What Is the Waterfall Methodology in Project Management?

Waterfall methodology is a popular project management option that takes a linear, step-by-step approach.

Are you a manager or company leader looking for a way to keep your team focused on moving a project forward? Many possibilities are worth considering, and you'll find plenty of software options to mull over. 

Waterfall methodology is the oldest formal project management framework used today. Dr. Winston Royce created it in 1970 after studying construction and manufacturing firms. Below, we'll discuss the Waterfall methodology and how you can use it for your business.

Phases of the Waterfall methodology model

Waterfall methodology uses five distinct phases that are repeatable for each project on your team. 

1. Requirements

Think of this as the planning stage. Teams, including the customer, outline a project's high-level goals and requirements. For example, your goal might be to create a 30-page custom website in three months. 

2. Design

Once the project goals are in place, you'll design the steps and tools you need to get there by developing a Waterfall strategy. For instance, you determine that the 30-page custom website must load fast, be accessible, and handle many embedded videos for product and service demonstrations. Therefore, your team decides to use a particular content management system (CMS) that supports the high-level user experience needed to achieve these goals.

3. Implementation

Implementation covers the bulk of the project activity. In this phase, everyone works on dedicated tasks determined from phase one and phase two. Time-tracking is vital during the implementation phase of Waterfall methodology to ensure everyone stays on task. For that custom website, a team will need to make a wireframe of the site, add design elements and content, and develop it on a live server.

4. Verification/testing

Once the project is ready to go live, your QA team tests it to see how it's running. This is your final step before making it live. With a new website build, QA team members look for page load speed, buttons that work, colors aligning correctly, videos loading as they should, and typos in copy. Every QA finding is documented so it can be corrected.

5. Deployment and maintenance

Congratulations! Your project is ready to go to the customer. You deliver it to the client, and it's in great shape. You may have to perform maintenance on your deliverable as it evolves and is used. In our example, websites may need plugins updated in a few months, or new software is released and upgrades become available.

Waterfall methodology advantages

Waterfall methodology offers several benefits with clearly defined deliverables.

• Easy to understand from one stage to the next.

• Scalable across any type of project or team in your company.

• Uncomplicated document completion stages and deliverables.

• Straightforward time management and tracking.

• Easy to arrange tasks within the project scope and goals.

• Great for small budgets and simple projects, but can be expanded as sub-projects of a larger one.

Waterfall methodology disadvantages

Although it's easy to understand and widely used, the Waterfall methodology has some disadvantages:

• Not the best for long-running or complex projects, although agile project management tools can help.

• Deliverables and viable end products may not occur until the very last stage of the project.

• Measuring progress within stages may be difficult without time-tracking software. 

• Changing requirements or unforeseen problems may derail a project, causing delays.

• Uncertainty can cause delays or work stoppages.

• Does not work well when changes occur within a project.

When to use the Waterfall methodology

The best projects for the Waterfall methodology are clearly defined with understood requirements and definite deadlines. It's great for low-risk, technology-based projects with well-known tools and tech, such as software and app development. 

Projects that see great results with Waterfall include:

• Computer programming

• Website design

• Marketing campaigns

• Manufacturing

• Construction

• Production work

Agile vs. Waterfall methodology

The differences between Agile and Waterfall methodologies are subtle yet important. Agile typically has several delivery phases before the final product is finished, and the customer is heavily involved in every stage. 

Waterfall methodology usually involves the customer only at the beginning and end, or at most after each phase. The product is delivered in the final stage.

Agile allows teams to make changes on the fly when needed, while Waterfall is less adaptable when things go out of process. Furthermore, some projects can run concurrently within an Agile framework, with fewer dependencies on task completion compared to Waterfall.