Four Approaches to know for your PMP (Agile, Waterfall)

If you are going for your PMP exam this year, make sure you know these four development approaches. Each one balances planning and flexibility differently.

Predictive (Waterfall)

Predictive or waterfall assumes requirements are stable and known upfront. You plan everything in detail before building begins. Then you build the entire solution and release it all at once at the end. This works well when requirements are clear and change is unlikely.

Iterative

Iterative development still delivers one final release at the end, but you iterate toward success along the way. You gather feedback regularly, use prototypes to test ideas and continuously improve based on what you learn. The final product is refined through multiple cycles before release.

Incremental

Incremental development breaks the project into small increments. For each increment, you perform all project activities once: design, build, test and deliver. Then you repeat the cycle for the next increment until all increments are complete and released. Users get value incrementally rather than waiting for the final release.

Agile

Agile combines incremental and iterative approaches. You deliver in small increments and you continuously gather feedback from users. Each sprint produces a working increment that incorporates learning from previous sprints. This gives you both continuous delivery and continuous improvement.

For Your Exam

Know the differences between these four. Understand when each is appropriate. The PMP exam will ask you to identify which approach fits a given scenario.

– David McLachlan

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