Plan the entire development cycle before you begin, or wing it as you go. Which is the better option? Confused?<\/p>\n
Choosing the right development methodology is a decision you need to take in the earliest stages of app development. Waterfall and Agile are the two most popular options and while they are so different from each other, most companies end up blurring the lines somewhere in the process. Not that there\u2019s anything wrong with that, in fact it\u2019s quite effective to take the best elements of each and come up with a unique hybrid methodology that combines agile and waterfall approaches<\/a> to work perfectly for your team and project. But understanding both Waterfall and Agile methodologies thoroughly and knowing the pros and cons of each will put you in a much better position to take the final call.<\/p>\n So let\u2019s take a look at each of the two separately and weigh in the pros and cons, so you can make a more informed decision about which development methodology you wish to adopt for your app project.<\/p>\n Essentially, the waterfall methodology<\/a> is a linear, sequential model with a clear path of events. The development process in a waterfall model follows static phases of conception, requirement analysis, design, implementation, testing, deployment and maintenance. Every phase is final and hard to retract. This means that the design must be complete and final before moving on to the implementation\/development stage. The defined phases don\u2019t overlap and the entire setup adheres to strict timelines.<\/p>\n Agile<\/a> is a more iterative methodology for application lifecycle management. Instead of doing all the planning at first and then executing to a set format, Agile process is rather flexible. It focuses on keeping the process lean and creating minimum viable products (MVPs) that go through a number of iterations before anything is final. Multiple phases of the development cycle can proceed parallel to each other and changes can be made at any stage. The impetus is on teamwork and collaboration. Feedback is gathered and implemented continually and in all, it is a much more dynamic process where everyone is working together towards one goal.<\/p>\n So as you saw, both Agile and Waterfall methods have their pros and cons. What you choose depends entirely on your project requirement and working style. Don\u2019t feel limited by the approaches though, as you can, by all means, mix up the two and create a custom solution. The idea is to have a methodology before you begin. So you could borrow the planned approach from waterfall and define phases, but still allow iterative testing throughout the process. That\u2019s just an example. Take the time to study your project requirement and think well about how you wish to proceed. Do share with us which one you prefer and why in the comments.Waterfall Methodology<\/h2>\n
Agile Methodology<\/h2>\n
Pros of Waterfall methodology<\/h2>\n
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Cons of Waterfall Methodology<\/h2>\n
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Pros of Agile Methodology<\/h2>\n
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Cons of Agile Methodology<\/h2>\n
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Conclusion<\/h2>\n
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