The Waterfall Approach and Requirement Uncertainty: An In-Depth Case Study of an Enterprise Systems Implementation at a Major Airline Company

Authors:
Huub J.M. Ruël;Tanya Bondarouk;Stefan Smink
Affiliations:
University of Twente, The Netherlands;University of Twente, The Netherlands;Sodexo Altys, The Netherlands
Venue:
International Journal of Information Technology Project Management
Year:
2010

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Abstract

The Waterfall approach has been the dominant approach for enterprise systems ES implementation since the 1970s. It offers ES project managers a simple, step-by-step way to make ES projects manageable and minimize drawbacks. The main criticism of this approach centres on its inflexibility regarding requirement uncertainty. In this article, the authors challenge this criticism. By means of an in-depth case study of a Waterfall approach-based ES implementation project within the maintenance department of one of the world's biggest airline companies, this article will illustrate how it deals with requirements uncertainty and required flexibility in practice.