What does "Waterfall" mean in programming?
Waterfall is one of the most common terms in software development. This guide explains what it means, how it is used in practice, and why it matters, with real examples from the developer world.
Definition
A sequential software development methodology where each phase (requirements, design, implementation, testing, deployment) must be fully completed before the next begins. Waterfall is predictable but inflexible: changes discovered late are expensive. Most modern teams use Agile instead.
Example
"The client insisted on a Waterfall contract — we had to freeze requirements before writing a single line of code."
Related terms
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