Waterfall model

The waterfall model is a breakdown of development activities into linear sequential phases, meaning each phase is passed down onto each other, where each phase depends on the deliverables of the previous one and corresponds to a specialization of tasks.[1] This 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 Systems Development Life Cycle (SDLC) approach 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]

  1. ^ a b Petersen, Kai; Wohlin, Claes; Baca, Dejan (2009). "The Waterfall Model in Large-Scale Development". In Bomarius, Frank; Oivo, Markku; Jaring, Päivi; Abrahamsson, Pekka (eds.). Product-Focused Software Process Improvement. Lecture Notes in Business Information Processing. Vol. 32. Berlin, Heidelberg: Springer. pp. 386–400. Bibcode:2009pfsp.book..386P. doi:10.1007/978-3-642-02152-7_29. ISBN 978-3-642-02152-7.
  2. ^ Tom Gilb. "Evolutionary Delivery versus the 'waterfall model'". ACM SIGSOFT Software Engineering Notes. 10 (3): 49–61. doi:10.1145/1012483.1012490. Open access icon
  3. ^ Linda Sherrell (2013). "Waterfall Model". Encyclopedia of Sciences and Religions (A.L.C. Runehov; L. Oviedo (Eds.)). Dordrecht, The Netherlands: Springer: 2343–2344. doi:10.1007/978-1-4020-8265-8_200285. ISBN 978-1-4020-8264-1.
  4. ^ 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.