Waterfall project management is a linear approach that follows a clearly defined sequence of steps that must be executed and completed before advancing to the next step. This approach works well on projects with predictable and recurring processes because revisiting a previous step can be difficult and costly. In this article, we summarize the approach and answer the question of what waterfall project management is.
How Waterfall Project Management Works
Now that you know what waterfall project management is, understanding how it works will allow you to decide whether this method is for you. The term “waterfall” refers to the flow of the project, where each phase cascades onto the next phase and cannot go back up. The waterfall methodology has little to no flexibility for changes, with each participant tasked with a clearly defined role that collectively steers the project toward a set end goal.
Waterfall project management is a more traditional and straightforward project management approach. The waterfall model is about making and sticking to a detailed project plan. Once you’ve determined the order of project tasks, they cannot be altered. Steps are to happen in sequence, and the next phase can only begin when the previous phase has been completed.
For example, in the construction industry, you only install the roof once the walls have been set up, and it would be extremely costly to redo the walls with the roof in place. In manufacturing, you cannot revert to the assembly line if the initial component of your product has been assembled—you will need to start over at phase one to be able to make the necessary changes.
The waterfall approach is best for projects with long, detailed plans requiring a structured, single timeline. This predictability allows teams to plan and budget accurately.
5 Phases of Waterfall Project Management
Learning about what waterfall project management entails a clear understanding of its distinct phases, which should be completed before moving on to the next phases. Typically, there are five standard sequential phases:
Waterfall project management’s five phases
1. Requirements
The goal of this highly conceptual phase is to define and document the complete list of project requirements. To accomplish this phase, it’s best to consult all the essential project stakeholders, including management, colleagues, and clients. During this phase, you must define the project scope and capture the objectives, resources, costs, and deadlines. This is the time to set stakeholder expectations and negotiate the final project terms.
By planning the succeeding phases efficiently, project managers can establish the specific milestones, dependencies, resources, and deliverables to be completed. This will give you an exact idea of how the project will unfold. It’s best to conduct a final project meeting to appraise all actors and stakeholders of the requirements and expectations. We recommend following up this phase with thorough documentation and validation.
2. Design
If phase one is conceptualization, this is the most planning-oriented stage, and it answers the “how” of the process. Keeping the project details in mind, managers must use the outlined requirements as a frame to design the project flow and the concrete specifications of the end goal or product. To tackle this phase, teams often brainstorm and theorize about the different possible solutions and approaches that can be taken.
Considering all the options presented, the project managers use their skills to organize the project deliverables and mark the milestones, tasks, and activities to be accomplished. The output for this stage is a detailed and well-polished plan. When establishing the project’s critical path, managers can use a Gantt chart to visualize the who, where, what, why, when, and how of the work and any and all overlaps (dependencies).
One of the points of discussion teams sometimes overlook is risk analysis. It’s important to discuss the possible risks teams may encounter throughout the course of the project. Make sure to carve out some time during the design stage to brainstorm ways to mitigate potential risks before they become issues that derail your project.
3. Implementation
The implementation phase is when you spend the most time executing everything you’ve been planning. You must document all your activities because this will be your reference in the future. During this phase, project managers are involved in multiple roles: facilitating collaboration, managing workloads, reporting to internal and external stakeholders, conducting performance and usability testing, and tracking project progress.
The technical implementation is when the actual work begins, and if you’ve put in sufficient legwork during the planning stage, this phase may become significantly shorter. In the case of systems development, this is the time programmers code applications based on the design and throughout implementation. Teams will likely return to the design phase if significant changes are required during this stage.
4. Verification & Testing
This is the penultimate stage of waterfall project management because this phase is when the product is completed and will be tested to ensure everything works as it should. During this phase, the customer will review the product and test its performance vis-a-vis the expectations and objectives outlined earlier. This phase is when the client’s involvement resumes, and they provide feedback based on the project results.
If the end product meets the requirements set and all uncovered issues are resolved, it may be delivered or released, subject to customer approval. If the product does not stand up to scrutiny, teams often examine the product thoroughly, identify the shortfalls during review, and determine the course of action.
5. Maintenance
The maintenance phase in the waterfall methodology is the post-delivery stage, where customers and end-users report bugs and glitches that affect product performance or usability. Since the product has been launched or delivered to the client, users will discover and report issues not spotted during verification and testing.
This stage often entails further product refinement so that it operates optimally. The project team is responsible for fixing the errors and improving the user experience until the customer is satisfied.
