The main goal of project management is to complete a project’s goals and deliverables successfully. There are countless benefits to using project management software. Over the last few years, it has represented methodology, paper, and pencil.
There are two distinct types of project management: agile project management and waterfall methodology. The most crucial factor to remember when managing agile projects is continuous attention to technical excellence and sound design. Both are favored in software development, but each is best suited for various projects.
In recent years, institutions have made a robust and concerted push to shift to a more agile project management framework from the conventional waterfall standard.
What Is Waterfall Methodology?
The waterfall model divides project activities into sequential cycles, each of which is dependent on the outputs of the previous one and corresponds to task specialization. This method is standard in some parts of engineering design.
When guided by the waterfall methodology, every process should flow into the next. Before a new stage begins, your team must complete the previous phase.
The waterfall model typically has five stages: analysis, design, implementation, testing, and finally, operation. This type of project management is not recommended when the requirements of a project are ever-changing or evolving. This process model is linear and does not leave room for flexibility.
Experts recommend using the waterfall methodology when a project has definite timelines and well-defined deliverables. This type of project management focuses more on the process and how to move efficiently.
Consider the pros and cons when deciding on this form of project management. Pro: Ensuring designs are finalized before the commencement of the project will ensure better quality. Con: Customers don’t always know what they want right from the start.
What Is Agile Project Management?
Agile project management involves planning and guiding projects in shorter cycles called sprints or iterations. In this project management style, activities like developing and testing are concurrent.
This process allows customers, developers, managers, and testers to communicate more. Agile project management will follow an incremental approach. It is often thought of as a collection of various projects.
Agile project management is flexible, allowing changes to be made as needed. Like in the waterfall method, there are pros and cons to be considered.
While the product may get to the general market faster, your teams may be distracted easily without the well-defined processes. With agile project management, customer satisfaction comes first.
Agile project management is best used when the product’s end goal or features are not clearly defined. Because agile management is flexible, adjustments to requirements and priorities can create a better outcome.
Although there are numerous advantages of agile project management, there are key disadvantages too. Long-term projects may suffer due to incremental delivery. Long-term project development can be more challenging with Agile because there is no formal design phase.
Project management and resources can make all the difference to the success of your projects. So, waterfall methodology or agile project management, the choice is yours.
