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The waterfall model is a breakdown of development activities into linear sequential phases, meaning they are passed down onto each other, where each phase depends on the deliverables of the previous one and corresponds to a specialization of tasks.[1]
The approach is typical for certain areas of engineering design. In software development,[1]
it tends to be among the less iterative and flexible approaches, as progress flows in largely one direction (downwards like a waterfall) through the phases of conception, initiation, analysis, design, construction, testing, deployment and maintenance.[2]
The waterfall model is the earliest SDLC approach that was used in software development.[3]
The waterfall development model originated in the manufacturing and construction industries,[citation needed] where the highly structured physical environments meant that design changes became prohibitively expensive much sooner in the development process.[citation needed]
When it was first adopted for software development, there were no recognized alternatives for knowledge-based creative work.[4]
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Andreas P. Schmidt; Christine Kunzmann (September 16, 2014). Designing for knowledge maturing: from knowledge-driven software to supporting the facilitation of knowledge development. i-KNOW '14: Proceedings of the 14th International Conference on Knowledge Technologies and Data-driven Business. ACM. pp. 1–7. doi:10.1145/2637748.2638421.