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from the what-if-you-can't-program-your-way-out-of-a-paper-bag? dept.
Agile Development is hip. It's hot. All the cool kids are doing it.
But it doesn't work.
Before I get into why this "Agile" stuff is horrible, let's describe where Agile/Scrum can work. It can work for a time-sensitive and critical project of short duration (6 weeks max) that cross-cuts the business and has no clear manager, because it involves people from multiple departments. You can call it a "Code Red" or call it a Scrum or a "War Room" if you have a physical room for it.
Note that "Agile" comes from the consulting world. It suits well the needs of a small consulting firm, not yet very well-established, that lands one big-ticket project and needs to deliver it quickly, despite changing requirements and other potential bad behavior from the client. It works well when you have a relatively homogeneous talent level and a staff of generalists, which might also be true for an emerging web consultancy.
As a short-term methodology when a firm faces an existential risk or a game-changing opportunity, I'm not opposed to the "Code Red"/"crunch time"/Scrum practice of ignoring peoples' career goals and their individual talents. I have in mind that this "Code Red" state should exist for no more than 6 weeks per year in a well-run business. Even that's less than ideal: the ideal is zero. Frequent crises reflect poorly on management.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday January 04 2018, @10:08PM
Assuming you have a fair idea of what you are trying to make,
If you are building a building or ship, figuring out the design before building is the way to go. The parts are for the most part defined and ripping out and replacing due to a design change is expensive. But this says little about waterfall for s/w.
Software adds a whole nuther level of complexity.
THe complexity of what is possible is much more and there are many more options because the parts are often defined as you go.
If the s/w problem is like one you know how to do, then waterfall (and almost anything else?) will work.
Else, if you have enough time to study the problem to death, then waterfall might work, but no guarantee. (F-35?)
Else, if you are not the military and can't spend that much time, then iterative seems more likely..