Examples of the waterfall model (2023)

Anjali works at a technology company where she has been given the task of leading a team to deliver a sophisticated software program within a very tight schedule. First, Anjali tries to coordinate with her employees and create her own model. But as the pressure mounts, their model breaks down and the entire team is a mess.

Anjali spends a few days looking for solutions and discovers the waterfall model. She goes through the waterfall model in detail and distributes responsibilities for the project across multiple departments based on the different phases of the model.

Since the project requires extreme stability, Anjali creates a draft and timeline that are not subject to change and feeds them into the waterfall model. After that, the model takes care of everything. With a strict delivery schedule and all department roles properly assigned, the waterfall model gets the project to completion a week ahead and as smoothly as possible.

Anjali's success becomes another excellent example of the waterfall model doing what it does best.

1. What is the waterfall model?

2. When is the waterfall model used?

3. How to explain the waterfall model using examples

4. Solutions at the push of a button

What is the waterfall model?

Before we continue to explain the waterfall model with examples, let's go over the basics of the waterfall model and what exactly it aims to achieve.

The waterfall model was one of the first models introduced in project management. Being a linear or sequential model, the waterfall model has a series of phases, each of which must be completed before moving on to the next. For this reason, the model is called a waterfall model because it moves downwards from one phase to another, similar to a waterfall.

In order to work properly, the waterfall model uses the output of one phase as input for the next phase. At the end of each phase, it should be checked whether the project is on the right track or whether it needs to be discarded and restarted.

The term "waterfall" was first used in a 1976 paper by Thomas Bell and Thomas Thayer to describe their model. However, the first formal and detailed diagram of the model was published as early as 1970 in an article by Winston Royce. Royce's article was broadly critical of the waterfall model, particularly in relation to the fact that testing of the model could only be done at the end of the process.

The waterfall model that you are likely to come across today has seven phases, listed as follows:

• recruitment meeting

• Analyse

• System-Design

  See Also

  waterfall model | Different phases with advantages and disadvantageswaterfall methodologyWhat is the waterfall model? - Definition and guidance

• implementation

• integration and testing

• Deployment of the System

• maintenance or troubleshooting

The waterfall model is one of several models commonly used for project management today. Other models include iterative and agile models, which are much more flexible compared to the waterfall approach.

When is the waterfall model used?

To understand the real-world example of the waterfall model, let's get acquainted with situations where the waterfall model is typically used:

• When the project requirements are set at the beginning and remain more or less fixed throughout the process

• When the product definition is stable and a lot of information is required before completing each phase

• In cases where a strict schedule needs to be established and adhered to, with no changes

• In areas of engineering design and software development, which typically require large-scale project management

• In the manufacturing and construction industries, where design changes are typically very costly

How to explain the waterfall model using examples

In the last decades of the 20th century, the waterfall model was mainly used to develop business applications such as Human Resource Management Systems (HRMS), Supply Chain Management Systems, Customer Relationship Management (CRM) systems, Inventory Management Systems, Point of Sales (POS). ) systems for retail chains, etc. The model was also very popular in software development.

As the technology evolved, there were instances where large enterprise systems were developed with the waterfall model as the default choice over a two to three year period, but became redundant by the time they were completed. Slowly, these enterprise systems were transitioned to more flexible and cost-effective models, but the waterfall model continued to be favored in systems where:

• A human life is at stake and a system failure could result in fatalities

• Money and time are secondary factors and more important is the security and stability of a project

• Military and aircraft programs where requirements are declared early and remain constant

• Projects with an extremely high level of oversight and/or accountability, such as B. in the areas of banking, health care and control systems for nuclear facilities

Now that you have covered the different sectors where the waterfall model has been and is still used, here is a real-life example of the waterfall model working.

Here the waterfall model is used to manufacture a tractor, with each of its phases outlining the work to be carried out. However, before moving on to the phases, the organization making the tractor would need to conduct a feasibility study, including planning the budget and adding new features to the tractor that would put it ahead of other tractors in the market.

After that, the following phases take over (only the most important ones included):

1. Analyse:

This phase of the waterfall model determines the speed, mileage, engine specifications, color, and seat requirements of the tractor to be manufactured.

2. Design:

This phase deals with the development and design of the frame material, the external and internal body quality and materials, and the tire quality for the tractor.

3. Implementation:

This phase brings the two previous phases together by combining all the pre-established characteristics and actually making the tractor.

4. To test:

This phase is all about trying out the tractor in different circumstances and conditions, from evaluating its performance on different road types and weather conditions to checking its durability, fuel consumption and heat build-up.

5. Maintenance:

The last phase is about offering regular services to maintain the quality of the tractor and to make necessary repairs or adjustments.

Let's look at another real-world example of the waterfall model, where the various phases were used to manufacture and deploy a software program based on university rankings and student scores to determine which universities and courses for students applying for a bachelor's degree decide who are most suitable.

As with the previous waterfall model example, the organization developing the software program needs to conduct a feasibility study to find out what kind of programs already exist on the market that can accomplish similar tasks in science. After that, the main phases of the waterfall model can work as follows:

1. Analyse:

This phase collects all available information on student scores and university rankings and develops the various parameters used to determine a university's suitability for a student.

2. Design:

In this waterfall model example, the design phase is all about fine-tuning the parameters set in the analysis phase and ensuring that the structure of the software program is precise enough to avoid any manipulation or confusion of large amounts of data.

3. Implementation:

At this crucial stage, test runs of the software program are performed on a preliminary dataset to see how accurately the program can suggest suitable universities for students. These suggestions should then be compared with results obtained from academic advisors who have arrived at the suggestions through their years of professional expertise.

4. To test:

As with any example of the waterfall model, the testing phase is about making sure that all the functions of the software program are working smoothly and that there are no glitches that can affect the usefulness of the overall program.

5. Maintenance:

In the final phase, the software program should be reviewed for any necessary updates or changes that may be required in addition to the expected addition of new data, including a larger body of student scores and a new set of university rankings.

Solutions at the push of a button

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