Waterfall: when the destination is fixed

Waterfall is the project management style most people are taught first. Linear. The end is fixed at the start, and every phase has a deliverable that lets you move to the next.

A waterfall project has a clearly established end goal from the beginning. Deliverables are required to move from one stage to the next: you cannot start the build until the design is signed off, you cannot launch until QA passes. There is typically a project manager whose job is to keep the project on track to that fixed destination.

Waterfall works when the destination genuinely is fixed. A gala on a specific Saturday. A legislative briefing tied to a calendar date. A grant report due to a funder. The closer your project looks like "this thing, on this date, exactly", the more waterfall is on your side.

The pros: a concrete plan, deliverables that signal the phase, a fixed timeline, and a PM whose job is staying on track. The cons: little member or client involvement once you start, rigid timelines and budgets, longer cycle time, and not much room for change after the project has begun. The professional certification associated with waterfall is the Project Management Professional (PMP).

In community work, pure waterfall is rare and usually a tell that the leadership is over-corporate. But the discipline of waterfall — name the deliverables, gate the phases, hold the timeline — is useful inside almost every community project.