Waterfall Process Sequence in a Project

Test the completed software against the documented requirements, correct defects, and retest to verify the deliverable.

Verify the deliverable before asking the customer to formally accept it.

Present the verified software to the customer for validation against the acceptance criteria and obtain formal acceptance.

Customer acceptance differs from internal quality testing.

Transfer the accepted software, operating documentation, and support responsibilities to the operations team.

The receiving team needs an accepted solution and the information to operate it.

Resolve conflicting requirements and obtain stakeholder agreement on the documented requirements and acceptance criteria.

Unresolved requirements would make the planned deliverables uncertain.

Engage the identified business users and stakeholders to document detailed software requirements and acceptance criteria.

Detailed requirements need input from the people who will use or accept the solution.

Use the agreed requirements to define the scope statement and create the work breakdown structure and WBS dictionary.

Translate agreed needs into defined deliverables and work packages.

Break the defined work packages into activities, determine dependencies, and estimate resources, durations, and costs.

Detailed estimates depend on knowing what work must be performed.

Prepare and obtain approval of the detailed software design against the agreed requirements and approved project plan.

The team needs an agreed technical design before building this solution.

Build the software according to the approved design while tracking performance and processing requested changes through change control.

Implementation uses the approved design and controlled changes.

Obtain approval of the project charter to authorize the software project and establish the project manager’s authority.

Look for the action that formally authorizes the project.

Complete administrative closure after handover by finalizing records, consolidating lessons learned, and releasing remaining project resources.

Identify the task that concludes the project after its obligations are met.

Integrate the estimates and risk responses into the project management plan and obtain approval of the scope, schedule, and cost baselines.

The approved baselines provide the reference for measuring performance.