Difference between Agile and Waterfall project methodologies

Waterfall project management is a traditional model for developing engineering systems and is originally based on manufacturing and construction industry projects. When applied to software development, specialized tasks completed in one phase need to be reviewed and verified before moving to the next phase. It is a linear and sequential approach, where phases flow downward to the next.

Agile methodology is a type of incremental approach to software development based on principles that focuses more on people, results, collaboration, and flexible responses to change. Instead of planning for the whole project, it breaks down the development process in small increments completed in iterations, or short time frames. Each iteration includes all SDLC phases such that a working product is delivered at the end. After several iterations, a new or updated product is released.

Both methodologies can help developers produce high-quality software. Depending on the specific project requirement, knowing the difference between agile and waterfall can better equip a development team to choose the right process and methods in delivering a successful software project. Some of the distinct differences are:

As always, choosing which methodology Agile or Waterfall is right for each person’s project is entirely dependent on the nature of the project we have in mind and the culture and type of organization we work for.