Waterfall vs. Agile: Which is Best Fit for Your Project Management Strategy?

Waterfall - Plan it All Ahead, Execute it Step-by-Step

Waterfall is the Well-Known Project Management Methodology, nearly All Project Managers prefer to follow Waterfall Process, since it is easy to use and easy to track. As a Project Manager, you Plan the Project All Ahead and Execute it in a Sequential Manner, No Step is allowed to come before another.

Waterfall Project Management assumes Requirements are Well-Known, and Customers are not into requesting Major Changes. Waterfall, Classically called Software Development Life Cycle, inherited from Manufacturing into Software Industry. Waterfall Process start by Analyzing and Documenting Requirements to Design a Mockup Software, then Deployment and Testing, to finish by Delivery to Customer and Verification.

The main shortcoming of Waterfall Process is One Big Plan is prepared ahead of the Project, not allowing Changes, and Delivery of the Product at the End of Lifecycle, which introduces a High Risk of not delivering the Product requested by Customer, without intermediate Customer Validation.

Scrum - Frequent Iterations of Product Delivery to Customer Needs

Scrum is a Framework within Agile Mindset which proposes Process and Principles for Project Management. The Main Concept of Scrum is to Deliver Complex Projects Iteratively to Customer, Receive Customer Feedback to Improve Delivered Product.

Scrum Development Team is recognized as Small, Self-Organizing, Cross-Functional and Autonomous. Scrum Team needs to Breakdown Requirements into Tasks and Plan Sprint Activities into Sprint Backlog. To Track their Progress, Sprint Team hold Daily Scrum Meetings to Update the Status and Progress of Sprint Tasks to Facilitate the Creation of Burndown Charts, and Perform Retrospectives at End of each Sprint.

Scrum Product Owner is the Sole Person responsible to Manage Product Backlog. He is the Interface with Customer and Understand the Customer Needs and Value of Product. Product Owner Prioritizes the Product Backlog User Stories to best meet Customer Goals and Missions, and Effectively Optimizes Functional Product of Development Team.

Scrum defines a simple set of Roles, Events and Tools to enable Scrum Team to Efficiently, Iteratively and Incrementally deliver a Shippable Functionality.

Scrum Master is a Facilitator to Team and Coaches Scrum Team to be Self-Managed and Understand Scrum Theories, Practices, Rules and Guidelines. Scrum Master guides the Product Owner Find Techniques for Effective Product Backlog Management. Scrum Master Leads and Guides Organization in its Scrum Framework Adoption and Helps Stakeholders Understand the Value behind Scrum and Value of Functional Product and Share and Understand Progress through Charts and Reports.

Scrum does not fit neatly into Dynamic Creative and Strategic Agencies, where Fixed Budgets, Timelines and Scope form a burden to flexibility for Scrum Self-Managing Team.

Many agencies adopt Scrum Concepts and integrate Fixed Timeline, Budget and Scope Constraints into a Hybrid Project Management Approach - Small, Self-Organizing and Cross-Functional Teams with Daily Standup Meetings and Retrospectives.

PMBOK - Standardized Project Management Body of Knowledge

PMBOK Process is kind of Best Practices, rather than a methodology, which guides Project Management Processes as detailed in PMI-PMBOK. PMBOK is divided into Five Major Processes: 1. Initiation, 2. Planning, 3. Execution, 4. Monitoring & Control, and 5. Closure.

Each phase includes 10 key Knowledge Areas associated with successful Project Management: 1. Integration Management, 2. Scope Management, 3. Time Management, 4. Cost Management, 5. Quality Management, 6. HR Management, 7. Stakeholder Management, 8. Communication Management, 9. Risk Management, and 10 Procurement Management.

Time Management is the Most influential area of Project Management on Project Success, yet completing a Project respecting Schedule Constraint is still a daily challenge. The Project Management Triangle, consisting of Time, Cost and Quality represents a triple constraint for a Successful Project. Managing three areas of a Project leads to Project Success, however one can not achieve all three constraints.