The Waterfall Methodology: Meeting Stakeholder and Customer Needs - Essay Sample

Introduction

The waterfall methodology is a linear management technique that focuses on stakeholders and customers' needs coming together at the beginning of the project. After taking into account these issues, a sequential project plan is developed that seeks to accommodate all the requirements. The approach is more applicable in industries such as IT, construction and software development. However, the term "Waterfall" is commonly mentioned in the context of software development. The model has about five to seven phases that one should follow strictly in a linear order (Lee, Wick, & Figueroa, 2018). A period cannot begin until the previous one has been completed. The steps are requirements, design, implementation, verification, and Maintainance.

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It is easy to understand the waterfall when it is compared with the other method, such as the agile approach. The difference between waterfall and agile is the linear action and customer involvement. In agile the process is nimble, iterative where the produces is deliver in stages for the customer to offer feedback. Instead of focusing on planning everything like waterfall agile focuses on the prioritization of tasks and completing them within a short window.

The Pros and Cons of the Approach

There are several reasons that managers opt to use these methods in the management of a project. The first reason is that stakeholders agree on the requirements in the early stage and precise scheduling made. Besides, with a clear project schedule helps one to provide an accurate estimation of the cost of the project and the resources that are required to meet the deadlines (Marchewka, 2016). Besides, the approach provides an easy way to measure that progress as one move through the stage. The last benefits are that customers do not keep on adding new aspects and delaying the project.

However, there are challenges with using this approach. One of the problems is that at times, it might be hard to articulate every aspect at the beginning of the project (Stoica et al., 2016). Besides, in the cases that the customer is not satisfied, it might be costly to restart the project. Therefore the approach is linear and lacks flexibility.

Although there are drawback waterfalls, the project management plan is quite effective in cases where one is dealing with the same situation. It is the right approach to project management.

References

Lee, D., Wick, C., & Figueroa, H. (2018). Applying Scrum Project Management Methods in Biomedical and Electrical and Computer Engineering Capstone Design Courses. https://peer.asee.org/applying-scrum-project-management-methods-in-biomedical-and-electrical-and-computer-engineering-capstone-design-courses.pdf

Marchewka, J. T. (2016). Information technology project management: Providing measurable organizational value. John Wiley & Sons. https://books.google.co.ke/books?hl=en&lr=&id=rsLlBQAAQBAJ&oi=fnd&pg=PR13&dq=Waterfall+Project+Management+&ots=9lwBcei_kh&sig=EHGROEKEvMs6fHjpKxcDmMbF_Ko&redir_esc=y#v=onepage&q=Waterfall%20Project%20Management&f=false

Stoica, M., Ghilic-Micu, B., Mircea, M., & Uscatu, C. (2016). Analyzing Agile Development-from Waterfall Style to Scrumban. Informatica Economica, 20(4). http://www.revistaie.ase.ro/content/80/01%20-%20Stoica,%20Ghilic,%20Mircea,%20Uscatu.pdf