What Is Waterfall Project Management?

Waterfall project management is one of the most popular project management methodologies.

It’s a framework that helps project teams organize and monitor project progress. This article will discuss the Waterfall process in its entirety, with its benefits and differences to Agile approaches.

Key Takeaways

The Waterfall project management methodology is a fixed approach to project management. It consists of multiple stages which need to be completed before the next stage begins. It’s also often defined as a linear and sequential approach.

The main principles of the Waterfall methodology include:

The Waterfall methodology was first identified in 1970 in the software development field, by Dr. Winston Royce.

Software development projects are suited to the Waterfall method with their distinct stages, from design, development, to quality assurance.

However, the often iterative nature of software development means that the Waterfall method might not be enough as a sole principle—we’ll discuss when to use Waterfall or Agile methodologies later in the article.

Waterfall can also be applied in non-professional services industries that need to have strict project phases, i.e. where one must begin before another can start.

To give a simple example for construction projects, you can’t move on to electrical wiring before the building framework is in place.

This is where the Waterfall project management approach comes in with its structured phases.

The traditional Waterfall steps include:

These stages can be slightly modified according to your project type and industry. Here’s a more detailed overview of each, as applied to software development:

As the first stage of the Waterfall project management methodology, requirements gathering includes setting down the groundwork for your entire project. 

This includes defining project objectives, project scope with timelines and dependencies, and allocating resources and responsibilities. It includes all key project stakeholders.

All of these requirements should be written down into a document that can be referenced in the implementation phase.

The requirements phase is the foundation of the project’s success. If done well, the project team will have clear direction for executing the entire project lifecycle.

When the specifications of the project have been set with timelines, the design phase of the Waterfall methodology includes the creation of specific design elements.

While the long-term picture of the project is set during the previous phase, these milestones are broken down into smaller design tasks with their own deadlines and estimates during the design phase.

This can include your system design (how users will interact with the system) and architecture, down to the user interface and prototypes.

In short, it focuses on everything that will be necessary to create a finished product.

Once the design is finalized, it’s handed over to the development team for implementation. This is when the plans from the requirements documents are turned into functional products.

During this phase, developers write the necessary code, integrate system components, and follow the design specifications to ensure the product meets the defined requirements.

The implementation phase also includes its own milestones, tasks, and resource scheduling to ensure that the project schedule and goals are being followed.

It’s also important to maintain open communication during this project phase, to ensure that challenges can be addressed in time.

The testing and verification phase is the last step before the product reaches end users.

In software development, it includes the rigorous testing of design and functionalities to ensure that the end product functions as intended. The client will usually also be heavily involved in this phase, as the end result also needs to align with their expectations.

This is the final opportunity to refine and fix any potential issues, as extensive iteration based after deployment is usually costlier and more time intensive.

During deployment, a software development product is launched to the end user. In other industries, the deployment phase usually means finalizing the product before it’s used by the customer.

The maintenance phase can be tricky, as it’s necessary to accurately define what it means from project to project. Does it concern identifying and fixing any leftover bugs, or does it include adding new functionalities based on user feedback?

Setting these details down during the requirements gathering phase will help your business maintain a healthy bottomline and balanced workloads.

The phases of Waterfall methodology that we’ve described above can and often are part of Agile processes. So, what’s the difference?

In Agile project management methods such as Scrum or Kanban, the focus isn’t on creating a detailed plan with as little room for deviation as possible.

Instead, the solution is developed step-by-step, often by going back in the process (for example, from development back to design), and usually in shorter increments.

Scrum and Kanban can be useful principles where certain parts of the project management process are not certain. For example, perhaps some requirements can’t be specified in detail before design or even implementation have started.

The benefit of using Waterfall is that it allows for long-term planning, while Agile is more suitable to planning in intervals of two to four weeks.

Agile project management is a useful approach for projects where:

On the other hand, Waterfall can be suitable for:

According to a Standish Group report, Agile projects have almost four times the success rate as Waterfall projects.

Does this mean that Waterfall is an inherently flawed methodology? No; however, it might point to an inflexibility in how it’s applied.

Instead of thinking of Waterfall and Agile as two separate approaches, in most businesses, these two processes will be adopted according to business needs.

This creates a hybrid approach, which combines element of Agile and Waterfall.

An example of a hybrid approach is the so-called Sashimi project management methodology in software development.

The Sashimi model of software development follows the traditional phases of Waterfall methodology, up until the development phase. In this phase, processes can be overlapped and iterated on in order to spot and fix bugs more easily.

