Waterfall Model

Waterfall model was meant to function in a systematic way that takes the production of the software from the basic step going downwards towards detailing just like a Waterfall which begins at the top of the cliff and goes downwards but not backwards.

Different Phases of Waterfall Model:

Definition Study / Analysis: During this phase research is being conducted which includes brainstorming about the software, what it is going to be and what purpose is it going to fulfill.

Basic Design: If the first phase gets successfully completed and a well thought out plan for the software development has been laid then the next step involves formulating the basic design of the software on paper.

Technical Design / Detail Design:  After the basic design gets approved, then a more elaborated technical design can be planned. Here the functions of each of the part are decided and the engineering units are placed for example modules, programs etc.

Construction / Implementation: In this phase the source code of the programs is written.Testing: At this phase, the whole design and its construction is put under a test to check its functionality. If there are any errors then they will surface at this point of the process.

Integration: in the phase of Integration, the company puts it in use after the system has been successfully tested.Management and Maintenance: Maintenance and management is needed to ensure that the system will continue to perform as desired.

Advantages of Waterfall Model:

• Waterfall model is simple to implement and also the amount of resources required for it are minimal.
• This methodology is preferred in projects where quality is more important as compared to schedule or cost.
• Documentation is produced at every stage of the software’s development. This makes understanding the product designing procedure, simpler.
• After every major stage of software coding, testing is done to check the correct running of the code.

 Disadvantages of Waterfall Iterative Model:

•  Real projects rarely follow the sequential flow and iterations in this model are handled indirectly. These changes can cause confusion as the project proceeds.
•  In this model we freeze software and hardware. But as technology changes at a rapid pace, such freezing is not advisable especially in long-term projects.
• Even a small change in any previous stage can cause big problem for subsequent phases as all phases are dependent on each-other.
• Going back a phase or two can be a costly affair.