IT Projects: Everything Agile Or Still Waterfall?

Agile project methods have been a topic of conversation for years. There is hardly a management consultant who does not swear by them and hardly a company that does not prescribe "agile" as a miracle cure for many homemade problems. Agility in project management has almost become mandatory, for better or worse.

Lawyers are usually only confronted with the topic when instructed to create the appropriate contractual basis for such a project. And then it often proves complex to create the perfect contractual setting. It is essential that the lawyer understands how an agile project differs from a waterfall project.

The waterfall project management model is linear, so the project phases are not arranged in iterations. The typical phases in an IT project are: (i) planning, specification, draft project plan; (ii) creation of statement(s) of work; (iii) conversion; (iv) implementation and integration; and (v) approval tests.