400-007 · Question #196
Various teams in different organizations within an enterprise are preparing low-level design documents to capture network parameters using a Waterfall project model: - hardware sizing and power…
The correct answer is A. Significant effort and time are required. The Waterfall model is a sequential, phase-gated methodology where scope is fixed after requirements are captured. Introducing changes after scope definition forces the project team to revisit completed phases, consuming significant extra effort and time.
Question
Various teams in different organizations within an enterprise are preparing low-level design documents to capture network parameters using a Waterfall project model:
- hardware sizing and power consumption
- Layer 2 and layer 3 services parameters
- configuration of all control plane protocols
Input from relevant stakeholders was captured at the start of the project, and the project scope has been defined based on the parameters above. What impact will it have on documentation and project deliverables if the stakeholders ask to have changes earned out in the network before the information has been captured?
Options
- ASignificant effort and time are required
- BRework is expected before the delivery
- CThis provides more opportunity to think outside the box
- DThis provides a flexible approach to incorporate changes
How the community answered
(44 responses)- A82% (36)
- B11% (5)
- C5% (2)
- D2% (1)
Why each option
The Waterfall model is a sequential, phase-gated methodology where scope is fixed after requirements are captured. Introducing changes after scope definition forces the project team to revisit completed phases, consuming significant extra effort and time.
In Waterfall, each phase (requirements, design, implementation) must be completed before the next begins, so any stakeholder-driven change after scope is locked requires re-opening earlier deliverables, renegotiating design parameters, and rescheduling tasks - all of which demand significant additional effort and calendar time.
While rework may occur, 'rework before delivery' understates the true impact - the primary consequence is the compounded effort and time cost of revisiting locked phases, not simply iterating on a deliverable.
Waterfall does not provide flexibility for creative re-scoping; unplanned changes violate the model's structured phase gates and do not represent an opportunity for innovative thinking.
A flexible approach to incorporating changes is a characteristic of Agile methodologies, not Waterfall, which explicitly resists scope changes once a phase is completed.
Concept tested: Waterfall model impact of late scope changes
Source: https://www.pmi.org/learning/library/waterfall-software-development-methodology-7243
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