# MODELS LIMITATIONS When to Use When not to Use

1 Waterfall  Waterfall relies  This model is  Projects that

on teams used only when require
following a the requirements immediate
sequence of are very well Implementation
steps and never known, clear  For complex
moving forward and fixed. Projects
until the  This model is  Long and
previous phase used only when ongoing
has been the requirements projects
completed. are very well  Object-oriented
 It leaves almost known, clear Projects.
no room for and fixed.
unexpected  Product
changes or definition is
revisions. stable.
 The waterfall
 Technology is
process does not
understood.
perform step-
wise testing,  There are no
therefore, any ambiguous
issue can cause requirements.
a lot of  Ample
problems later. resources with
As there is no required
turning back, expertise are
once a mistake available freely.
has been made it  The project is
cannot be short.
resolved in the
next phase.
2 Incremental  Each phase of an  Such models  When you
iteration is rigid and are used have less
do not overlap each where time to
other. requirements deliver the
 Problems may arise are clear and project
pertaining to system can  When
architecture because implement module
not all requirements by phase interfaces
are gathered up wise. are not well
front for the entire  A new defined
software life cycle. technology  Project
is being used with
There are constant
some high changes
risk features and updates
 and goals.

 Mostly such
model is
used in web
applications
and product
based
companies.

3 Prototyping  Leads to  Prototype model  If too many

implementing should be used changes are
and then when the required after
repairing way of desired system the feedback
building needs to have a from client.
systems. lot of interaction  If customers
 Practically, this with the end are not willing
methodology users. to participate in
may increase the  Typically, Iteration
complexity of online systems, process for
the system as web interfaces longer time
scope of the have a very high period.
system may amount of  If product
expand beyond interaction with needs to be
original plans. end users, are delivered early.
 Incomplete best suited for
application may Prototype
cause model. It might
application not take a while for
to be used as the a system to be
full system was built that allows
designed ease of use and
Incomplete or needs minimal
inadequate training for the
problem end user.
analysis.  Prototyping
ensures that the
end users
constantly work
with the system
and provide a
feedback which
is incorporated
in the prototype
to result in a
 useable system.
They are
excellent for
designing good
human
computer
interface
systems.

4 Spiral  Can be a costly  When costs and  When the

model to use. risk evaluation project is small
 Risk analysis is important or it has less
requires highly  For medium to chances of risk.
specific high-risk  When the
expertise. projects developer is
 Project’s  Long-term not an expert.
success is highly project  Projects that do
dependent on commitment not require
the risk analysis unwise because constant
phase. of potential change.
 Doesn’t work changes to
well for smaller economic
projects. priorities
 Users are unsure
of their needs
 Requirements
are complex
 New product
line
 Significant
changes are
expected
(research and
exploration)

5 Agile  In case of some  When new

software changes are  Your team is
deliverables, needed to be not self
especially the implemented.
large ones, it is The freedom organizing and
difficult to agile gives to
assess the effort change is very lacks.
required at the important. New
beginning of the changes can be professional
 software implemented at
development life very little cost developers.
cycle. because of the
 There is lack of frequency of  Your project is
emphasis on new increments
necessary that are not very
designing and produced.
urgent.
documentation.  To implement a
 The project can new feature the  Your customer
easily get taken developers need
off track if the to lose only the requires
customer work of a few
representative is days, or even approvals at
not clear what only hours, to each stage of
final outcome roll back and
that they want. implement it. development
 Only senior
programmers
are capable of
taking the kind
of decisions
required during
the development
process. Hence
it has no place
for newbie
programmers,
unless combined
with
experienced
resources.

6 XP  Some specialists  A system whose  If senior and

say that Extreme functionality is experienced
Programming is expected to programmers
focused on the change with are not
code rather than respect to the available.
on design. That requirements.  If customer is
may be a unclear about
problem because  When your the final
good design is customers need product they
extremely a new system by want.
important for a specific date .  When
software  The XP documentation
applications. It practices are set is required.
 helps sell them up to mitigate  When quick
in the software the risk and delivery is not
market. increase the important.
Additionally, in likelihood of
XP projects the success.
defect
documentation
is not always
good. Lack of
defect
documentation
may lead to the
occurrence of
similar bugs in
the future.
 One more
disadvantage of
XP is that this
methodology
does not
measure code
quality
assurance. It
may cause
defects in the
initial code.
 XP is not the
best option if
programmers
are separated
geographically.