Detailed comparison between Agile and Waterfall

Role of Business Analyst, demands them to choose between type the methodologies to follow as per the requirements gathered from the stakeholders. The two most commonly, used methodologies are Agile and Waterfall. Waterfall is incremental approach. It has set plan and steps to proceed with the project starting with requirement gathering, requirement analysis, design, testing, deployment and last implementation. Whereas, Agile works on four core values. Customer collaboration over contract negotiation, Responding to change over following a plan, individual and interactions over processes and tools, working software over comprehensive documentation. Testing in agile goes simultaneously, giving in clarity among stakeholders and IT teams, regarding the challenges coming over the plan.From my perspective, the role of the Product Owner as a liaison has been invaluable in facilitating communication between business stakeholders and the Scrum team. I learned the importance of actively engaging with both sides to ensure that everyone is aligned on project goals and developments. This collaboration not only enhances transparency but also helps prioritize features that deliver maximum value to both the organization and its customers. The product owner develops a vision of a product's function and operation, which in turn allows this Scrum team member to define product features and break those features into product backlog items. By articulating this vision effectively, the Product Owner enables the team to prioritize their work, ultimately leading to a more focused and successful development process.Scrum Master facilitates the meeting, ensuring that it stays on track and timeboxed. Development Team: The core team responsible for delivering the sprint. Key stakeholders may be present as observers to understand priorities, though their active participation is minimal.The sprint includes five meetings to be conducted among the team, to track the progress of the project. Starting with Sprint planning,Timeboxing, keep discussions within the allotted time to prevent the meeting from dragging on. Scope Flexibility Be mindful that scope may need to adjust based on capacity and unforeseen issues. Team Consensus ensure that all team members are comfortable with the commitments made during the planning. Everyone’s input is important for accurate estimates and realistic goals. The second type of meeting is Sprint review meeting, that provide an overview of the progress made during the sprint and plan for the upcoming sprints. The third type of meeting is Sprint Retrospective meeting, focuses on what worked well and what didn’t, encouraging open communication to identify actionable improvements that enhance team dynamics and project outcomes that acknowledge the successes of the sprint and highlight positives in the project. Encourage the team to ask questions and seek clarifications on sprint issues or improvements. Agree on concrete actions to improve future sprints and address problems faced. The fourth type of meeting is Daily scrum meeting, which is the daily updates taken from the team, to track the daily progress of the team. The last type is Backlog Refinement Meeting which prioritize and clarify user stories, ensuring the backlog is well-organized and ready for future sprints, which improves the team's efficiency and alignment with project goals.