Waterfall Lifecycle - Strengths & Weaknesses
Computer Science: OCR A Level, topic 2.3.3
Strengths and Weaknesses of the Waterfall Lifecycle
Different software development methodologies are suitable for different projects.
Merits of waterfall lifecycle
- The waterfall model is very easy to understand and follow and each stage can only be started when the previous one completes.
- Waterfall is very easy to manage as the team is only focusing on one stage at a time.
- Waterfall has fewer production issues during development due to the amount of time invested in user requirements, analysis and design.
Drawbacks of waterfall lifecycle
- Waterfall is inflexible and doesn’t cope with changing requirements part way through the project.
- This can cause delays and significant cost increases as additional work will be required.
- Waterfall doesn’t work very well for very complex or long term projects as it would take too long to get through each stage of the process.
Drawbacks cont.
- It can be very difficult or impossible for a project team to capture all of the user requirements in one go.
- Often the client doesn’t know what they want, and this would cause big issues for the rest of the process.
Usage
- Waterfall works well for small to medium projects.
- Waterfall is especially effective when the client has a very clear and precise picture of what they want to be developed.
Test yourself on Waterfall Lifecycle - Strengths & Weaknesses
Which project is most suited to using the waterfall lifecycle?