Waterfall project management

You may see other terms used interchangeably with waterfall, such as predictive, plan-driven, or traditional. Predictive project management as the name implies, means you can predict what the result will be. If you are building a data center, you will end up with a data center. That doesn't mean everything will run perfectly or it's in some way easier. It isn't except in the respect that everyone knows what the result is supposed to be.

It is very typical for waterfall projects to have a formal change-control system because, in order to change the project plan in any way, it is necessary to assess all of the impacts of that change and create a solution that will probably work. The plan and any changes along the way need to be communicated and approved by the powers-that-be before they can be implemented.

Because waterfall projects are predictive, you wouldn't ever see a change request that changed the scope of work exponentially from the original scope of work. If your customer wanted a bicycle and now wants a motorcycle halfway through the project, that isn't a change request. It's a brand new project.

The other nuance of waterfall is that plans are made in advance because we can predict the result. Baselines are created, and all work revolves around the plans until or if they change through formal change-control.