Difference Between Waterfall Model and V Model

Key Difference – Waterfall Model vs V Model
 

The key difference between waterfall model and V model is that in waterfall model the software testing is done after the completion of development phase while in V model, each phase in the development cycle has a directly associated testing phase.

Software Development Life Cycle (SDLC) is a process followed by a software organization to develop a working, high quality software. There are various software development process models that can be followed during the software development process. Two of them are Waterfall and V model.

CONTENTS

1. Overview and Key Difference
2. What is Waterfall Model
3. What is V Model
4. Similarities Between Waterfall Model and V Model
5. Side by Side Comparison – Waterfall Model vs V Model in Tabular Form
6. Summary

What is Waterfall Model?

Waterfall model is an easy to understand and simple model. The complete process is divided into several phases. One phase should be completed in order to reach the next phase.

The first phase is requirement gathering and analysis. The requirements are then documented. It is called the Software Requirement Specification (SRS). The next is the system design phase. It is to design the entire software architecture. Next phase is the implementation phase. It is to start coding the small units. These units are combined to form the complete system and tested in the integration and testing phase. After the testing is completed the software is distributed to the market. The activities such as maintenance of the software and adding new features come under deployment and maintenance.

This model is appropriate for small projects and when the requirements are very clear. It is not suitable for large and complex projects. Generally, the customer interaction is the minimum in the waterfall model.

What is V Model?

V model is an extension of the waterfall model. It has a corresponding testing phase for each development phase. Therefore, for every stage in the development cycle, there is an associated testing phase. The corresponding testing phase of the development phase is planned in parallel. This model is also known as the verification and validation model.

The first phase is to gather requirements. The SRS is prepared at this stage. The acceptance design plan is also done in this phase. It is the input for acceptance testing.  The design phase involves two steps. The architecture design involves the architecture required for the system. It is known as the high-level design. The module design is known as low-level design. The actual coding starts in the coding phase.

In unit testing, the small modules or units are tested.  The integration testing is to test the flow of the two different modules. The system testing is to check the functionality of the entire system. The acceptance testing is to test the software in user environment. It also checks whether the system is in line with the software requirement specification.

Overall, the v model is suitable, when the project is short and when the requirements are very clear. It is a not a suitable project for the large, complex and object-oriented projects.

What are the Similarities Between Waterfall Model and V Model?

• Both Waterfall Model and V Model are software process models.
• Both Waterfall model and V models are not suitable for large and complex projects.

What is the Difference Between Waterfall Model and V Model?

Summary – Waterfall Model vs V Model

This article discussed two software process models that are waterfall and v model. The difference between waterfall and V model is that in waterfall model the software testing is done after the completion of development phase while in V model, each phase in the development cycle has a directly associated testing phase.

Reference:

1.“SDLC Waterfall Model.”, Tutorials Point, 8 Jan. 2018. Available here
2.“SDLC V-Model.”, Tutorials Point, 8 Jan. 2018. Available here