Waterfall or Agile?
Since the first day that Agile was created, the argument between Agile and Waterfall has been never-ending. Some posts on LinkedIn recently argued that Waterfall is a better approach for some projects, like building a city.
To compare which one is better, we need to examine the assumptions of these two prominent approaches. So we can make our judgement in the context.
Waterfall With The Assumption of Certainty
The Waterfall approach assumes that we can thoroughly understand a problem and devise the best solution through upfront analysis and design. In situations where the problem is well-defined, and the solution is clear and deterministic, it can be an effective choice. For example, we can follow some best practices to build a bicycle in a sequential way.
But most of the problems we need to solve today are complicated and complex. In most cases, the assumption that we can understand the whole problem through a big upfront analysis and come out with the best solution through a big upfront design does not stand. Trying to solve it in that way will need great luck. Very often it won’t end well when it is too late to realise the mistakes.
So, the Waterfall approach won’t fit this complex situation. As the Cynefin model suggests, these types of problems are better suited for…
