The point is that development isn't agile Vs waterfall. It is about choosing the correct tool for the job.
Waterfall works well when requirements are clearly known and reasonably fixed.
Agile is about adapting your processes, learning from feedback, and accepting that requirements may change as development progresses.
Mass production of a single car model as an example can work with a waterfall style approach (but keep in mind that Kanban and some other agile concepts came from Toyota). A formula one car on the other hand would never work in waterfall.
I don't think you'd pick Agile to write a complex accountancy package. If it were done in Agile, it would be like:
User: "OK, we'll need to post to the office ledger, so code for that."
Developer:
User, later: "Right, so now we need to take care of the nominal ledders"
Developer: "So there's more than one type of ledger?"
I'd be interested in discussing that further, particularly how large-scale, multi-release features are planned in, using the example of multiple types of ledgers, perhaps. Thank you.
The point is that development isn't agile Vs waterfall. It is about choosing the correct tool for the job.
Waterfall works well when requirements are clearly known and reasonably fixed.
Agile is about adapting your processes, learning from feedback, and accepting that requirements may change as development progresses.
Mass production of a single car model as an example can work with a waterfall style approach (but keep in mind that Kanban and some other agile concepts came from Toyota). A formula one car on the other hand would never work in waterfall.
I don't think you'd pick Agile to write a complex accountancy package. If it were done in Agile, it would be like:
User: "OK, we'll need to post to the office ledger, so code for that."
Developer:
User, later: "Right, so now we need to take care of the nominal ledders"
Developer: "So there's more than one type of ledger?"
Funnily enough that's actually what I do and have been doing successful via some form of Agile for 15 years now, seems to work fine.
I'd be interested in discussing that further, particularly how large-scale, multi-release features are planned in, using the example of multiple types of ledgers, perhaps. Thank you.
Happy to discuss further @greigtaylor on twitter.