5 reasons why Agile beats Waterfall

Agile vs Waterfall has been a debate that has often been raised in the business world. While the drawbacks of waterfall methodology led to the birth of Agile, a sizable percentage of the masses still believe that waterfall is better than agile.

To dispel this myth, we’re writing this blog post- 5 reasons why Agile is better than Waterfall.

Before we get to the heart of the blog post, let’s do a quick revision.

What is Agile?

Agile is a time-bound agile project management methodology that follows an iterative approach that builds software in increments from the start till the completion of the project.

It breaks down the larger project into phases and then builds the requirements in timeboxed iterations which typically last 2-4 weeks.

Benefits of Agile

The benefits of Agile have made its adoption increasingly prominent. It increased from 37% in 2020 to 86% in 2021.

  • Excellent product quality
  • Customer satisfaction is high
  • Overall control
  • Reduced risks
  • Enhanced flexibility
  • Steady and fast improvement

What is Waterfall Methodology ?

Waterfall methodology is project management methodology where the project is divided into separate phases. Each phase begins with the completion of the deliverables of the previous phase like coding, testing, and design.

Benefits of Waterfall

  • Transparent structure
  • End goal is decided early
  • Information transfer is done well

Difference between Agile and Waterfall Methodologies

AgileWaterfall
It breaks down the project into short iterations called SprintsThe development cycle is broken down into different phases
It has an incremental approachWaterfall has a sequential design process
It delivers frequently so that the feedback could be gathered fasterThe Waterfall is a structured development methodology hence it is rigid
Agile has mobility and is a set of numerous different projectsThe Software development process happens in one single cycle
Agile is flexible and accommodates changes even after the primary planningNot possible to add features once the development process begins
Agile follows a repetitive pattern where planning, development, and prototyping and other activities happen more than onceKey processes like testing, designing, and development happen once

5 reasons why Agile is better than Waterfall

It’s now time to finally unveil the heart of this blog post. Learn the 5 reasons why Agile is better than waterfall.

1. Less room for error

Waterfall is highly dependent on the primary requirements. If these requirements aren’t documented properly or are lost in translation, then things will be difficult to complete. This isn’t the case with Agile as the requirements are thoroughly checked.

2. Offers flexibility

Waterfall model is rigid and doesn’t offer any flexibility. Making changes is next to impossible. In Agile, Minimum Viable Product (MVP) is built which the customer can see and decide if the product is up to their expectations.

Waterfall doesn’t allow this. The customer has to express all their requirements in the beginning itself.

3. Predictability is high

If the product requirements aren’t documented properly, then the outcome won’t be satisfactory. The testing happens in the end which requires more time and money to make changes which have to be borne by the customer.

In Agile, the working product is built and testing is carried out regularly. The client is involved in every stage of the project which makes it easy to collect the feedback. This is possible without overriding the budget.

4. Accommodates customer needs

Waterfall falls short in accommodating the evolving needs of the customer. The client is not a part of the feedback process which makes it tough to receive an outcome that meets expectations. Agile is designed to accommodate the changing needs of the customer.

5. Customer is kept in the progress loop

Waterfall mandates all the customers to specify their requirements at the beginning itself. They are left out of the development process and can only see the final product.

Agile keeps the customers in loop at every step of the project. The client can easily review and suggest changes which can be made without much difficulties.

Why should you choose Agilemania As Your Training Partner?

Agilemania as a platform evolves out of the passion for agile and the training of the founding members for whom customer satisfaction is paramount.

The coaches at Agilemania have deep expertise in driving Agile Transformation with prominent companies in Banking & Insurance, Telecom, Manufacturing, Retail, Electricals, FMCG, Oil & Gas, Auditing, and the like.

Over the years, Agilemania has emerged as the trusted brand for agile coaching and consulting in South and Southeast Asia. In addition, Agilemania is gaining a reputation for stellar performance in the US and Europe.

We provide customized solutions for special problems. We believe every industry and company is unique, and hence there’s no one-size-fits-all solution.

All members of Agilemania are lifelong practitioners, and their expertise is derived from long hours of consulting experience. The empowering hours of working with individuals and organizations willing to be part of the grind results in marvelous transformation.

The time and investment to formally train in coaching, mentoring, and leadership models set us apart.

Agile Manifesto is the base, and as it reads, we believe in doing and helping others learn to do it.

Since its inception, Agilemania has come a long way by becoming the trusted partner for 100s of organizations and 1000s of individuals. Another feather in the cap is the 4.9 Trustpilot training for Agilemania and the coaches.

Leave a Comment