Name: Juma David Omondi
REG NO.:PA106/G/22885/24
SOFTWARE ENGINEERING
SOFTWARE ENGINEERING REQUIREMENT
CASE STUDY OF SAFARICOM ON WHICH METHODOLOGY SAFARICOM IS
CURRENTLY USING AFTER CHANGING FROM WATERFALL METHODOLOGY
Safaricom is one of telecommunication company in Kenya that provides their
services to Kenyans and the most preferred for use by Kenyans due to wide range
of services that they provide that benefits the population.
Safaricom changed from waterfall methodology in the year 2020 to Agile
methodology by putting their modern customer in mind .
Under Agile methodology their aim is when attending to customer’s needs is
progress rather than perfection, thus creating a product or service to meet
customers’ needs and then improving it on the go.
PROBLEMS FACED BY SAFARICOM WHILE USING WATERFALL METHODOLOGY
BEFORE THEY HAD TO CHANGE TO AGILE METHODOLOGY.
1. Waterfall methodology lacked flexibility this is because waterfall
methodology follows a rigid , sequential processes making it difficult to
accommodate changes once the project ha started. And due to constant
change in market demands and customers requirement rendered waterfall
methodology ineffective as it does not allow easy mind-project adjustments
2. Waterfall methodology offered a slow delivery and long development cycles
this was due to each phase such as requirements, design, development and
testing had to be completed first the next phase could begin leading to the
project taking long to deliver thus customers received the final product only
at the end, delaying feedback and increasing risks during the process.
3. Waterfall methodology led to some of Safaricom’s high risk projects failure
this was due to most flaws were discovered late in the project making going
back to fix the flaw expensive and time consuming. This was caused by
incomplete or misunderstood requirements at the start of the project
leading to a product that does not meet customer needs at the end.
4. There was limited customer involvement while Safaricom was using
waterfall methodology this was because they only involved customers at
the beginning of a project i.e. requirement phase and at the end i.e.
delivery phase this led to lack of continuous feedback leading to
misalignment between final product and customer expectations.
5. While using waterfall methodology Safaricom had to face difficulty in Bug
fixing and late testing. Testing only happened at the end of project, making
it had to detect and fix bugs early which led to major defects in
development making fixing expensive and may require significant rework.
6. While Safaricom was using waterfall methodology it faced problem like
poor team collaboration. The teams worked in silos, with developers,
testers and other stakeholders having limited interaction throughout the
process this lack of collaboration led to misunderstanding and inefficiencies.
7. Safaricom was unable to adapt to market changes this is because waterfall
structured approach made it difficult to cope with competition and evolving
user expectations.
REASONS WHY SAFARICOM HAD TO MOVE TO AGILE METHODOLOGY
FROM WATERFALL METHODOLOGY
1. Agile methodology offered faster delivery through short sprints.
2. Agile methodology offered improved collaboration among teams
compared to waterfall methodology
3. Agile methodology offered reduced risk by testing and fixing issues early
compared to waterfall methodology
4. Agile methodology allowed for flexibility and integrative development
compared to waterfall methodology.
5. Agile methodology provided a continuous customer involvement and
feedback from customers
ADVANTAGES OBTAINED BY SAFARICOM BY USING AGILE
METHODOLOGY.
1. It has led to flexibility and adaptability since Agile allows teams to
respond quickly to changing requirements and market conditions and
welcomes modification even late in project development.
2. It offers faster delivery since Agile follows an integrative approach,
delivering software in small increments this ensuring quicker release
and continuous value delivery to customers.
3. There is continuous customer involvement since customers provide
regular feedback, ensuring final product meets their expectations. This
reduces the risk of developing a product that does not align with user
needs.
4. Agile methodology as led to products with improved quality since it
incorporates frequent testing and quality checks at every sprint leading
to bugs and defects being identified and fixed early reducing costly
rework
5. It has led to enhanced collaboration and communication since Agile
promotes teamwork through daily stand ups, sprint planning and
retrospectives as developers, testers, and stakeholders work closely
together ensuring better project alignment.
6. Agile methodology has led to reduced risks since continuous interation
and feedback loops helps detect problems early thus no long
development cycles reducing the risk of project failure.
7. Agile methodology leads to high customer satisfaction since it delivers
working software frequently, customers see progress and provide input .
Thus the final product s more aligned with user needs improving
satisfaction.
8. Agile methodology offers increased transparency since it provides
visibility into project through tools like scrum boards and burndown
charts. The stake holders always know what happening and can make
decisions
9. Agile methodology offers better project control since it uses metrics
velocity, burndown charts, and blog tracking for better project
management and the teams involved can assess progress and make data
driven adjustments
[Link] methodology encourages innovation since it fosters culture of
continuous improvement and expectation and teams can test new ideas
without fear of long-term commitment.