Comparative Analysis of Agile versus Waterfall Methodology in Government Utilities, Projects, and Services: A Case Study Exploration

Abstract

 In project management, there are countless ways to approach the same problem however it is common to plans change, especially when projects take multiple years to complete. Our study compared government projects using two project management methods: waterfall and Agile. The waterfall method moves through each stage of development once. These stages usually consist of requirements, design, implementation, verification, and maintenance.

The Agile method instead creates the project via iterations and sprints, with the intention of changing or replacing parts of it as the project evolves. We chose medicine, defense, and identification within the government as our three areas of research. For medicine, we studied the software behind vaccine distribution and illness diagnosis. Agile was found to be less useful in environments with unstable internet connection, where software updates could not be performed. For defense, we researched the evolution and integration of Agile into the United States Department of Defense (DoD). We found that, despite a push for Agile within many divisions, the DoD has struggled to fully implement the methodology. For identification, we studied the methods involved with making virtual means to verify identity. Waterfall was found to be less efficient than Agile here, as the constant need for updates and adjustments did not fit well with its linearity and limitations.