Agile vs. Waterfall

Here is my one page summary of some key differences between Agile and Waterfall.

I created this when I was asked to explain this to an exec earlier this month about this and I didn’t have anything good in my toolkit, nor could I find something on Google.

A comparison of key elements of Agile and Waterfall delivery approaches.

Key Differences

• In waterfall, the focus is on creating documents that capture what is needed. In Agile, the focus is on working software.
• In waterfall, people tend to work in sequence – like a relay race. In Agile, people collaborate – like a soccer team.
• In Agile, the focus is on working together as a team and learning how to improve. There is a different mindset or culture.
• In Waterfall, there is usually a messy whirlpool at then end where people abandon documentation to start figuring out how to make things work and/or what users really want.
• In Agile, software is delivered incrementally so it is much easier to predict delivery dates.

Enjoy!