Roman Kiesler
Agile jira vs. Waterfall 4me
Updated: Apr 17, 2020
Even before the conception of an extensive project begins, those responsible are faced with a crucial question: Which working method is the quickest and most efficient way to implement the project successfully? Two very opposite approaches from project management are still very popular: the waterfall model and the agile model. In order to make a decision for a sequential or agile approach, it is necessary to be aware of the advantages and disadvantages of both principles and to compare them with the general conditions in the respective project. Let’s take a look at what I consider to be the 3 most important advantages of each method. waterfall (push-) method: 1. Simple structure through clearly defined project phases. 2. Costs and workload can be estimated at the beginning of the project. Therefore a
certain planning security is guaranteed. 3. Good documentation of the development process through clearly defined milestones. agile (pull-) method: 1. High flexibility towards changing competitive requirements, customer and user needs. 2. Errors are detected and corrected early 3. Fast results and short time to market So what to use now, push or pull? A simple example: Imagine you are on your way to a tram and want to get on it. Then you notice that your ticket credit is used up. What do you do? Of course you go to the ticketmachine to load your card. You are already part of a pull system based on a specific signal. In other words, a pull system only lets you consume when you need to, i.e. at the right time. The alternative would be a schedule-based control or a push system. A push system in our tram example would be if you regularly buy a ticket, regardless of how much you consume. Let us now leave the tram and learn more about pull respectively push systems and their application. Application
The common definition of the pull process is that the customer pulls the value from the project team, but not only the customer pulls, but also the subsequent customer. In doing so, the subsequent customer gives the impulse and indicates in this way when the next phase begins. Typical pull processes are found in the Kanban or Scrum methodology and make these models more flexible and reduce waste.
In contrast to the push process, where the team leader “pushes” the tasks to his team members and thus puts the work on a “to-do” list, pull processes allow the team members to get the work done when they are ready. Pull processes thus prevent team members from being under stress and working on results that will be eliminated at a later stage. A great advantage for project work is that tasks or points can be prioritized. In this way, the project manager and his team can work on the right tasks at the right time, while at the same time reducing time and effort. Software development teams might think now- It’s obvious, we’ll definitely go with the agile (pull-) method. But what if you simply combined both methods? This happens more often in practice than one might think.Therefore we have created the possibility to connect 4me and jira with our Automator. To be continued….