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Sprint vs Waterfall Project Management Methodology: Why Not Use Both with monday Dev?
- Ishani Dhar Chowdhury
- Jun 5
- 7 min read
How can you reach a successful project outcome? That'll be with the right project management styles.
Both Sprint and Waterfall can offer flexible and structured changes, respectively. But which one would be the best choice for your team? Well, it depends on your specific business workflow requirements for each department and project.
Before we continue, we'd like to highlight that Sprint is how Agile methodology functions. Sprint is essentially a time-boxed, short iteration in Agile techniques compared to the sequential and linear Waterfall project management approach.
That means we'll mainly focus on the differences between Agile and Waterfall methods in this blog post, which will automatically cover Sprint. Let's discuss the details of each project management approach and explore how you can use them on monday Dev.
Sprint vs Waterfall: The Definitions
According to Teamwork.com, there are seven main styles. These include Waterfall, Scrum, Agile, Strategic, Kanban, Lean, and Six Sigma.
Among them, Waterfall and Agile are the most popular. Would you like to know what they actually are?
Waterfall Methodology
Also known as the Waterfall model, this project management technique follows a sequential approach. Projects will get broken down into sequential linear phases that lead into the next, relying on deliverables from the previous one.
Safe to say that this method lives up to its name, right? It flows exactly like a waterfall, where one step must be completed before moving on.
TechTarget reports that Winston W. Royce introduced this linear approach in a 1970 research paper. He stated that the Waterfall model allows you to set a structure and plan for a project early on.
This methodology helps in the following ways:
Projects are easier to manage and execute.
Milestones, deliverables, and release dates are more predictable.
Ensures accurate estimations.
Sprint Methodology
As mentioned earlier, the Sprint method is part of the Agile model. It works in sprints or iterations. These are small deliverables with short deadlines (one to three weeks), which your team must complete before getting feedback. Based on the insights, they'll adapt and change the project management techniques.
It's a collaborative project management style that breaks down a large project into smaller tasks. Teams can then tackle these attainable tasks in a collaborative setting. Industry leaders have deduced that it's based on the twelve principles available in the Agile manifesto.
It values:
Flexibility in deliverability.
Cross-team collaboration.
Project progression without a step-by-step structure.
Agile project management is an iterative and incremental approach that delivers a project throughout its life cycle. It promotes speed and adaptability and takes customer feedback to solve problems.
When it comes to Waterfall vs Agile, the former isn't flexible and cannot jump ahead to different phases unless a problem is solved.
Waterfall Model and Sprint Model: Some Examples
Let's simplify what we just learnt. Waterfall methods flow through the project in a structured manner without the ability to break out of the steps. Whereas Sprint methods break down the project into smaller tasks, allowing for more flexibility.
An example of how to use both the Sprint and Waterfall methodologies can help you understand them further.
Example of Agile Methodology
Your software development team wants to create a productivity tool for a small business. Agile (Sprint) methods will include a process of:
Creation of a high-level vision for project kickoff detailing the key features.
Each team is working on a feature for iterative development based on priority and feedback. For example, short sprints throughout the project timeline to develop a working increment.
Integrated testing to identify errors in each sprint to ensure continuous feedback before it's presented to stakeholders.
Moving on to the next sprint (feature) once the previous one is approved.
Deployment of a minimum viable product that showcases the productivity tool.
Ongoing maintenance and development where your team adds features, improves subsequent sprints, fixes bugs, and more.
Example of Waterfall Methodology
Imagine your software development team uses the Waterfall method to design the same productivity tool. The process will be:
Clearly define the scope based on every feature the tool needs as part of requirements gathering.
Detailed product design to document a guide for development.
Coders will follow a structured process based on the implementation modules laid out by the design team.
The system will be tested for performance issues, alignment with business needs, and bugs.
Once bugs are fixed, the next step would be to roll out the product to customers.
For maintenance, the team will address post-deployment issues.
How Can monday Dev Help?
Reports suggest that the valuation of the project management software industry will reach USD 7 billion by 2026. That's because 85% of businesses actively use such tools.
What if we told you that there's a work management platform that can help manage Agile and Waterfall processes? With monday Dev, you can streamline product development strategies (start) to post-launch feedback (finish).
It's a flexible platform built for Product and R&D teams. monday.com Dev is filled with customisable features designed to take Agile and Waterfall methods to the next level.
Agile Sprints with monday Dev
If you're using Agile methods, monday Dev can help you with Sprint management. With this, you can gain an immediate overview by assigning ownership, priorities, timelines, and statuses to each sprint.
