Question

identify a company that you consider as Agile and another company that is not. Explain the rationale for your selections and compare and contrast the two companies.

Answer 1

You’re building a new product in an uncertain world and you have a real need for speed. If you don’t have a lot of information up front, enforcing strict requirements and planning at the beginning of your project can lead to costly mistakes further down the line. Agile was designed to reduce the cost of change and uncertainty—which is why it’s no surprise that many startups swear by the methodology. Agile excels when you don’t have a clear picture of the end goal and requirements are constantly changing.

Your client knows exactly what they want, and you’re very confident that there won’t be any major changes in scope throughout the project. Waterfall works great for building software for clients who have clearly defined requirements that aren’t likely to change throughout the life cycle of your project—think government contracts or legacy systems. When projects are simple and predictable, you can benefit from Waterfall’s inherent stability and linear development path.