Agile and Waterfall Methodology

Agile and waterfall methodology are the two most frequently used software development methodologies. Both have their own pros and cons and can be used depending upon the requirement of the project.

What is waterfall methodology: Waterfall Model methodology which is also known as Sequential Life Cycle Model. Waterfall Methodology is followed in sequence order, and so the project development team only moves to the next phase of development or testing if the previous step completed successfully.

What is Agile methodology: Agile methodology is a practice that helps continuous iteration of development and testing in the software development life cycle. In this model, development and testing activities are simultaneous, unlike the Waterfall model. This process allows for more communication between clients, developers, managers, and testers.

Advantages of waterfall methodology:

• It is one the easiest model to manage. Because of its nature, each phase has specific deliverables and then moves to the next phase.

• It works well for smaller size projects where requirements are easily understandable and clear.

• Faster delivery of the project

• The process and results are well documented. The documentation part is completed before the start of the development phase.

Advantages of Agile methodology:

• It is a focused client process. So, it makes sure that the client is continuously involved during every phase.

• Agile software development method assures that the quality of the development is maintained with the help of rigorous testing which is carried on simultaneously.

• The process is completely based on the step by step progress. The client and team know exactly what is complete and what is still pending. This reduces risk in the development process.

Waterfall vs Agile:

1. The software development process is divided into different phases and after completion of one phase only the next phase gets started in the Waterfall model while Agile methodology divides the project development lifecycle into sprints.

2. Waterfall is a structured software development methodology, and at times can be quite rigid, whereas the Agile methodology is known for its flexibility.

3. According to the Waterfall model, software development is to be completed as one single project, which is then divided into different phases, with each phase appearing only once during the SDLC. However, the Agile methodology can be considered as a collaboration of many different projects, which are nothing but the iterations of the different phases focusing on improving the overall quality with feedbacks from the Quality team.

4. All the project development phases such as designing, development, testing, etc are completed once in the Waterfall model while as part of the Agile methodology, they follow an iterative development approach.

5. One of the major differences between Agile and Waterfall development methodology is their individual approach towards quality and testing. In the Waterfall model, the “Testing” is done once all the development has been completed, but, in the Agile methodology, testing is typically performed concurrently