Essay Sample on Waterfall PM: Linear Approach, Strict Use, Proven Results

Introduction

Waterfall project management methodology employs a linear or sequential approach to software development. It comprises various discrete stages whereby no phase commences until the previous step is complete as it does not allow a return to the preceding stage. The methodology tends to be highly demanded hence very strict in its use. The waterfall methodology approach dates back to non-software industries, for example, construction and manufacturing, whereby in the field project phases must be undertaken sequentially as it is impossible to return to a prior period (Pathak and Saxena, 2018). For instance, you cannot be able to un-pour a concrete foundation.

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Findings

Adequate planning must be undertaken for the approach to be useful as the project requirements must be precise, and each involved individual well informed about the conditions. Team members must clearly understand the role they play in the projects and what the role entails. Important information needs to be adequately documented and presented to each member of the project, for example, outlining the information in a flowchart to make it easier for the team members to understand and make references when needed quickly. Detailed documentation is essential for the waterfall methodology. It should be done at each phase by ensuring that each individual is actively involved despite the sequential progression of the existing project.

Specific phases are involved in the method, and it includes:

Requirement gathering and documentation

The phase entails gathering adequate and comprehensive information about the project's requirements by conducting interviews and questionnaires. The conditions should be clear and distributed to team members.

System Design

Using the gathered information and requirements m, the team members design the system, and they establish various specs like hardware requirements and programming language to be used.

Implementation

The phase involves coding, and programmers use the available information from the prior stage as they create a functional product. They implement the codes which are integrated at the end of the phase.

Testing

Once coding is complete, testing of the created product commences, and testers have to find and report any problem found categorically. In case any serious problem is realized, then there is a need to return to the previous phase for the reevaluation process.

Delivery Phase

It is a phase when the product is complete, and the team has to submit deliverables to be deployed.

Maintenance

It is a stage when the product is delivered and used by the client, and if any issues arise, the team has to create patches, if emotional issues exist, then there is a need to return to the first stage.

Role of Waterfall approach in business intelligence

The traditional waterfall approach is essential in business intelligence in various ways. In the commencement of the project, the business analyst has to be involved in the creation of the business case. The skill entails problem analysis, goals and objectives definition, and cost-benefit analysis. For business intelligence in the analysis phase, business analysts have responsibilities in the initial creation of the requirements, and the analysts must capture, clarify, and confirm the identified needs (Zamli and Mat Isa, 2016). Data models and processes are typical of the waterfall methodology and therefore enhance overall communication between the various team members. As a result, it leads to early identification of possible problems and areas. In the design stage, a business analyst with various experts tends to define solutions transition requirements and possible technical specifications.

The role of the waterfall approach is clearly defined primarily in the analysis phase of a project. For instance, it is possible to identify most stakeholders' requirements as the business analyst interprets the solution requirements during the design stage.

Any business analyst must ensure requirement management and the requirements need to be traced back to challenges throughout the data models and project artifacts. It is evident that requirement management is required in the waterfall methodology which tends to be very high and necessary in dealing with the cost-effective scenario with possible changes in the requirement in the process of the project Testing is not recognized. Still, the responsibility is assigned to the business analyst as no one understands the elements of the business analyst. Therefore different skills are required to verify and validate the effectiveness of the delivered software as per the community needs and tastes. With the use of the waterfall methodology, it ensures that proper documentation is maintained for future reference. The waterfall approach is applied in business intelligence since business analysts analyze stakeholders and business needs expressed in natural models or language, which is similar to the one used in the design system of the waterfall approach.

Conclusion

Waterfall project management methodology is a linear, sequential process used in project development and entails discrete stages that must be followed and completed as each stage tends to be terminal. Proper planning must be ensured, and each team member must be well informed of their roles to perform and provided with adequate documents for references. The waterfall approach plays a critical role in business intelligence, especially in any project analysis phase. In the waterfall methodology, a clear definition of the stakeholder's requirements is made, and in connecting the business, analysts must define the solution requirements during the design stage. Also, the business analyst analyzes stakeholders' needs, which are expressed in natural language and models.

References

Pathak, S. and Saxena, P., 2018. Hybrid Methodology Involving Scrum and Waterfall Model towards the Software Project Development in Academic Knowledge Centers. International Journal of Evaluation and Research in Education (IJERE), 1(1).

Zamli, K. and Mat Isa, N., 2016. Enacting the Waterfall Software Development Model Using VRPML. Jurnal Teknologi, 43(1).