![]() ![]() Knowing the project requirements, budget, and timeline up front are helpful for budgeting and planning purposes.Ī clear and detailed roadmap keeps people on track (rarely should team members be unsure of the next steps because they are all spelled out in the waterfall).Ĭlearly delineated, tangible deliverables at phase completion can help teams see and measure progress (and gives you something to show your client). These core principles lead to certain advantages and limitations built into the waterfall model. Low client involvement after launch: Ideally, clients do not expect to be able to change scope once the project launches.įixed scope and budget: With the scope and timeline firmly set from the start, projects have a fixed budget. Low flexibility: With such a high up-front investment, there is little room for changes to scope and deliverables without significant rework. Linear completion of tasks and phases: Tasks and phases are sequential one phase must finish (in order) before the next begins. ![]() The waterfall approach to project management follows several core principles, described and explained below.įixed timeline: The entire project is mapped from start to finish, with clear dates for start and end. And that’s why waterfall works well here. This process is quite linear and rarely needs to change drastically, but it can have all sorts of subtasks and dependencies. It doesn’t work to rearrange these very much, and you can’t move on to another phase without completing the previous one. You probably have distinct steps or phases you’ve already defined (things like RFP, proposal, initiation, strategy, analysis, and onboarding). ![]() One area where many agencies use something like a waterfall method is bringing on a new client. Waterfall isn’t very flexible, but it can be incredibly powerful in the right contexts. It runs top to bottom or end to end, and doing it well requires knowing where you’re going before you start planning. It’s a more traditional approach that relies on meticulous planning and clear order or hierarchy. If you map these sequential steps onto a graph running top to bottom (and maybe squint a little bit), you’ll see something resembling a waterfall - hence the name. Waterfall project management organizes tasks and phases into a linear progression, where every step in the process cascades downward in a prescribed order. We’ve already covered the 7 main styles of project management at an overview level, and in this piece we’re diving deeper into waterfall and agile, exploring what they are, where they excel or falter, and how to determine which is right for your agency. So, what are the key differences? And most importantly, which one should you use in your creative agency? ![]() And these two styles are about as different from one another as possible, to the degree that someone who's exclusively used waterfall or Gantt charts might find a Kanban board wildly disorienting, and vice versa. Two of the most significant project management methodologies among agencies and their clients are agile and waterfall. The overarching goals and principles may be the same, but the numerous styles of project management can look very different from each other. Good project management can transform processes and workflows at any agency, infusing direction and organization while reducing the chaos factor.Īt the same time, “project management” doesn’t mean the exact same thing to everyone - and it certainly doesn't look the same at every business. That seems like a simple enough question - but it's not really, is it? ![]()
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