Agile vs. waterfall: Comparing project management cultures

The text explores the ongoing debate between waterfall and agile methodologies in software development, emphasizing the resurgence of waterfall principles in modern agile practices. While the waterfall approach, characterized by predictability, control, hierarchy, and structure, is effective in certain industries with low uncertainty, its rigid nature became less favorable in software development after the dot-com bubble burst, paving the way for agile's rise. Agile, with values centered on adaptability, horizontality, collaboration, delivery, and discovery, became popular for its flexibility and rapid value delivery, especially in tech startups. However, the text argues that many companies today superficially adopt agile frameworks while retaining waterfall values, creating a mismatch that can lead to inefficiencies, especially as market conditions tighten. The discussion highlights the importance of aligning values with the chosen methodology, acknowledging that both approaches have their context-dependent advantages and limitations.