Agile or Waterfall? For many digital startups, this is a key question that comes up early on.
Which is the best methodology for your digital product?
The answer isn’t straightforward, but I’ll walk you through the key points around each methodology and hopefully that will help you come to a decision about which one will be right for you.
Waterfall: Planning for Success
A Waterfall process requires extensive planning before any work can begin.
It allows all who are involved in the project to have a clear vision as to what they are undertaking, and what the project will look like.
The result of this heavy planning is that you can accurately forecast your time frame and costs, which will certainly keep agency clients happy and make it easier for you to see your project costs up front (key for younger, cash-strapped startups!).
Waterfall Documentation Ensures Security
In an ever-changing industry like digital, it is important that the vision of the project remains the same throughout, something Waterfall ensures.
The project is more secure. For example, if a member of the team was to drop out halfway through a project, the documentation and plans would mean another person could pick up the project with relative ease, minimising impact on delivery of the project.
This means that if your project teams tend to be made up of freelancers, you won’t struggle to get a new team member up to speed.
A Waterfall only flows one direction
Waterfall is a very rigid and structured process where each phase must be completed and signed off before moving to the next one.
This means it can be a nightmare if alterations need to be made to the project halfway through. Delivery timings can be delayed when signing off problems arise.
Additionally, the testing stage is very late in the process, meaning any changes can be tricky to implement. If you’re building a digital product that requires a lot of tinkering and user testing sessions, Waterfall might drag out your process.
Agile: Fast, fluid, flexible
The Agile process is very fluid and flexible. Several components of development are worked on during short sprints. The team will work alongside the client, which means that any alterations can be made very quickly.
Parts of the project can then be signed off and released as the process continues so the benefits of the work can be felt straight away.
This process can be beneficial when the final item has been loosely defined or when you’re working with an indecisive client.
Often, these projects define themselves along the process, meaning an Agile team can respond quickly and effectively. If you need to run a lot of user testing or get input from other departments as you go, this could be a more effective methodology for you.
Ensure everyone is on the same page before using Agile
With its lack of structure, an Agile process makes it difficult to estimate costs and timelines – often leaving stakeholders feeling uneasy as it breaks the mould of traditional marketing budgets and estimates.
If the stakeholder doesn’t fully understand Agile, its fluidity and changeability can come
as a surprise. It’s important to get everyone on the same page early on about how the process works and what will be expected of them.
If you work in a larger startup with multiple teams and more than one stakeholder, it might be trickier to implement.
Teamwork makes the Agile dream work
An Agile team is based around intense collaboration and interdependence. This can prove to be problematic if a member of the team was to leave halfway through a project.
It would take time to bed a new team member into the dynamic. It will also take time to explain to the new team member exactly what the project is all about and where it is in the development process as Agile has less documentation than Waterfall. If you have a lot of freelancers in your business, Agile might be hard to maintain over long projects.
At the end of the day, neither is a one-size-fits-all solution and different methodologies might work best for you at different points in your growth.
Early on, as you have more contractors coming in and out of the business and working on different projects, you may find Waterfall is easiest.
Later, when teams are more established and bedded into the company, you might find Agile allows you the flexibility you need to run more testing or add features. Whatever you choose though, make sure everyone is on the same page and understands what is expected and when, and it should be smooth sailing.