Waterfall And Whirlpool Methods

The Waterfall Document model is a software development process set up as a sequence. The process is visually displayed in such a way that the diagram is displayed like a waterfall. This symbolises that progress is flowing steadily downwards, like a waterfall would. Below is an example of the waterfall method

(Wikipedia, 2009)

In this example the project goes through each stage of the waterfall process, in all cases of the waterfall model the only way to move to the next stage of the waterfall is through the completion of the prior stage, hence in the above diagram including Requirements, Design, Implementation, Verification, and Maintenance. Requirements would have to be fully completed before I could move on to Design.

The whirlpool model is similar to the waterfall model in many ways however visually the process goes around like a whirlpool would. This means that you would produce each of the sections to completion like in the waterfall method. However the process would then restart back at requirements. This means that the product is constantly improving and that the whirlpool method is an ongoing process.

I believe that the best model to use for a web designer would be the whirlpool model. I believe this is the best method for a web designer because most websites will need to undergo changes and have updates, therefore the whirlpool method I ideal in the industry because the designer can go through the steps again and again every time the website needs updating.

The waterfall process can be very useful in design when it is a one off process, If you are not going back to the design to improve then the waterfall model is perfect. The Whirlpool design is much more practical for most designs because in general products will always have to be improved to the best possible standard to keep up with the surrounding industry and constant upgrades of technology.