid, 2020).
CONCLUSION
It is concluded that project management is an important concept to learn and study so that
its applications can be applied in the actual world organizations or big or small projects. This is
because it helps an individual to grow and serve the society at its best and also support the entire
economy of the nation. That is why it is essential to follow up the project management
methodologies. So that the entire project can be managed in a systematic and sequential manner
with relevant applications of the strategies and tactics used in the project management.
Therefore, it is necessary to analyse the project management methodologies concepts. It is
significant to examine the pros and cons of the methodologies. It is crucial to determine the
challenges and benefits of the methodologies. It is vital to assess the key performance indicators
which can help in enhancing the best practices of the methodologies. It is imperative to evaluate
the discussions on the same for better examples of the project methodologies. Hence, the above
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discussion covers all such areas in order to better understand the project management
methodologies and theories.
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References
Books and Journals
Buganová, K. and Šimíčková, J., 2019. Risk management in traditional and agile project
management. Transportation Research Procedia, 40, pp.986-993.
Chandran, K. and Das Aundhe, M., 2021. Agile or waterfall development: The Clementon
Company dilemma. Journal of Information Technology Teaching Cases,
p.2043886919870544.
Halani, K.R. and Jhajharia, K., 2022. A Quantitative Study of Waterfall and Agile
Methodologies With the Perspective of Project Management. In Contemporary Challenges
for Agile Project Management (pp. 111-133). IGI Global.
Khoza, L.T. and Marnewick, C., 2020. Waterfall and Agile information system project success
rates-A South African perspective. South African Computer Journal, 32(1), pp.43-73.
Lawal, A. and Ogbu, R.C., 2021. A Comparative Analysis of Agile And Waterfall Software
Development Methodologies. BAKOLORI JOURNAL OF GENERAL STUDIES, 11(2),
pp.1-2.
Loiro, C., Castro, H., Ávila, P. and Ferreira, L., 2019. Agile project management: A
communicational workflow proposal. Procedia Computer Science, 164, pp.485-490.
Meredith, J.R., Shafer, S.M., Mantel Jr, S.J. and Sutton, M.M., 2020. Project management in
practice. John Wiley & Sons.
Mkoba, E. and Marnewick, C., 2020. Conceptual framework for auditing agile projects. IEEE
Access, 8, pp.126460-126476.
Nicholas, J.M. and Steyn, H., 2020. Project management for engineering, business and
technology. Routledge.
Özkan, D. and Mishra, A., 2019. Agile Project Management Tools: A Brief Comprative
View. Cybernetics and Information Technologies, 19(4), pp.17-25.
Wahid, A.A., 2020. Analisis Metode Waterfall Untuk Pengembangan Sistem Informasi. Jurnal
Ilmu-Ilmu Informatika Dan Manajemen STMIK, October, pp.1-5.
Wu, T., 2020. Optimizing Project Management. Auerbach Publications.
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