?? Agile vs Waterfall… Choosing the Best for Your Business

With 89% of organizations integrating a digital-first business approach (or intending to), the main question for project leaders is: which method should they use to deploy and streamline each solution? And while there are multiple processes for businesses to pick from, it usually comes down to two primary candidates—the waterfall methodology and agile development. ?

Agile vs Waterfall?

Waterfall vs agile, while similar in the sense both map out projects in clearly defined stages and help eliminate IT burnout, the two strategies have specific differences…??

Agile Deployment: Agile Development is an iterative (repetitive) approach to technology development that rapidly and comprehensively nurtures applications' delivery from start to finish—including deploying updates, merging legacy systems, and monitoring security threats.??

Instead of simply assigning tasks and timetables, agile development places projects into “sprints,” each with a defined term and a running list of deliverables prepared by business value. Sprints — short bursts of intense development work — activities consist of:?

• Sprint planning??
• Solution development?
• Software testing?
• Documenting and packaging changes?
• Deploying project iterations?
• Customer’s feedback?
• Team retrospective, in search of continuous improvement opportunities?

Did you know? The scrum strategy is possibly the most familiar form of agile development as it provides repetitive upgrades and repairs through trained scrum teams.?

5 Advantages of Agile:?

1. High Employee Engagement/Transparency: Agile development experts work with teams to provide detailed reports and incorporate staff during every step. Upgrading, monitoring, and active feedback with the agile teams raise staff awareness and engagement so you can deliver more secure, high-performance software.?
2. Fast Deployment: By utilizing fixed sprints, agile updates and deploying legacy and new solutions fast and securely. This allows teams to release and beta test software earlier and measure business value to see if it is worth further investing.?
3. Cost-Effective Models: Since agile sprints follow a fixed schedule, the cost is typically predictable. Combined with accurate estimates before each sprint, teams can quickly break down feature costs.??
4. Real Business/User Value: By enabling staff to schedule sprint priorities, agile experts apply what is essential and first deploy the most essential features. Your team can also review user history to explore product features and focus on real users' needs/experiences. ?
5. Secure By Design Solutions: By continuously updating, testing, and monitoring applications and technologies, agile teams help provide businesses with clarity on any security holes or vulnerabilities within their infrastructure.???

Why Choose Agile? ?

More teams are making the transition to agile for its business transparency and ability to revisit/upgrade past deployments. Agile also helps teams deal with a lot of the negative project planning steps (e.g., scheduling, project scope & budget). By monitoring new solutions and legacy systems, agile streamlines objectives in a business-focused manner.?

The Waterfall Approach: Compared to agile, waterfall is a more rigid approach to software development that follows defined stages…?

• Organize requirements?
• Develop the solution?
• Unit/coding testing?
• Testing system performance?
• ?(UAT) User Acceptance Testing?
• Fix issues/review results??
• Deploy solution?

In waterfall, each development phase typically finishes before the next one starts.? If the project timeline is fixed and cannot be moved, Waterfall will offer a more predictable outcome. This structure is suited to smaller projects with deliverables that are easy to define from the start.?

?5 Benefits of the Waterfall Method:?

1. Straightforward Project Structures: The waterfall approach uses clear, defined steps to allow straightforward, cost-effective models. The fact teams must complete steps before moving on helps fully develop each phase and prevents roadblocks.?
2. Easy-to-Use Systems: Unlike most methods, waterfalls enable staff to access and supervise systems anytime. Waterfall’s user-friendly accessibility makes it an extremely intuitive, user-friendly system, especially since its structures encourage team consistency.??
3. Concise Project Timelines: Waterfall’s development cycles follow stringent project timelines. Every phase provides a clearly defined start and ends for teams making it easier for supervisors to manage progress and ensure tasks are completed as anticipated.??
4. Reinforced Security/Testing Routines: Waterfall’s model uses an outlined strategy that includes outlined testing steps. These scheduled tests permit teams to understand and prioritize best practices into solutions prior to work and create a disciplined strategy that supports proper security habits.?
5. Direct Goals/Deadlines: One of the main benefits of the waterfall approach is that it commits to pre-determined goals that staff strive to accomplish. These clear goals mean teams focus on the details of daily activities without getting overwhelmed by everything needed in the big picture.??

Why Choose Waterfall??

Many businesses prefer waterfall project management because it's straightforward, clearly defined project outlines/structures. Managers especially like the waterfall approach for smaller projects because it produces minimal surprises and allows them to rapidly communicate project details.?

In Conclusion: Agile vs Waterfall – How to Choose the Best for YOUR BUSINESS???

By choosing the agile approach , staff gain full transparency on every implementation stage and can rest with the realization they have truly delivered customers real value to keep networks/solutions updated around the clock. For clearly defined tasks that require little maintenance, teams can look to the traditional waterfall approach, where they will also have clarity on progress and timelines.???

Determining how much a project requires continuous evolution and monitoring after deployment can be difficult for businesses. And while in the past it’s worked launching new technology and letting operate on a few occasional updates, today’s digital environment has made constant surveillance of systems and networks necessary, especially for cybersecurity purposes. Consulting with an expert before starting projects is always encouraged for complete clarity on which technologies need monitoring/safeguarding.?