Agile vs. Waterfall: Choosing the Right Methodology for New Business

This essay provides a comparative analysis of Agile and Waterfall project management methodologies, arguing that the Agile approach is more suitable for establishing an organic grocery store in Virginia. The Waterfall model, with its linear and sequential structure, is deemed inappropriate due to the rapidly evolving nature of the organic grocery sector and its reliance on fixed requirements. Conversely, the Agile methodology, characterized by flexibility, incremental delivery, and independent decision-making, is presented as a better fit for adapting to changing market conditions and customer needs. The essay draws parallels with the John Deere ISG case study and the positive effects of Scrum, highlighting Agile's capacity to integrate new product lines into existing businesses, prioritize features, and involve stakeholders actively in the development process. Ultimately, the essay concludes that Agile, particularly the Scrum framework, offers the necessary adaptability and customer focus for successfully introducing an organic grocery business in a dynamic market environment.

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Project Management
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Agile and vs. Waterfall Project Management
Waterfall model is a linear approach process of software development which
comprises a different unique sequence of events. Therefore, the development process can
only proceed to the next phase when the predecessor has been accomplished. At the same
time there typically a stage gate in-between every stage where all the requirements have to
reviewed and approved by the customers before the initiation of the design process. Yes,
when related to the project “establishing an organic grocery store in Virginia” Waterfall
methodology cannot be an appropriate software development process to take. Accordingly,
the reason for not selecting the Waterfall model is because the organic grocery sector is an
industry which is evolving at a high rate due to the rapid changes happening due to various
factors such as climate change and global warming. Waterfall model is only appropriate for
business activities in which the developer and the consumer agree on what is to be delivered
(Balaji, & Murugaiyan, 2012). However, in the case of the organic grocery store business the
owner of the grocery store has no power over the customer's decision; instead the customer is
responsible for what the developer has to deliver. In this case, the most appropriate option is
the Agile approach since it has the flexibility capacity to change with the changes in the
market environment.
Agile or Scrum is a software development approach that is characterised with the
delivery of a new product is a quick way but not at once; it is flexible such that it can evolve
with the change in requirements; it has the capacity to deliver a quality product in an
incremental manner; and allow for independent decision-making through the use of capable
members who can independently make decision regarding the product being developed.
Consequently, in the case of this context Agile model is more suitable as it has the capacity to
use a hybrid where it is possible to introduce implement the project as a product of Agile and
non-agile (Sutherland, Viktorov, Blount, & Puntikov, 2017). Accordingly, the introduction of

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an organic grocery store is the introduction of a new product line in an existing business.
Indeed, Agile will be appropriate for this business in the sense that the development will use
Agile techniques to develop new marketing products (Larman, & Basili, 2013). Certainly,
Agile has the capability to use the traditional lifecycle in the reorganisation of the customers
in Virginia to the new product that is the organic grocery. In this case, the developer will
have to evaluate each in consideration of their specifications regarding organic grocery.
Therefore, it will be possible for the developer to apply the individuals change in the region
and then change the business processes later. Consequently, using an Agile process is
significant in this context as it forces the developer to carefully give priority to work by
implementing the most notable features and business process changes first. Undoubtedly,
Agile acknowledge that putting individuals in a new position best undertaken in a more
traditional project way.
Indeed, similar to “John Deere ISG case study: reaching the tipping point” it shows
that it was forced to introduce the Agile software development model to intensify its speed to
the market while keeping its resources and budget static. Thus, the introduction of the scrum
was a significant millstone to ISG as it involved the entire team leading to effectively
working towards the goal. Similarly, in the case study effects of Scrum, 9 months later has
shown to be positive for Richard Banks (Marinescu, 2018). Therefore, Scrum is the most
suitable approach to use in introducing the organic grocery business in Virginia since it is
highly flexible. For instance, Agile allows the product users and the stakeholders more active
part in the development process. As a result, the product is explicitly developed in accordance
with the customer specifications. Therefore, the Agile model is the most suitable software
development model for the case of the organic grocery stores as it will be developed based on
the customer’s needs which change over time (Lotz, 2013).

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References
Balaji, S., & Murugaiyan, M. S. (2012). Waterfall vs. V-Model vs. Agile: A comparative
study on SDLC. International Journal of Information Technology and Business
Management, 2(1), 26-30.
Larman, C., & Basili, V. R. (2013). Iterative and incremental developments. A brief history.
Computer, 36(6), 47-56.
Lotz, M. (2013). Waterfall vs. Agile: Which is the right development methodology for your
project. Retrieved online: http://www. seguetech. com/waterfall-vs-agile-
methodology.
Marinescu, F. (2018). Casestudy: Effects of Scrum, 9 months later. Retrieved from
https://www.infoq.com/news/2006/11/scrum-9-months-later
Sutherland, J., Viktorov, A., Blount, J., & Puntikov, N. (2017, January). Distributed Scrum:
Agile project management with outsourced development teams. In System Sciences,
2007. HICSS 2007. 40th Annual Hawaii International Conference (pp. 274a-274a).
IEEE.

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