Which life cycle is best for your project?
Here are some questions you need to get answers to before deciding on which life cycle method to use:
How stable are the requirements?
One of the biggest factors that dictate your choice of a life cycle method is the clarity and stability of the project requirements. Frequent changes in requirements after the project has started can derail your progress against the plan. In such cases, choose agile or iterative approach because each provides an opportunity for you to accommodate new requirements even after the project has started. On the other hand, if you are engaged in a more traditional project development where there is a stiff rule on ensuring complete set of requirements before going on to the next phase, waterfall would be your choice. However, such traditional projects are becoming less and less common as companies realize the benefits of using a more agile method of managing projects.
Who are the end-users of the system?
Spend some time to know the users and stakeholders. Who are they? Are they dispersed or controlled group? How can they influence the project? A controlled group of end-users who greatly influence the project can help you define requirements and manage changes. This means you can achieve stability on project requirements and allow you to use the waterfall approach.
On the other hand, if the end-users are dispersed, you are likely to have a wide range of requirements which you can’t define until the end-users have used the system and started requesting for new features. This situation is typical in product development. For example, Google started Gmail and all its products such as Google Docs, Calendar as BETA because they wanted to know the reactions of the end-users and improve the features based on their feedback. Microsoft, the developer of the world’s most popular software--Windows and Office--also applies agile in their development methodologies. Recently, the Microsoft Solution Framework (MSF) adopted the agile approach. According to MSF for Agile Software Development, “Small iterations allow you to reduce the margin of error in your estimates and provide fast feedback about the accuracy of your project plans. Each iteration should result in a stable portion of the overall system.” Microsoft and Google choose to be more agile because they have a very dispersed group of end-users.
Is the time line aggressive or conservative?
Experienced managers will solve aggressive time lines by negotiating and cutting down project deliverables. An iterative approach helps achieve this by giving opportunities to deliver partial functionalities early. This gives an impression that the project is delivering despite an aggressive time line--generally referred to as “quick wins.” While the overall project delivery is not shortened, there is an opportunity for you to satisfy your stakeholders by delivering key features that are necessary. If your project is not time- sensitive and end-users can wait for the release of the system, waterfall would be a workable approach.
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