The unprecedented changes over the last 1.5 years mandates a question: which project methodology is best for completing projects during these challenging times.
Defining the project scope, time, and cost in the early phases in the Waterfall methodology gives well defined targets to align with through the project.
The 2020 showed its downside in risk management. Risk responses are planned based on both historical and hypothetical situations. But the magnitude of the on-going pandemic was not expected even in the dreams before. Without well-defined risk responses the realigning took a hit. Is Agile a complete alternative?
Agile's iterative nature gives the opportunity to complete one set of requirements at a time. There are industries like IT this methodology has proven more effective than the traditional waterfall method. Though it seems completely a suitable option to take forward the progressive elaboration involved in the Agile is not suitable for all industries.
Industries like pharmaceutical, automotive or construction industry need a hybrid model while IT and Electronics industries can be Agile.
While the long-term and large-scale scopes are accomplished by the traditional waterfall methodology, the various phases within the project must be achieved through Agile. The former gives the advantage of keeping the QCD with minimum deviation from the budget in completing the overall project and the latter gives the flexibility of faster response rates in completing the phases. Wherever applicable the best of each methodology should be brought together to achieve a synergetic effect and successful completion of projects