Table 1 Comparison of agile and...

Table 1

Comparison of agile and waterfall methodologies

Project factor	Waterfall methodology	Agile methodology
Requirements	Can be defined/described or fixed	High-uncertainty or dynamic
Schedule	Focus on timeline	Focus on time-boxes vs sprint
Cost	Focus on cost	Focus on customer/user needs
Quality	Identified upfront	Quality can be increased/optimized for learning during the project Focus on quality and functionality at each sprint – improve patient safety
Communication	Solely relies on project manager to manage and provide updates to the project team	More frequent – carried out daily and at the end of the sprint – project team and customer/user can review the deliverable and provide feedback
Customer/user involvement	As per project milestone	High customer/user involvement during each sprint Reducing the risk of misunderstanding
Risk	Identified upfront	Can be identified at the start of each sprint cycle
Stakeholder	Identified upfront and relies on the project manager to manage from project start to finish	Can be identified and managed in a small group at a time, as per each sprint cycle
Change request	Restricted changes using triple constraints (scope, time and cost) and quality to measure impact	Welcome changes
Deliverables	Overall solution delivered at the end of the project	Customer/user can receive a subset of the overall solution during the project
Business value	Benefit can be realized only at the end of the project	Can benefit throughout the project, which delivers immediate value to the business
Work items	Identified upfront	Can be defined during the project Using small-scale experimentation Prioritization by business value ensures the most valuable features are built first Reducing the risk of complete failure
Workflow	Based on a fixed schedule	Based on its capacity to start work
Project team – skillset	Focus on subject matter experts Focus on collaboration within the project team	Focus on subject matter experts, teamwork and interpersonal skills Focus on cross-functional teams and increased collaboration
Project manager	Dedicated project manager for managing project and project team	Using a team facilitator to facilitate collaboration and coaching
Documentation	Identified upfront	Can be identified at the start of each sprint cycle
Contract term	Suitable for fixed fee	Suitable for time and material May not permit partial deliverables if the project is terminated

Project factor	Waterfall methodology	Agile methodology
Requirements	Can be defined/described or fixed	High-uncertainty or dynamic
Schedule	Focus on timeline	Focus on time-boxes vs sprint
Cost	Focus on cost	Focus on customer/user needs
Quality	Identified upfront	Quality can be increased/optimized for learning during the project Focus on quality and functionality at each sprint – improve patient safety
Communication	Solely relies on project manager to manage and provide updates to the project team	More frequent – carried out daily and at the end of the sprint – project team and customer/user can review the deliverable and provide feedback
Customer/user involvement	As per project milestone	High customer/user involvement during each sprint Reducing the risk of misunderstanding
Risk	Identified upfront	Can be identified at the start of each sprint cycle
Stakeholder	Identified upfront and relies on the project manager to manage from project start to finish	Can be identified and managed in a small group at a time, as per each sprint cycle
Change request	Restricted changes using triple constraints (scope, time and cost) and quality to measure impact	Welcome changes
Deliverables	Overall solution delivered at the end of the project	Customer/user can receive a subset of the overall solution during the project
Business value	Benefit can be realized only at the end of the project	Can benefit throughout the project, which delivers immediate value to the business
Work items	Identified upfront	Can be defined during the project Using small-scale experimentation Prioritization by business value ensures the most valuable features are built first Reducing the risk of complete failure
Workflow	Based on a fixed schedule	Based on its capacity to start work
Project team – skillset	Focus on subject matter experts Focus on collaboration within the project team	Focus on subject matter experts, teamwork and interpersonal skills Focus on cross-functional teams and increased collaboration
Project manager	Dedicated project manager for managing project and project team	Using a team facilitator to facilitate collaboration and coaching
Documentation	Identified upfront	Can be identified at the start of each sprint cycle
Contract term	Suitable for fixed fee	Suitable for time and material May not permit partial deliverables if the project is terminated

Note(s):

Key takeaway: the comparison shows that waterfall methodologies emphasize upfront planning, fixed scope and structured processes, whereas agile methodologies prioritize flexibility, iterative development and continuous stakeholder engagement. This contrast establishes the rationale for hybrid approaches, which blend predictability with adaptability in contexts such as humanitarian projects

Source(s): Authors’ own work

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