Sprint management on monday Dev comes with the following features:
Burndown charts to identify potential bottlenecks by comparing ideal sprint progress with remaining effort.
Kanban boards and dashboards maximise efficiency by giving you a 360-degree view of into ongoing development tasks.
monday Dev integrations with 72+ tools like GitLab, GitHub, etc., to automatically sync bug reports and share updates.
Waterfall Projects with monday Dev
Waterfall methodology is a more traditional (complicated) approach. Well, the entire lifecycle can be easier to manage using monday Dev features.
Lay out the entire project from start to finish. It has 25+ widgets and 36+ columns to display quarterly plans, budgets, team progress, etc.
monday WorkDocs helps with knowledge management, where you can store detailed Waterfall documentation in a single location.
Set up notification alerts for team members to begin the project stage once the previous stage is complete, using monday automation.
Gantt charts help visualise crucial project milestones or task dependencies, ensuring Waterfall projects run smoothly and on time.
Waterfall or Agile: Should You Choose Both?
When Can You Use Them?
Your project's success depends on the project management methodology you use.
Businesses should choose Agile when their projects may have evolving end-user requirements, can hit roadblocks, and cannot be fully understood. It requires collaboration and flexibility based on feedback throughout each Sprint.
Go for the Waterfall method if projects have a clear and complete scope before they start. The risk of scope change will be low because you'd know every step of the project already. Teams must understand their roles and meet requirements before moving to the next stage.
Can You Use Both?
What if you can choose both project management methods? Be it Sprint or Waterfall, monday Dev offers an unparalleled platform to manage every workflow.
You can use a hybrid approach that blends Agile and Waterfall methods. With monday Dev's versatile and integrated features, your projects can adapt to both.
You can use the Waterfall method for the overall project planning and governance. Then, implement Sprint cycles for development phases. Using monday.com Dev to keep everything on track can ensure your teams manage the projects in a way best suited for business needs and operational efficiency.
Example: Your company is developing a digital product that might use Waterfall planning for market research, launch strategy, and regulatory approval processes. Similarly, they can use Sprints or Agile methods for the software development and user experience testing phase.
Benefits?
This combination will provide a predictable and structured approach at the macro level. It will also maintain responsiveness and flexibility at the execution level. For instance, teams can benefit from Agile's flexibility or iterative feedback and Waterfall's structured or sequential approach.
Using both ensures you can match methodology to project characteristics, instead of forcing all stages to work into a single framework. This level of flexibility will help your organisation to handle diverse project portfolios efficiently.
Examples include routine maintenance using Waterfall and innovative development with Sprint. The key is recognising which method would be the best choice for your project, stakeholders, team capabilities, etc.
Does Fruition Play a Role?
Fruition aims to offer exceptional digital transformation solutions for businesses of all sizes and industries, using monday WorkOS. Our team of 22+ talented monday consultants will help organisations implement hybrid project management models (Agile + Waterfall).
With over 10 years of collective experience and 290+ satisfied clients, we can configure monday Dev to support both methodologies simultaneously. We'll analyse your project needs and create a Sprint-Waterfall integration using boards, templates, automations, and more.
Fruition will configure monday Dev in such a manner that it enables teams to manage sprints, release products, and plan roadmaps. We'll help you blend the solution into a dual approach that allows project managers to maintain structured governance, enable development, and balance complex projects.
FAQs
Is it recommended to use both the Sprint and Waterfall methods?
Yes, business leaders recommend using both the Sprint (Agile) and Waterfall methodologies together in a hybrid approach. You can do this with the help of monday Dev, as it combines the strengths of each model. With this hybrid method, teams allow upfront planning and budgeting using Waterfall. Similarly, you can use Sprint for iterative design, development, improving flexibility, feedback, and testing.
Which is better: Waterfall or Sprint project management methodology?
Choosing between the Waterfall and Sprint methods will depend on your project needs. The former is best for projects with well-defined and stable requirements. It works on a linear process that offers predictability and clear documentation. However, Sprint excels in iterative and flexible development with adaptability and frequent feedback. Neither is "universally better"—choose one that suits your project complexity and team's change tolerance.
Can you use monday Dev for Waterfall and Agile project management?
Yes, you can use the monday Dev platform to support your need for Agile or Waterfall models. This tool comes with Gantt charts, roadmap planning, a Sprint management board, customisable templates, automation, and more. It also provides Scrum and Kanban workflows, sprint planning, and integrations for Agile teams. Flexibility and structure go hand-in-hand when you're using monday Dev for a hybrid project management methodology.
