What are the disadvantages of the waterfall model?

The disadvantages of the waterfall model are:

1. The division of each phase is completely fixed, and a large amount of documentation is generated between phases, which greatly increases the workload.

2, because the development model is linear, the user can only wait until the end of the process to see the results of the development, thus increasing the development risk.

3. Tracking the various project phases through too many mandatory completion dates and milestones.

4, the waterfall model's outstanding disadvantage is that it does not adapt to changes in user needs.

Extended Information

The waterfall model sets up the stages of system analysis and system design prior to coding, and the basic tasks of the analysis and design phases stipulate that the logical model of the target system is primarily considered in these two phases, and the physical implementation of the software is not involved.

Clearly distinguishing between logical and physical design, and postponing the physical implementation of the program as much as possible, is an important guideline for developing software according to the waterfall model.

The traditional waterfall model is overly idealized; in fact, it is impossible to work without making mistakes. Mistakes in the specification document may be found in the design phase, while design flaws or errors may be revealed in the realization process, and many errors in the requirements analysis, design, or coding phase will be found in the comprehensive testing phase.

Baidu Encyclopedia - Waterfall Model