A Comparative Analysis of Agile Scrum and Waterfall Project Management

This report provides a comprehensive comparison of two prominent project management methodologies: Agile Scrum and Waterfall. It begins by defining methodology and its importance in project development, emphasizing the selection process based on project type and requirements. The report then delves into the specifics of Agile Scrum, an iterative and incremental approach, highlighting its use of sprints, roles, meetings, and artifacts, along with its suitability for projects with evolving requirements. Following this, the report examines the Waterfall method, detailing its linear, sequential stages from initialization to deployment, and its suitability for smaller, well-defined projects. A key section of the report presents a detailed comparison of the two methodologies, outlining their differences in terms of schedule, scope, client collaboration, feature implementation, project approach, delivery frequency, testing, cost of change, flexibility, and documentation. Similarities are also noted. The report concludes by mapping the Waterfall methodology onto the project life cycle, demonstrating how its phases align with the standard stages of project development.

Running head: PROJECT MANAGEMENT METHODOLOGY
Project management methodology
Name of the Student:
Name of the University:
Author Note:

1PROJECT MANAGEMENT METHODOLOGY
Definition of the methodology:
Methodology is the process that helps in the proper development of the project. The
use of the proper methodology will be help the project to deliver the desired outcome (ur
Rehman et al., 2018). There are certain steps those are needed to be followed during the
implementation of the methodology. The selection of the project methodology is based on the
type and the requirements of the project.
Role servers in project management:
The use of the proper methodology will help the project to go through certain
processes. These process will help the requirements to be accessed in a right way so that the
project can get the right outcome.
Selected methodology:
Selected two methods are agile scrum and waterfall method.
Agile scrum methodology:
Agile scrum methodology is considered as one of the agile methodologies for the
development of the project. It is an incremental and iterative method for the development of
the system or product.
Multiple sprint of time frame from 2 weeks to 1 month is present in the agile scrum
methodology. The timeline of the sprint will be maintained by scrum team during the
planning meeting (Harvie & Agah, 2016). The functionality of the proposed system is
divided into different modules. Three important aspects of scrum method are role, meetings
and artifacts. The use of agile methodology is carried out when the client is not sure about the
requirements and expects quick releases. Apart from that all the requirements are not
provided at one time.

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Waterfall method:
Waterfall method can be considered as the oldest project management methodology.
The waterfall method is the simplest form of method for managing the project. The first stage
of this methodology is the initialization of the project (Adiga, 2019). In this step the
requirements gathering is done. After that the analysis of the requirements are done before
the planning and execution. The testing and the deployment is done after the execution of the
project (López-Martínez et al., 2016). The developer can go to next step only after complete
compilation of the previous step. There is no way for returning back to the previous step
which makes this methodology rigid in nature. However, this method is suitable for
managing the small projects.
Comparison between two methodologies:
Difference between agile scrum and waterfall method:
Agile Scrum Waterfall
Freezes schedule Freezes scope
The collaboration with the client is
maintained throughout the process.
The collaboration of the client is done at the
beginning of the project and at the ending of
the project.
Developed the project on the basis of the
requirements of the client.
While development, considering everything
is scopes are considered.
Addition of the few features per iteration is
done in this methodology.
Designing of all the features are done.
The approach of the project is iterative. The approach of the project is linear.

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The project is delivered frequently in small
increments.
The project is delivered after the ending of
the methodology.
Continues development and unit testing
done throughout the process.
Testing is a separate phase.
Cost of change is low. Cost of change is huge.
The process is dynamic and flexible. The methodology is rigid in nature.
Documentation is done on what is needed to
be implemented.
Documentation is upfront.
The team communication is a continuous
process.
Team communication is done during the
hands-off of the project from one phase to
another.
Similarities between agile scrum and waterfall method:
The both methodologies are used for managing the development of the project. On the
other hand, in both cases, priority on the requirements are given during the development of
the project.
Project life cycle:
Project life cycle is defined by the processes a project has to go through the
development phase. The project life cycle will define the exact starting and ending point of
the project (Hobbs & Petit, 2017). It has been seen that each of the methodologies follow the
steps in the project life cycle.
Mapping of the waterfall methodology in project life cycle:

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In the project life cycle, there is a defined initialization step. In the waterfall method
there is an initialization step where the documentation of the requirements are done (Hiekata
et al., 2016). In the project life cycle there are definite steps for the planning and execution
of the project. Similarly, the planning and execution phase along with the testing and
deployment phase is present in the project life cycle.

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References
Adiga, S. K. (2019). Challenges faced by managers while migrating from waterfall to agile
methodology in service-based it companies in India (Doctoral dissertation, Dublin
Business School).
Harvie, D. P., & Agah, A. (2016). Targeted scrum: Applying mission command to agile
software development. IEEE Transactions on Software Engineering, 42(5), 476-489.
Hiekata, K., Mitsuyuki, T., Goto, T., & Moser, B. R. (2016, October). Design of Software
Development Architecture Comparison of Waterfall and Agile Using Reliability
Growth Model. In ISPE TE (pp. 471-480).
Hobbs, B., & Petit, Y. (2017). Agile methods on large projects in large organizations. Project
Management Journal, 48(3), 3-19.
López-Martínez, J., Juárez-Ramírez, R., Huertas, C., Jiménez, S., & Guerra-García, C. (2016,
April). Problems in the adoption of Agile-Scrum methodologies: A systematic
literature review. In 2016 4th International Conference in Software Engineering
Research and Innovation (CONISOFT)(pp. 141-148). IEEE.
ur Rehman, F., Maqbool, B., Riaz, M. Q., Qamar, U., & Abbas, M. (2018, April). Scrum
Software Maintenance Model: Efficient Software Maintenance in Agile Methodology.
In 2018 21st Saudi Computer Society National Computer Conference (NCC) (pp. 1-
5). IEEE.

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