Analyzing Agile and Waterfall Methodologies in Project Management

This essay provides a comparative analysis of the Waterfall and Agile project management methodologies, outlining their similarities and dissimilarities. It discusses the core principles of project methodology, emphasizing its importance in achieving project goals through structured rules and principles. The essay contrasts the Waterfall model, suitable for projects with well-defined scopes and predictable lifecycles, with the Agile model, which is more adaptable to changing requirements and iterative development. Key similarities include a focus on delivering quality products, detailed planning, requirement finalization, reviews, and documentation. Dissimilarities are highlighted in terms of the clarity of the final product idea, project scope flexibility, production speed, and adaptability to changing product standards. The essay concludes by differentiating between the predictive lifecycle of the Waterfall model and the iterative lifecycle of the Agile model, emphasizing their respective suitability for different project contexts. Desklib provides a platform to access similar solved assignments and study tools for students.

Running head: PROJECT MANAGEMENT
PROJECT MANAGEMENT
Name of the Student
Name of the University
Author note

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Project methodology:
The project methodology is the collection of principles and rules that are used for
managing the project for obtaining the project goal. The rules and principles are formulated
with reference to the scope and purpose of the project. These rules are logically
interconnected which influence the progress of the projects (Kerzner & Kerzner, 2017).
A proper project methodology is important to control and execute a project properly. A
proper methodology helps to achieve the following factors which are important for successful
project execution:
 Description for the stakeholder importance
 A common communication platform for the participants of the project
 A common methodology for the entire project execution
 Complete and effective cost estimation
 Identification and Resolution of internal and external conflicts
 Formulation of the deliverables and distribution
 Identification of mistakes and fast implementation of the solutions
Similarities and dissimilarities of Waterfall and Agile method:
Similarities:
There are various similarities between the waterfall and the agile method (Palmquist, 2015)
Topic of similarities Waterfall method Agile method
Same goal The water fall model is
concerned with delivering
products that meet the proper
The agile method, just like the
waterfall model also shares
similar approach or goal when

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quality to meet the project
standard and lead the project to
success.
applied for managing any
project.
Panning of work The plan for the project is
detailed before the project is
started. The detailing of the
plan includes finalization of the
budget, schedule and
deliverables so that the project
can be managed efficiently.
The agile method also follows
the same approach for
managing the projects but with
more detailing. The overall
requirement of the project is
breakdown in terms of cost,
budget and time line. The task
with the more importance is
prioritized.
Finalizations of the
requirements
The requirements are finalized
at the initiation of the project
The agile method also works in
the same way. The
requirements are set before
iteration of each phase. No
modification is allowed after
the iteration is started.
reviews Each phase of the project goes
through multiple reviews to
help the higher authorities keep
check on the project progress.
It is also helpful for setting
next step for the project
progress.
The customers gets involved at
each iteration of the project
phase. The customers are
involved as the owner of the
product. After each phase is
completed it is associated with
the reviews to assess the phase.

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documentation All the details associated with
the project phases are properly
documented for reference.
The agile method also involves
documentations. the
documentation contains the
following details:
 Overall plan.
 requirements
descriptions
 cost and schedule
estimates
 risk assessments
 training material
Dissimilarities:
There also various dissimilarities between the two project methodology (Bowes, 2014).
These are:
Topic of dissimilarities Waterfall method Agile method
Idea about the final product Some time it is seen that the
project manager has fair idea
about the final product or the
product which will be obtained
at the end of the project. The
Waterfall method is appropriate
for this kind of projects where
the idea about the final product
Agile method are more
appropriate for the projects
where idea about the final
product is not so clear.

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is clear.
Scope of the project Sometime during the execution
of the projects it is seen that the
customer wants to modify the
scope of the project. Waterfall
model is not suitable for these
kind of project as the method
does not allow any alteration in
the project scope once the
project is started.
Agile method is much more
effective for the projects that
needs to deal with the
modification of project scope.
Speed of the production Projects where speed of the
production is not a major issue
but the quality of the product
determines the project success,
waterfall model is a perfect
choice for those projects.
Projects where speed in the
production is considered as the
element of success, waterfall
model is suitable. As the
waterfall method focuses on the
speed of project execution , not
the actual quality of the product
Standards of the products Waterfall model is suitable for
industries that does not witness
major changes in the standards
of the products
Agile method is more suitable
for the industries which deals
with the constant change in the
product standards.
Project life cycle:
Project life cycle refers to the phases that the projects goes through. The moment the
project starts to the moment the project finishes there are various phases that the project is

5PROJECT METHODOOLOGY
executed. Now all of this phases are important for the project success. Hence the project life
cycle and the proper project methodology is important (Larson & Gray, 2015).
The waterfall model follows predictive life cycle which means that scope of the
project is well understood right at the beginning of the project and hence the estimated budget
and the time to complete is well known (Turner , 2014).
The agile model follows iterative life cycle, where the scope of the project is not fixed
and it might changes after each phase of the project is completed. The iterative life cycle is
perfect for the projects where time frame and the budget of the project is not in advance
(Conforto & Amaral, 2016).

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References:
Bowes, J. (2014). Agile vs Waterfall: Comparing project management methods. Retrieved
April, 15, 2016.
Conforto, E. C., & Amaral, D. C. (2016). Agile project management and stage-gate model—a
hybrid framework for technology-based companies. Journal of Engineering and
Technology Management, 40, 1-14.
Kerzner, H., & Kerzner, H. R. (2017). Project management: a systems approach to planning,
scheduling, and controlling. John Wiley & Sons.
Larson, E. W., & Gray, C. F. (2015). A Guide to the Project Management Body of
Knowledge: PMBOK (®) Guide. Project Management Institute.
Palmquist, M. S., Lapham, M. A., Miller, S., Chick, T., & Ozkaya, I. (2015). Parallel worlds:
Agile and waterfall differences and similarities (No. CMU/SEI-2013-TN-021).
CARNEGIE-MELLON UNIV PITTSBURGH PA SOFTWARE ENGINEERING
INST.
Turner, J. R. (2014). Handbook of project-based management (Vol. 92). New York, NY:
McGraw-Hill.