Benefits of Waterfall Project Management
Waterfall project management follows a specific sequence of steps where teams can only move forward when the current phase has been completed. Now that we have a better understanding of what waterfall project management is and how it’s done, here’s an in-depth look at the advantages of this methodology:
| PROS | CONS |
|---|---|
| Emphasizes extensive documentation | No room for error |
| Simple and easy to understand | Fixed approach lacks flexibility in sequencing |
| Measurable progress and outcomes | Testing and verification happen late in the process |
| Great model for resource planning and budget allocation | Requires lengthy planning |
| Focused on documentation and requirements | |
- Facilitates collaboration: Careful planning allows large, dynamic teams to work together harmoniously using a detailed plan to achieve a clearly defined goal.
- Encourages discipline: Straightforward phases are easy to follow thanks to the detailed planning that facilitates an efficient and structured workflow. It encourages good planning habits and makes it a practice to define requirements before implementation. This minimizes overlap, costly uncertainties, and risk.
- Enhances team’s planning skills: By determining the requirements at the beginning, team members can see their roles and related expectations and resources are better managed.
- Easy to understand: This approach is straightforward because phases are self-explanatory and logically sequenced, making it a versatile model for project management.
- Highly measurable: You can use a Gantt chart to map your project and visualize progress. With planning happening at the front end of the process, benchmarks are available for measuring project outcomes.
- Requires minimal management: Since the process and milestones are clearly defined, projects using the waterfall method are relatively easy to manage—stakeholders simply follow the predetermined steps until completion.
Waterfall Methodology Use Cases
The waterfall project management suits teams needing highly structured work environments. It’s typically used in development projects that can be planned from beginning to end with minimal mitigating factors or dependencies and those with clearly established products and processes. Here are some instances when a waterfall system would be a great choice:
These two industries have an established way of doing things for most projects. Construction firms have a standard set of protocols and processes when it comes to building homes and commercial buildings because there are several compliance requirements and standards to adhere to. While the aesthetics and designs may vary, construction plans are highly sequential and well-planned because changes and errors can be extremely costly.
Manufacturing also requires an orderly and detail-oriented workflow process. From personnel and machines working simultaneously to turning around different components, the rigid waterfall project management method helps ensure consistent and uniform outcomes.
The best marketing campaigns start with a well-crafted plan that details the objective, strategy, schedule, critical points of action, and expected results. Waterfall marketing is a popular model for marketing planning and execution that emphasizes extensive, upfront planning for smoother, more systematic campaign launches.
Scientific research in the field of pharmaceuticals requires an orderly process where everything is measured, and each step of the process is well-thought-out and documented. For example, when developing a new drug, development teams develop, plan, and test out their hypothesis while recording each step. When they are unsuccessful, they start over and adjust their hypothesis accordingly.
Top Providers Offering Waterfall Project Management Software
Use the waterfall methodology to streamline and break down your project into clear and sequential phases and detailed tasks to achieve your project end goal. If you’re wondering what is the best project management software in the market, here’s a table with an overview of our recommended providers.
Waterfall Project Management Software | Monthly Starting Price (per User) | Key Features | Free Plan |
|---|---|---|---|
 | $9.80 |
| ✓ |
 | $12 |
| ✓ |
 | $12 |
| ✓ |
 | $13.49 |
| ✓ |
 | $10 | Waterfall project management template Unlimited dashboards Advanced time tracking | ✓ |
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
Project management refers to planning and managing a project to accomplish predetermined objectives within a set time frame. It entails identifying the problem, creating a plan to solve it, and executing it until the problem is resolved. To learn more about project management, how it works, and the best providers in the market, check out our detailed project management guide.
The answer to which is better, waterfall methodology or agile project management, mainly depends on the type of project you’re undertaking. Waterfall and agile are two different approaches. Their main difference is that waterfall requires completing each phase before you can move on to the next phase, while teams using agile work on different phases of the project simultaneously.
When it comes to successfully using the waterfall methodology, emphasize the importance of documentation by preparing recording and note templates. Establish clear and realistic deadlines and timelines, and lastly, determine the criteria for success at each phase. When planning, keep these three things in mind: time, budget, and quality. The project’s success depends on the budget, completion within the timeline, and customer satisfaction.
Bottom Line
In this guide, we answered the question, “What is waterfall project management?” This method adds structure and rigor to any project and is rooted in sequence and logic. It is ideal for steering ventures with well-defined goals and requirements, and it is often used on projects that need high reliability and those unlikely to make changes throughout the development process.
