Managing Project Development through Agile, Waterfall, and Hybrid Methodologies

A methodology defines the cadence and activities of your software project, directly impacting how you manage it.

Popularly used methodologies include Agile, Waterfall, and Hybrid, all of which offer unique advantages depending on the project.

Given the technicalities of these approaches, how do you determine which one is right for you? In this article, we will discuss the benefits, disadvantages, and case studies of these methodologies.

Defining Agile Methodology

Agile is a methodology that condenses the planning, design, development, testing, deployment, and review activities into short, incremental, and iterative cycles called sprints, which last from 1 to 4 weeks. It works best for projects where changes are expected or the scope is unclear. Agile uses the Agile Development Principles as a guide to establish customer satisfaction, teamwork, flexibility, and continuous improvement.

To uphold these principles, teams use Agile methodology tools like Jira or Trello. These tools manage workflows, ensure transparency, and enable teams to adapt to real-time changes. This enhances collaboration, keeps projects aligned with business objectives, and delivers continuous value throughout the development process.

Role of MVPs in Agile

An Agile MVP, or Minimum Viable Product, serves as a product’s prototype to gather user feedback for iterative development.

An example of this is Dropbox, which released a video as an MVP to explain its features and use cases to the public. This strategy increased Dropbox’s beta waiting list, from 5,000 to 75,000 overnight.

Another example is Facebook, the brainchild of Mark Zuckerberg. Initially, Zuckerberg released the website “Facemash” where campus students (who were the primary users) could post their photos and decide who was hot or not. This eventually became “Thefacebook” which was the company’s actual MVP for social networking. It was only launched in premier American universities Harvard, Stanford, Columbia, and Yale. After a successful year-long testing, the website became accessible to everyone.

These examples demonstrated the effectiveness of the MVP strategy and the value of customer insights in software development.

Benefits of the Agile Methodology

• Increased Project Performance Rate: Businesses that use an Agile project management approach report an overall project success rate of 75.4%. This is slightly higher than those that use predictive (74.4%) or hybrid (74.6%) methodologies. This improved performance can lead to higher ROI and greater resource efficiency.
• Better Alignment with Business Needs: Data from the 17th State of Agile Report suggests that 57% of project managers and consultants view Agile as a helpful tool to align their business requirements with project outcomes. This ensures that products meet customer expectations.
• Enhanced Flexibility and Adaptability: Agile methodologies allow teams to respond quickly to changes in project scope or market conditions, promoting continuous innovation.
• Improved Customer Satisfaction: The Agile approach prioritizes regular customer feedback throughout the development process to ensure that the final product meets customer requirements.

Disadvantages of the Agile Methodology

• Less predictability: Agile’s flexibility also means a much lower level of predictability. Teams not used to Agile often find it more difficult to accurately estimate timelines or quantify the resources and efforts required to complete a project.
• Greater time commitment: Communication and collaboration are great, but the level of interaction requires more time and energy for everyone on the team.
• More demanding on developers and clients: For Agile to be effective, the entire team must commit to it. Otherwise, the quality of the project suffers.
• Lack of necessary documentation: One of Agile’s core values is “Working software over comprehensive documentation.” This is often erroneously interpreted as a lack of documentation.
• Less structure: The less-structured nature of Agile can cause projects to get off track or run beyond the original scope of the project without careful project management.

Waterfall Methodology Explained

Waterfall is a linear project development methodology that has five phases: requirements, design, implementation, verification, and maintenance. It works best when the project scope is well-defined, and changes are expected to be minimal. Each phase must be completed before moving to the next. However, this linear structure means that addressing requirements gaps or scope changes becomes more expensive as the project progresses.

Benefits of the Waterfall Methodology

• Clear Planning: Waterfall has a clear set of plans for reaching objectives. This avoids confusion in project development. NASA’s flight control system for their helicopter, Ingenuity, is a good example of the methodology in action. NASA deemed the methodology a right fit as the development of the system needed detailed planning and strict adherence to the laws of Physics.
• Complete Documentation: Waterfall uses a well-defined set of project processes and documentation to give you a detailed overview of a project.
• Easy Tracking: Waterfall allows you to easily track the progress of your project and spot problems early on.
• Repeatable Process: If the process in a project is successful, you can apply the same to another project with similar needs.

Disadvantages of the Waterfall Methodology

• Slower Delivery of Projects: The delivery of the final output can be slower than usual because of the methodology’s inflexibility.
• Lack of Client Involvement: Waterfall typically has less frequent client interaction once the project is in progress. This can cause misalignment with the client’s expectations and needs.
• Difficulty Implementing Changes: The waterfall approach does not allow backtracking, which makes it difficult to implement changes.

Hybrid as an Alternative

The hybrid project management methodology combines Agile and Waterfall methodologies. This customizes the project management process based on the client’s requirements. The methodology balances the planning and documentation aspects of traditional project management methodologies (like Waterfall) with Agile’s continuous development and feedback phases.

While this Agile Waterfall hybrid can be an effective project management approach, it also has its unique challenges. For instance, using both methods can make project management tricky, as project managers need to grasp the details of each approach. Moreover, finding the right balance between Waterfall’s structured phases and Agile’s flexible cycles can confuse team members.

Despite these pitfalls, some companies still applied the approach to their projects. For instance, IBM used it to develop its cloud brokerage services. This allowed the company to retain a structured project plan while making changes and considering feedback during development.

Choosing the Best Methodology for Your Projects

Selecting the right project development methodology is essential to achieve successful projects like custom software development and cross-platform app development. When comparing Agile vs. Waterfall project management, Agile is ideal for dynamic projects as it is flexible and includes the client in every stage of development. On the other hand, Waterfall follows a structured approach making it ideal for clients who have definitive requirements. Meanwhile, the hybrid methodology is appropriate for clients who want a balance of both.

By presenting the strengths and weaknesses of each methodology, we hope that you can correctly choose the methodology that works well for your business.

If you wish to enhance your ability to implement any of these methodologies, contact Taazaa—a trusted software development company.