From Waterfall to Iterative Lifecycle—A Tough Transition for Project Managers
Philippe Kruchten
Rational Software Corp.
A
PDF
version
of this article is available, however, you must have Adobe
Acrobat installed to view it. You can download this and other RUP white papers
from the
RUP White Papers
.
Abstract
In this paper, some of the
challenges of iterative development are described from a project
manager's perspective. This document also discusses some of the common "traps" or
pitfalls we've seen
through our consulting experience, and from reports and war stories
related by our colleagues
The waterfall model made it easy on the manager and difficult for the
engineering team. Iterative development is much more aligned with how
software engineers work, but at some cost in management complexity.
Although iterative development is more difficult than traditional approaches
the first time you do it, there's a real long-term payoff. Once you
understand how to do it well, you'll find you've become a much
more capable manager, and you'll find it easier to manage
larger, more complex projects. And once you get an entire team to
understand and think iteratively, the method scales are much better than
traditional approaches.
|