There are various software development approaches defined and designed which are Used/employed during development process of software, these approaches are also
Referred as “Software Development Process Models”. Each process model follows a Particular life cycle in order to ensure success in process of software development.
Waterfall Model
Waterfall approach was first Process Model to be introduced and followed widely in Software Engineering to ensure success of the project. In “The Waterfall” approach,
The whole process of software development is divided into separate process phases. The phases in Waterfall model are: Requirement Specifications phase, Software
Design, Implementation and Testing & Maintenance. All these phases are cascaded to each other so that second phase is started as and when defined set of goals are
Achieved for first phase and it is signed off, so the name “Waterfall Model”. All the Methods and processes undertaken in Waterfall Model are more visible.
The stages of “The Waterfall Model” are:
Requirement Analysis & Definition: All possible requirements of the system to be developed are captured in this phase. Requirements are set of functionalities and
Constraints that the end-user (who will be using the system) expects from the system. The requirements are gathered from the end-user by consultation, these
Requirements are analyzed for their validity and the possibility of incorporating the requirements in the system to be development is also studied. Finally, a
Requirement Specification document is created which serves the purpose of guideline for the next phase of the model.
System & Software Design: Before a starting for actual coding, it is highly important to understand what we are going to create and what it should look like?
The requirement specifications from first phase are studied in this phase and system design is prepared. System Design helps in specifying hardware and system
Requirements and also helps in defining overall system architecture. The system design specifications serve as input for the next phase of the model.
Implementation & Unit Testing: On receiving system design documents, the works divided in modules/units and actual coding is started. The system is first
Developed in small programs called units, which are integrated in the next phase. Each unit is developed and tested for its functionality; this is referred to as Unit
Testing. Unit testing mainly verifies if the modules/units meet their specifications.
Integration & System Testing: As specified above, the system is first divided in units which are developed and tested for their functionalities. These units are
Integrated into a complete system during Integration phase and tested to check if all modules/units coordinate between each other and the system as a whole behaves as
Per the specifications. After successfully testing the software, it is delivered to the customer.
Operations & Maintenance: This phase of “The Waterfall Model” is virtually never ending phase (Very long). Generally, problems with the system developed (which are
Not found during the development life cycle) come up after its practical use starts, so the issues related to the system are solved after deployment of the system. Not all
The problems come in picture directly but they arise time to time and needs to be solved; hence this process is referred as Maintenance.
Advantages and Disadvantages of Waterfall Model
Advantages
The advantage of waterfall development is that it allows for departmentalization and managerial control. A schedule can be set with deadlines for each stage of
Development and a product can proceed through the development process like a car in a carwash, and theoretically, be delivered on time. Development moves from
Concept, through design, implementation, testing, installation, troubleshooting, and ends up at operation and maintenance. Each phase of development proceeds in strict
Order, without any overlapping or iterative steps.
Disadvantages
The disadvantage of waterfall development is that it does not allow for much reflection or revision. Once an application is in the testing stage, it is very difficult to
Go back and change something that was not well-thought out in the concept stage. Alternatives to the waterfall model include joint application development (JAD), rapid
Application development (RAD), synch and stabilize, build and fix, and the spiral model.