Nt1310 Unit 5 Project Management Methods

The waterfall method is one of the main planning techniques for a project. It is very important for every project to be planned well. If a project manager does not plan every part of the project before starting the project, failure is almost certain. The waterfall method is one of the simplest planning methods for software projects, or any project for that matter. It is comprised of five main phases where “the output of each phase becomes the input for the next.” 1 These phases are Analysis, Design, Implementation, Testing, and Maintenance. The analysis phase is a description of the software that needs to be developed. The design phase is the planning and solving of problems for your solution. The implementation phase is the actual implementing of your software. The testing phase is the verification of your software. This is the phase where you make sure everything is completed and all problems have been solved. The last phase, the maintenance phase, is when the team goes back in when needed to update the software implemented. This method is an easily implemented method that still goes over main objectives that other methods do. If a company follows the method correctly, they should decrease the amount of errors exponentially. The main problem most projects run into is not following their original plan.
“The classic waterfall model views the optimal process for software development as a linear or sequential series of phases that take developers from initial high-level requirements through system testing and product shipment.” 2 Microsoft isn’t the only one either. “Due to the success of the Waterfall model, many software development firms and industrial manufacturers have adopted it as their prime development framework and SDLC to plan, build, and maintain their products.” ¬3 Though it is one of the first software project development methods, the waterfall method remains one of the