One of Waterfall’s key benefits for traditional project management is predictability—since it’s a linear approach and each phase is completed sequentially, teams can create more accurate schedules and cost estimates.

Waterfall also includes creating thorough documentation, which can make execution simpler for project teams. For example, if team members need to start on a project after kickoff, Waterfall supports easier onboarding.

When it comes to development, the product will be more cohesive, since development follows after the design has been finalized.

Finally, Waterfall’s rigid structure helps stakeholders understand project progress, making it easier to manage expectations.

The method is particularly beneficial for industries with regulatory requirements, such as healthcare or finance, where documentation and compliance are essential.

Despite its structured approach, Waterfall has notable drawbacks.
One major limitation is its lack of flexibility—since requirements are defined upfront, adapting to changes later in the process can be costly and time-consuming.

If new customer needs or market conditions emerge, the rigid sequential flow makes implementing adjustments more difficult.

Another drawback is the late-stage testing approach. Since testing occurs after development is complete, identifying and fixing defects may require extensive rework, leading to delays and cost overruns.

This can be especially problematic in large or complex projects, where errors discovered late can derail the timeline.

Waterfall also assumes that all requirements are fully understood at the start, which is not always realistic. If stakeholders realize mid-project that changes are needed, they may face significant challenges.

Additionally, the lack of continuous feedback loops can lead to misaligned expectations, reducing overall success.

The Waterfall methodology is best suited for projects with well-defined requirements and minimal expected changes.

It can be ideal for retainers or businesses that work on similar projects for different clients, where steps are predictable and estimates and scope can be defined fairly accurately.

With repetitive processes, project managers can spot process inefficiencies and fully optimize workflows.

Source: Reddit

Waterfall is also usually better used for short-term projects, where there’s less chance of complications or changes down the road.

Additionally, if stakeholders require a clear project timeline, budget estimates, and detailed documentation, Waterfall provides the necessary framework to support accurate planning and execution.

Ultimately, Waterfall works best when project goals are well understood, and changes are unlikely to disrupt the development process.

Some examples of projects managed with the waterfall model include:

We’ve established the difference between how Waterfall and Agile teams work, and when to choose which methodology to ensure successful projects.

Here are some tools and techniques that project teams can use during the Waterfall project management process:

Gantt charts are a traditional tool in product management. They provide a visual representation of the project schedule.

Gantt charts help project teams map out the relationship between tasks, dependencies, and deadlines. Each task is displayed as a horizontal bar across a timeline, allowing project managers to see progress at a glance.

This technique is particularly useful for tracking milestones and identifying potential bottlenecks.

Gantt charts also improve stakeholder communication, as they offer a clear overview of project phases and their interdependencies in a structured, sequential manner.

In Productive, tasks can be color-coded within the chart by status or other custom fields. When timelines are shifted, you can also have the option of dependencies being shifted automatically.

A Work Breakdown Structure (WBS) is a technique for breaking a project down into smaller, manageable tasks. It helps teams organize and define project deliverables, ensuring each phase of the Waterfall approach is clearly outlined.

WBS breaks down high-level goals into smaller constituents, making it easier to assign responsibilities and estimate time and costs accurately.

It’s another way to visualize the relationships between all of the tasks that need to be finalized for a complete project.

A work breakdown structure can start as post-its on a whiteboard, or columns in an Excel sheets, before these tasks are organized into a high-level view in a software solution.

The Critical Path Method (CPM) is a scheduling technique which determines the longest sequence of dependent tasks that must be completed for the project to stay on schedule.

CPM helps project managers identify critical activities, ensuring that any delay in these tasks directly impacts the final delivery date and project outcomes.

The critical path method is at the core of Waterfall project management, so much so that some use it as a synonymous term.

Finally, Waterfall project management tools provide an easier and more efficient way of using these methods to manage the project lifecycle.

Productive is an Agile and Waterfall software with multiple project management features designed for professional services companies.

This includes various project views for managing Waterfall projects (including task lists and Gantt charts), to task dependencies and built-in Docs.

Productive also provides automations and AI for more efficient workflows, as well as project financial management and resource management features for scheduling and monitoring key project metrics.

We’ve covered the key aspects of Waterfall project management, including its stages, benefits, limitations, differences vs Agile development and which projects it’s most suitable for. While not ideal for every project, Waterfall can be highly effective when requirements are clear and unlikely to change.

By following best practices like thorough planning, clear communication, and rigorous documentation and using tools such as Gantt charts within the best project management software, you can successfully implement this methodology and achieve your goals.

Check out our project management guide for a more comprehensive overview.