Nine Benefits of Incremental Delivery
MSF stresses the importance and value in iterative development and incremental delivery in Agile environments.
Why? It’s a good question. With the advent of new tools and platforms, the Waterfall approach is not only old, but maybe silly. Still, the argument for an Agile process is not always an easy one to make - especially in shops that have an established process that works pretty well most of the time.
Here is a little list of sound reasons to go with an Agile process. I am certain it is not complete. Nine is just the number I came up with before I realized how late it was and that I needed to get some sleep 
Nine Benefits of Incremental Delivery and Agile Process
- Risk Management (start with the highest risk elements when there is an unknown)
- Economics (constant checks against budget and priorities prevent sudden plug pulling)
- Focus (smaller work packages are less daunting, more rewarding)
- Motivation (when a client is pleased, the team is pleased)
- Control Theory (reduces margin of error in estimates, especially as an organization’s process matures over time)
- Stakeholder Involvement (like the old JAD sessions, engaged stakeholders are better than disengaged stakeholders for a wide variety of reasons)
- Continuous Learning (with each iteration, there is a lesson learned)
- More Readable Documentation (small chunks are more easily digested, and UML *is* useful if presented correctly)
- Freshness (tools and technologies are readily absorbed)
I also like this approach because every day, when the Devs check their code into VSS or whatever they are using for source control, their efforts immediately flow into the stream of the project’s lifecycle. It sounds very symbiotic, and mirrors natural progress. Evolution didnt happen with a Big Up Front Requirements Session.
The build will reflect the code, and the builds will drive iterations of the project. The team’s efforts will be the lifeblood of the project.
Best,
Josh