The Waterfall

The Waterfall model is a sequential project management approach where each phase—such as planning, design, development, testing, and deployment—must be completed fully before moving to the next. It resembles a waterfall flowing steadily downward, with no going back to previous stages. This method provides clear structure and documentation, making progress easy to track. However, it can be inflexible if changes are needed late in the process, as revisiting earlier stages can be costly. It’s best suited for projects with well-defined requirements and minimal expected changes.