Waterfall Method Research Paper

Gladwin Geevarghese
February 23, 2018
Foundations for Business Intelligence
Lesson 8 Assignment
Waterfall Method: The Waterfall Method is a progression of steps taken for the development of software, and was introduced by Winston Royce in 1970. It was the first process model to be used, and the use and understandability levels are very basic. It is often rumored to be a dying methodology due to more favorable methodologies taking over. While this may be true to some extent, it is important to understand that the Waterfall Method is situational and cannot be applied in all scenarios. “In the first stage, systems analysts document systems requirements in a document called the Requirements Analysis document. This document is “delivered” to the

A.), this methodology is being used as we transfer from Hyperion to OBIEE as a reporting tool. Since this effort is bank wide, and because there is a lack of ‘Agile’ implementation, the Waterfall method is being used. The requirements are laid out, with analysis and design being done to ensure that OBIEE meets the requirements. The testing phase uncovered several flaws with data mapping efforts which required the project to be taken back to the drawing board to ensure fixes. After going live, the database administration team perform ongoing maintenance and regularly scheduled service to ensure smooth functioning.
Agile Methods of Development: This methodology is newer than the Waterfall Method and is a “specific type of Rapid Application Development” (Lotz, Mary). Contrary to the progression-step approach of the Waterfall Method, Agile uses more of an incremental approach and acts as a solution to it predecessor. In this approach, developers split the project in smaller modules and work on it individually. Sprints are performed at a regular interval to measure progress, address challenges and run tests. The sprints help discover bugs, implement feedback, improve design and

Each of the methodologies is situational and it is critical to know when to pick one over the other. In comparison, the Agile Methodology prefers stakeholder involvement as it drives progression, while involvement in the Waterfall Method is somewhat limited. It is important to understand that increased interaction reduces risk as a whole. Change is welcome in the Agile methodology, but is often restricted within the Waterfall Method due to a predefined plan. If the scope is known ahead of time and well laid out, the Waterfall Method works better over the Agile. In a constantly evolving world, change is inevitable, so the project should be in a position to accommodate it. Synchrony and teamwork are an integral to Agile, however, interaction at the same level only happens in Waterfall when a handoff is happening. The Agile methodology seems to be the approach that is on the up and up, with more and more steering away from Waterfall. It requires an education on the strengths and weaknesses of each of the approaches, especially since there are scenarios where one may work better than the