ITC 505 ICT Project Management: Agile vs. Waterfall Methodologies

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ITC 505: ICT PROJECT MANAGEMENT ASSESSMENT ITEM 1
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Contents
1. Define what a methodology is and the role it serves in project management.............................3
2. Analyze the similarities and dissimilarities between Agile and waterfall...................................4
3. Identify how chosen methodologies/processes in 2 relate to the project life cycle (PLC)..........5
References........................................................................................................................................7
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1. Define what a methodology is and the role it serves in project management.
The methodology is the theoretical and systematic methods’ analyses which are applied to the
study field. It is the system of various rules and principles from which the particular procedures
or methods can be derived for solving and interpreting the numerous problems within the
particular discipline scope. A methodology is a model in which are employed by the project
managers for designing, implementation, planning, and achievement of the project objectives.
The methodologies are of great importance in project management as it enables the delivery
organization in tackling the projects systematically, comprehensively, and in an integrated
manner for the acceptable risks. By choosing the appropriate project management methodology,
the needs of stakeholders are defined;estimation regarding the costs is accurate, credible and
complete. At the level of tactical, off-site managers are allowed by the methodology to have
confidence in status assessment’s validity. Problems and corrections can be recognized early
whether related to the business case, or the business requirements. Helps in managing and
minimizing the risks of the project, organizing the time of the project, and improves the cost-
benefit relationship of resources. It helps in quick learning of lessons and solutions can be
implemented quickly. Most of the conflicts are spotted and are resolved at the early stage
(Keleckaite. and Meiliene, 2015).
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2. Analyze the similarities and dissimilarities between Agile and waterfall.
There are various differences and similarities between the waterfall methodology and agile
methodology which are described as below-
 In the waterfall methodology, the processes of developing the software are divided into
numerous phases while in methodology of agile, project development life cycle is
segregated into sprints.
 The waterfall is the structured and rigid software development methodology while the
methodology of agile is known for its flexibility.
 All the phases of the project are completed at a time in an iterative model of waterfall
whereas;an iterative development approach is followed in agile.
 Participation of customers is not required in a waterfall approach due to the internal
process whereas; the focus of agile methodology is on clients satisfaction and make them
involved to participate in the development process.
 As per the agile methodology, testing is usually performed in correspondence with the
programming. In the waterfall, after the build phase, the testing phase comes.
 Waterfall model is a rigorously sequential process whereas the methodology of agile is a
highly collaborative pITC505 - ICT PROJECT MANAGEMENT ASSESSMENT
ITEM 1rocess of developing the software (Kukhnavets, 2016).
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3. Identify how chosen methodologies/processes in 2 relate to the project life cycle (PLC).
Waterfall model is a process of developing the software in a linear and defined sequential flow
and is termed as Linear- Sequential life cycle model. It consists of different stages which include
the following-
 Requirement Analysis- in this phase, all the requirements of the system which is going
to be developed are identified and their documentation are done in specified documents
after analyzing the requirements.
 System design- the designing of the system is done after analyzing the requirements of
first phase. The requirements of hardware and system are specified through this system
design which helps in defining the architecture of the overall system.
 Implementation- By taking the inputs of the system design, firstly the system is
developed in small programs which are known as units, which are then integrated into the
next phase.
 Integration and Testing- the testing of the entire system is made after its integration.
 System Deployment – Before releasing the system in the market, the system deployment
is conducted in the customer environment after its functional testing and non-functional
testing.
 Maintenance-To fix the issues that emerges in the client environment, patches are
released. For delivering changes in the environment of the customer, maintenance is done
(Bassil, 2012).
There are six stages of the agile development life cycle-
 Scope out and priorities the project- Develop the initial version, consider the project
feasibility
 Diagram requirements for the initial sprint- Active participation of stakeholders, team
building, initial architecture envisioning, set up the environment
 Iteration or construction- the working system is delivered for meeting the stakeholders
changing needs (Conforto, &Amaral, 2016).
 Iteration of release into production
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 Production and ongoing support for the release of the software- operate, support the
system and identify the defects
 Retirement- remove system data conversion final version (Sharma.et.al, 2012)
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References
 Bassil, Y. (2012). A simulation model for the waterfall software development life
cycle. arXiv preprint arXiv:1205.6904.
 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.
 Keleckaite. M., and Meiliene. E., (2015). The Importance of Project Management
Methodologies and Tools in Non-Governmental Organizations: Case Study of Lithuania
and Germany. PM World Journal.Vol. IV, Issue VII.
 Kukhnavets. P., (2016). Agile vs Waterfall: Pros and Cons, Differences and Similarities.
[online]. Hanttpro. Available at: https://blog.ganttpro.com/en/waterfall-vs-agile-with-
advantages-and-disadvantages/. [Accessed on 23 March 2019]
 Sharma, S., Sarkar, D., & Gupta, D. (2012). Agile processes and methodologies: A
conceptual study. International journal on computer science and Engineering, 4(5), 892.
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