ITC505: Agile Scrum vs. Waterfall Methodologies & Project Lifecycle

This report defines project methodology and its role in project management, comparing and contrasting Agile Scrum and Waterfall methodologies. It highlights the differences in their life cycles, flexibility, and applicability to different project sizes. Agile Scrum is characterized by sprints, flexibility, and user-centricity, while Waterfall follows a sequential, stage-based approach. The report also illustrates how Agile Scrum aligns with the project life cycle, emphasizing goal setting, planning, execution, and evaluation. Conversely, it shows how Waterfall integrates with the System Development Life Cycle (SDLC), involving requirement definition, design, building, testing, implementation, and maintenance. The report concludes by referencing relevant sources.

Project management methodology

PROJECT MANAGEMENT METHODOLOGY
1
Contents
Task 1.........................................................................................................................................2
Definition of project methodology.........................................................................................2
Role of methodology in project management........................................................................2
Task 2.........................................................................................................................................2
Types of project methodologies.............................................................................................2
Compare and contrast the agile scrum and waterfall processes.............................................2
Task 3.........................................................................................................................................3
Agile scrum with project life cycle........................................................................................3
Waterfall with SDLC..............................................................................................................3
References..................................................................................................................................5

PROJECT MANAGEMENT METHODOLOGY
2
Task 1
Definition of project methodology
The term methodology refers to the technique which is used in the field of project
management for designing, developing and implementing the various kinds of projects in
industry. The use of project methodology is growing rapidly and many companies use this
process for completing their projects with better outcomes (Kerzner, 2019). It is observed that
the project methodology is a combination of the various kinds of logic, processes, techniques
and practices that identify the best approach for completing the project within the assigned
deadline. However, it is defined as the model that evaluates the best process for designing
and implementing projects in the organization.
Role of methodology in project management
The project methodology is a process which is used by the project managers in order
to arrange, design and implement the projects. The term methodology plays a significant role
in the area of project management because it helps the management team to complete projects
and achieve their goals and aims in less time (Hermano, & Martín-Cruz, 2019). However, it
has the potential to improve the efficiency and performance of the projects due to which
many companies and industries use project methodologies for implementing their projects.
Task 2
Types of project methodologies
 Agile XP
 PRINCE2
 Unified process
 Waterfall
 Agile scrum
Compare and contrast the agile scrum and waterfall processes
The agile scrum is one of the best methodologies that provide consistent life cycle and
testing the development of software. The waterfall methodology does not provide a consistent
life cycle and it can be used to achieve dependencies. In the case of the agile process the
project is divided into numbers of sprints but in the waterfall the project is categorized into

PROJECT MANAGEMENT METHODOLOGY
3
different kinds of stages. In terms of flexibility, it is observed that the agile scrum is more
flexible and reliable but waterfall process is less flexible due to which many companies adopt
agile scrum process (Bjørn, Søderberg, & Krishna, 2019).
However, the key similarity between these methodologies is that both agile scrum and
waterfall techniques follow the project life cycle and system development life cycle in order
to implement projects. The agile scrum process may increase stress in fixed price cases but
the waterfall process reduce risks and stress in both fixed and non-fixed contracts by taking
agreement from the customer. The main advantage of the agile scrum is that it is dedicated to
the user’s process but the waterfall process does not focus on the customer requirements
(Mahalakshmi, & Sundararajan, 2013). The agile scrum technique cannot be used for the
small projects in companies but the waterfall technique can be used for both small and
medium projects. It is analysed that the waterfall is less effective methodology but agile
scrum is a more effective technique.
Agile scrum Waterfall
It converts the project into sprints It converts the project into stages
More flexible Less flexible
Take less time Take more time
Cannot be used for small projects Can be used for small projects
It is a collection of numbers of plans It contains only a single project plan
Task 3
Agile scrum with the project life cycle
The project life cycle can be implemented with the help of agile scrum methodology
and it has the ability to improve efficiency and performance of the project. Mainly, it
involved major five steps for completing a project, for example, project goals, plan,
execution, close project and evaluate the project. In which the project manager defines the
goals and objectives of the project after that they plan the project as per the customer
requirement (Muntean, & Surcel, 2013). In the third stage of the project life cycle the project
manager executes project by using agile scrum process that divides the project into numbers
of sprints. In the fourth stage, the management team complete the project in the given time

PROJECT MANAGEMENT METHODOLOGY
4
and check the quality of the project in order to avoid errors. In the last stage, the management
team evaluate and analysis the complete project with key findings.
Figure: Agile scrum with the project life cycle
(Source: Muntean, & Surcel, 2013).
Waterfall with SDLC
The waterfall method follows the system development life cycle in order to achieve
the objectives of the project. Such kind of process divide project into major six stages, for
example, defines requirements, design, build, test, implement and maintenance. The project
manager initially defines complete requirements and transfer to the team for designing the
project as per the requirement. After that, the development team build and test the project
with the help of the waterfall process (Mahadevan, Kettinger, & Meservy, 2015).
Furthermore, the implementation and maintenance steps are involved in order to improve the
performance of the project and reduce errors.
Figure: Waterfall process with SDLC

PROJECT MANAGEMENT METHODOLOGY
5
(Source: Mahadevan, Kettinger, & Meservy, 2015)

PROJECT MANAGEMENT METHODOLOGY
6
References
Bjørn, P., Søderberg, A. M., & Krishna, S. (2019). Translocality in global software
development: The dark side of global agile. Human-Computer Interaction, 34(2),
174-203.
Hermano, V., & Martín-Cruz, N. (2019). Expanding the Knowledge on Project Management
Standards: A Look into the PMBOK® with Dynamic Lenses. In Project Management
and Engineering Research, 12(2), 19-34.
Kerzner, H. (2019). Using the project management maturity model: strategic planning for
project management. Wiley.
Mahadevan, L., Kettinger, W. J., & Meservy, T. O. (2015). Running on Hybrid: Control
Changes when Introducing an Agile Methodology in a Traditional" Waterfall" System
Development Environment. CAIS, 36(5), 5.
Mahalakshmi, M., & Sundararajan, M. (2013). Traditional SDLC Vs Scrum Methodology–A
Comparative Study. International Journal of Emerging Technology and Advanced
Engineering, 3(6), 192-196.
Muntean, M., & Surcel, T. (2013). Agile BI-The Future of BI. Informatica Economica, 17(3),
10-12.