CIS 525 Week 1 Assignment 1: Agile versus Waterfall

Assignment 1: Agile versus Waterfall

Due Week 2 and worth 110 points

The following resources may be helpful when completing this assignment:

“WATERFALL vs. AGILE METHODOLOGY” (You may also view the article at http://agileintro.wordpress.com/2008/01/04/waterfall-vs-agile-methodology/.)
“Understanding the pros and cons of the Waterfall Model of software development” (You may also view the article at http://www.techrepublic.com/article/understanding-the-pros-and-cons-of-the-waterfall-model-of-software-development/6118423.)
“Transitioning from waterfall to iterative development” (You may also view the article at http://www.ibm.com/developerworks/rational/library/4243.html.)

Agile approach to project management has become more and more popular in recent years. Agile framework is different from traditional waterfall model. It has considerable impact on how projects are planned and executed.

Imagine that you have been assigned as a project manager to manage your company’s e-Commerce Website where customers can browse the company’s products, place orders, and interact with the company’s customer service representatives. Your project must be completed in three (3) months and you have about twelve (12) people in the team. There are three (3) offshore developers in Ireland and two (2) QA testers in Dallas, TX. The rest of the project team and the product owner are in San Diego, CA.

Write a five to six (5-6) page paper in which you:

Compare and contrast agile and Waterfall models of managing a project in the context of building an e-Commerce Website. Include diagrams or tables through the use of graphical tools in Microsoft Word or Visio, or an open source alternative such as Dia to show the differences and similarities. Note: The graphically depicted solution is not included in the required page length.
Evaluate the pros and cons in agile and Waterfall project management in terms of planning and the execution of projects and collaboration among project team members.
Determine whether you would use an “Agile” or “Waterfall” model to manage the project for your company. Support your rationale.
Identify and analyze the major pitfalls and misconceptions inherited in your chosen approach. Propose key actions that you, as a project manager, could take in order to mitigate the risks associated with the previously identified misconceptions.
Use at least three (3) quality resources in this assignment. Note: Wikipedia and similar Websites do not qualify as quality resources. You may use the resources above or others of your choosing.

Your assignment must follow these formatting requirements:

Be typed, double spaced, using Times New Roman font (size 12), with one-inch margins on all sides; citations and references must follow APA or school-specific format. Check with your professor for any additional instructions.
Include a cover page containing the title of the assignment, the student’s name, the professor’s name, the course title, and the date. The cover page and the reference page are not included in the required assignment page length.
Include charts or diagrams created in Visio or one of their equivalents such as Dia and OpenOffice. The completed diagrams / charts must be imported into the Word document before the paper is submitted.

The specific course learning outcomes associated with this assignment are:

Compare and contrast agile project management methods with traditional project management.
Use technology and information resources to research issues in advanced agile project management topics.
Write clearly and concisely about advanced agile project management topics using proper writing mechanics and technical style conventions.