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AGILE VS WATERFALL METHODOLOGY: A COMPARITIVE STUDY
AGILE VS WATERFALL METHODOLOGY: A COMPARITIVE STUDY
Software development methodology is used for the proper development of their product within the required time and cost. To achieve good quality of the product every software company requires well defined methodology. Software Development Life Cycle is the sequence of activities which is used for the software development (Mike McCormick, 2012). Basically it consists of four steps they are Requirement analysis, Design, Implementation, testing and maintenance. Let us consider Waterfall and Agile Software Development Life Cycle with its pro’s and con’s which is frequently used in all software development process.
WATERFALL METHODOLOGY:
Waterfall model is a traditional approach which consists of all the basic steps of the software development life cycle (Base36). It is the linear and the sequential approach to develop the software. In this method, each process should be completed before it is starting the next phase. So there is no way of going back to the completed process. From the name itself it can be understood that there is no possible way to go back to the completed phase. This way of software development life cycle is known as the classic life cycle model. In this model the output of the previous phase is considered as an input for the next phase.
The phases of waterfall model are (DR.Seema Verma 2014),
• Requirement phase
• Design phase
• Implementation Phase
• Integration and Testing phase
• Operation and maintenance phase
Requirement phase:
This phase is the most important phase which is used to gather all the requirements of the user. This phase takes more time since gathering the requirement based on the user’s choice is the hard task. Once the requirement is finalized it is formulated as the document which is known as the Software requirement specification (SRS). Since the modification cannot be done in this phase SRS should be formulated without any bugs. If the requirement does not meet the SRS then it is assumed as a failure product.
Design phase:
This is the second phase which takes the output of the requirement phase as an input. The requirements in the SRS are transformed into the flow chart or architecture that helps the developer to complete the each process without any issues. The process is documented as Software Design Description Document (SDD).
Implementation and Testing phase:
The SDD is considered as an input for this phase. Based on the design the product is developed. After the integration of the requirements the product is testing by unit testing method. Unit testing is the testing of single module at a time. If this process is completed then the product is shipped for the delivery.
Operational and maintenance:
Operational phase comes after releasing the product and operated. The maintenance phase of the software starts after releasing the product and continuous throughout the product life cycle. It includes error correction, new software up gradation and optimization.
Advantages of Waterfall model:
• The main advantage of the waterfall model is that it provides the well defined structure for developing a product.
• Design errors and details are described in the requirements phase so no extra time is needed during the software development ( DR.Seema Verma 2014).
• In case of termination of the employee in the project team, SRS helps to develop the product by the other member of the team.
• It is suitable for smaller products which require minimum time for the development.
• If the process and the procedures are followed according to the SRS then the product can be development within the deadline of the Software Development process (Mary Lotz, 2013).
Disadvantages of waterfall model:
• If one phase is completed then the developer cannot go for the previous phase inorder to make any changes in the process.
• The main phase in the product development is requirement phase. If any requirements are mentioned incorrect then the project will end up with failure.
• Testing is done at the end of the development of the product. So this may affect the time of the product development during coding (DR.Seema Verma 2014).
• It takes more time to develop the SRS for the software development process. So it is complex to develop the product using waterfall model (Mary Lotz, 2013).
AGILE METHODOLOGY:
Agile methodology is implemented to overcome the disadvantages of the waterfall methodology. It is a light weight process development methodology. It is combination of both iterative and incremental approach. This model was design to modify the changes in the product development during the process of the SDLC. This model is developed using iterative model where the changes can be made during the process development (DR.Seema Verma 2014). If a work is completed by one phase it is reviewed and evaluated by project team to avoid issues during the end of the product. This model consists of following phases: Requirement, planning, design, coding and testing.
This model mainly focuses on the customer satisfaction by ensuring the continuous product delivery which may simple or useful software. The product development is done by many project development teams. So product delivery can be made with the regular interval of time. For each process different working model is delivered based on the satisfaction of the customers. If there is any change to be done in the product development phase then it can be easily done because of many software development teams (Base36). By using this methodology the interaction between the business people and the developers becomes high since the requirements for the product development is frequently obtained from the customers.

AGILE MODEL
Advantages:
• The main advantage of this model is that it provides the flexibility in changing the requirements at any stage of the process based on the needs of the customer.
• It creates a strong bond between the project team members. Every one works on individual phase which helps to complete the process easier and faster (DR.Seema Verma 2014).
• Documentation like SRS is not necessary to develop the product. So time is reduced in concentration more on the requirement phase.
• At end of each phase the outcome is evaluated by the customer and the project team so this will help the developer to know whether any update to be made for the product outcome.
• The outcome is tested at the end of the phase so this ensures that no bugs are yet to be fixed at the end of the product development (Mary Lotz, 2013).
Disadvantages:
• If the members in the project team are high then there is no problem in developing and delivering the product on time. But if the members are less then it will take more time to deliver the project within the same budget.
• The plan and the design which is made initially might not meet the final product since the product is evaluated by the customer at every stage of the product development (Mary Lotz, 2013).
SUITABLE METHODOLOGY FOR TAX AUDIT FIRM:
Both waterfall and agile model has both strength and weakness. It is based on the requirement of the company to choose either waterfall or agile model (Jennifer Dorette Jacob, 2011). The best model for tax audit firm is agile model (Mary Lotz, 2013). If the requirements are to be changed in the middle of the product development it can be done only through this model. If there are large number of project team then it will be more suitable for the completing the task within the deliverable time. so for tax audit firm agile model will be suitable for the better result of the process development.
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References
Mike McCormick, (2012) “Waterfall vs Agile methodology” Available at http://www.mccormickpcs.com/images/Waterfall_vs_Agile_Methodology.pdf [Accessed 28 February 2018]
Base36, “Agile & Waterfall Methodologies – A Side-By-Side Comparison” Available at http://www.base36.com/2012/12/agile-waterfall-methodologies-a-side-by-side-comparison/ [Accessed 28 February 2018]
Jennifer Dorette Jacob, (2011) “Comparing Agile XP and Waterfall Software Development Processes in two Start-up Companies” Available at http://publications.lib.chalmers.se/records/fulltext/149235.pdf [Accessed 28 February 2018]
DR.Seema Verma (2014), “Agile vs waterfall: A Comparative Analysis”, Available at http://ijsetr.org/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/IJSETR-VOL-3-ISSUE-10-2680-2686.pdf [Accessed 28 February 2018]
Mary Lotz (2013) “Waterfall vs. Agile: Which is the Right Development Methodology for your Project?” Available https://www.seguetech.com/waterfall-vs-agile-methodology/ [Accessed 28 February 2018]