When you need to select Waterfall over Scrum

How many times have you asked this question yourself at the beginning of a project “Which development methodology or framework should we use?” Several methodologies and frameworks have always done the development of computer software and process system. Procedures use different frameworks to design, manage and control the development process. Often people assume Scrum is better than Waterfall because everyone else is doing it. If you are using this as a basis for doing Scrum, you will have to review your decision again. There are situations where a traditional process is more productive than using a Scrum framework. In this post, I am going to talk about when you need to select Waterfall over Scrum.

Waterfall

The Waterfall is linear and sequential, completing one activity before the other action starts. The functional style of Waterfall breaks up the work into:

1. Collect and record requirements.
2. Plan and design.
3. Perform testing.
4. Deliver the completed product.

It’s a good idea to use Waterfall if:

1. The project’s Scop and budget are fixed, and you are not expecting any changes.
2. The project is simple and straight forward.
3. Stakeholders know what they want.
4. Requirements are understood very well,
5. You don’t need customer feedback.

Scrum

Scrum is a project management framework that emphasises collaboration, transparency and iterative progression towards a well-defined goal. The Scrum is used to manage, create, and produce the project on schedule. Scrum is not one size fits all and never will be; it’s a wise decision to use Scrum if:

1. The project requirements change frequently.
2. You must deliver the product regularly.
3. The team has self-organising skills.
4. Timing and resources are matters.
5. During development, the chance of changes is high.

Conclusion

The opposites of Scrum and Waterfall are such that it is impossible to tell which one is better. It depends on the project, the complexity of the project and the clarity of requirements.

If you know what the end product is, and without any changes, the requirements are fixed, and you are working on a reasonably easy project, then your best option is the Waterfall; otherwise, your best choice is Scrum.

Once we have determined which approach to using, we can further customise the process to better suit our project goal. While the way we do our job is meaningful, what matters is to produce a sustainable and robust product that satisfies our customers.

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