Lean Planning vs Waterfall Planning

Developers should learn Lean Planning when working in startups, agile environments, or product development roles where rapid iteration and customer-centric validation are critical meets developers should use waterfall planning for projects with well-defined, stable requirements, such as government contracts, safety-critical systems, or large-scale infrastructure where regulatory compliance is key. Here's our take.

Lean Planning

Nice Pick

Developers should learn Lean Planning when working in startups, agile environments, or product development roles where rapid iteration and customer-centric validation are critical

Pros

• It is particularly useful for minimizing risks in uncertain projects, such as launching new products or features, by enabling teams to test hypotheses and pivot based on feedback
• Related to: agile-methodology, scrum

Cons

• Specific tradeoffs depend on your use case

Waterfall Planning

Developers should use Waterfall Planning for projects with well-defined, stable requirements, such as government contracts, safety-critical systems, or large-scale infrastructure where regulatory compliance is key

Pros

• It's suitable when stakeholders need predictable timelines and budgets, and when changes during development are costly or impractical, as it reduces ambiguity through thorough documentation
• Related to: project-management, requirements-analysis

Cons

• Specific tradeoffs depend on your use case

The Verdict

Use Lean Planning if: You want it is particularly useful for minimizing risks in uncertain projects, such as launching new products or features, by enabling teams to test hypotheses and pivot based on feedback and can live with specific tradeoffs depend on your use case.

Use Waterfall Planning if: You prioritize it's suitable when stakeholders need predictable timelines and budgets, and when changes during development are costly or impractical, as it reduces ambiguity through thorough documentation over what Lean Planning offers.

The Bottom Line

Lean Planning wins

Developers should learn Lean Planning when working in startups, agile environments, or product development roles where rapid iteration and customer-centric validation are critical