## Introduction:

Meta has made a milestone breakthrough it will present as its next generation large language model: a state-of-the-art open-source tool – Llama 3. This year, Meta has declared officially the start of a new phase. In this phase, they will be using the latest AI technology that is meant to empower both individuals and businesses of all kinds.

## Meta AI: An Admirable Quest to Personalize Your Everyday Life 

Lying at the core of this development Meta AI, a powerful and competent AI assistant, is made from the basis of Llama 3 technology, Meta AI, powered by Artificial Intelligence, is your constant companion. It allows you to increase your intelligence and make your life easy, and the interface is adaptable, and it works across all Meta’s apps.

Whether it is a dinner menu from the food products you have in your fridge, or seeking for the answers for an exam to come, or looking for an inspiration for your creative art, AI is there ready to assist you. Because of its impressive features, this AI assistant can come up with the band band album art, offer decor ideas for your apartment or even generate GIF animations – just name what do you need.

## Llama 3: Shoe Horn for or Release Image Depicting Rising of Bar for Open-Source LLMs. 

![Image from frimufilms](img/llama-3-shoe-horn-for-or-release-image-depicting-rising-of-bar-for-open-source-llms.jpg "Image from frimufilms")

Image from frimufilms\
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Meta's initiative on Llama3 lies at the heart of the open and collaborative AI ecosystem, which has been at the core of its developmental drive. Through this official transfer of the leading-edge models to a global community, Meta will set the stage for a spiraling catapult of next-gen breakthroughs: a blizzard of applications and tools for developers, a storm of iterative advancements in model evaluations, generation, and optimization.

State-of-the-Art Performance Llama 3 is the golden egg of all LLMs, demonstrating an exceptional level of performance on 8B and 70B parameter scenarios. Meta's model, on the other hand, is trained in advance and then via post-training technique, and it is capable of outperforming other solutions that are available in the industry, along with the demonstrated ability to improve reasoning, high performance when generating code, as well as superior instruction following.

Innovative Architecture and the Develoment of Training Approach Mane of the model challenging issues, the heart of Llama 3's success lies with its novel model architecture design and training. In spite of involving the classic decoder-only transformer architecture Meta still introduces substantial advancements illustrated by utilizing a particularly large 128K vocabulary tokenizer for more efficient encoder and training as well as by employing GQA for higher inference efficiency of the process.

On top of that, Llama 3 has been trained on a dataset (including 15T tokens) that is way too large to be imagined, thus it is made up of more than 50% of publicly available data sources, most of which is the high quality non-English multilingual data. Shengli is a super fast filtering pipeline and tough incubator. As a result, technical scientists using Llama 3 efficiently and effectively will achieve a wide range of objectives on different subjects from trivia questions, stem subjects to computer programming and historical knowledge.

## Scale-Up: Pretraining Enhanced and Instruction Fine-Tuning Modality 

Meta's AI limit expansion by Scale Project is well demonstrated as Llama 3. Through conducting meticulous scaling laws, having downstream benchmark evaluations, Meta can be confident in predicting the performance of the largest models on code generation and such other tasks before the actual training takes place. Consequently, such approach provides a strong performance in complex situations where a higher level of cognition is needed.

Furthermore, Meta has recognized the progress in the field of best practice fine-tuning (SFT) by combining SFT, rejection sampling, PPO, and DPO. Meta has done that by designing numerous prompts differently and optimizing the human preference ranking. Consequently, Llama 3 is able to learn to choose correct reasoning traces and produce truthful solutions.

## Building with Llama 3: 

Enhancement of developer's power and guarantee of responsible usage of it. Meta's ambition with Llama 3 is to achieve more than frameworks; it convinces experts to boost their actions and utilize optimal way of utilizing the model's potential. For this purpose, the company has implemented new trust and safety tools, for example, Llama Guard 2, CyberSec Eval 2 and the cutting-edge Code Shield, a safeguard protecting from insecure code that came out of LLMs inference cycle.

Meta has also been partnered with torchtune, which created pyTorch-native library to simplify the process of building, fine-tuning and experimenting in the style of large language models. The library is compatible with well-known environments, including Hugging Face, Weights and Biases, and EleutherAI, also including delagation for Executorch to run inference on mobile and edge devices.

## A System Level Approach: An Ethic System for AI. 

![Image from rawpixel.com](img/a-system-level-approach-an-ethic-system-for-ai..jpg "Image from rawpixel.com")

Image from rawpixel.com\
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Also as MA recognizes the role of responsible AI in AI construct, it has taken a holistic approach to ensure secure and ethical use of Llama 3 technology. Hence, it is conceived here in the models that Llama will serve as the basic parts of the entire system. And with this, developers can now easily make the systems catering to their areas of expertise while meeting the industry-level standards.

Instruction fine-tuning plaes a critical part in the security of Llama 3 models by fine-tuneing greatly. Meta makes efforts which are really tough to secure those technologies and other critical areas by human experts and automated method such as red-teaming which helps to assess and mitigate the risks related to misuse, chemical, biological, cybersecurity and more.

Moreover, Meta has revised the Responsible Use Guide (RUG) presenting a whole new foundation for the unrefined LLM use. This guide focus on the importance of categorization and distribution of propaganda, vigilance with regard to content guidelines and cloud providers AIs and the other content moderation tools.

## Deploying Llama 3 at Scale: 

They aggravate the problem of overexploitation and elevated consumption, due to harvesting to fulfill demand once this resources become easily available and efficient. Llama 3 AI democratization is of the same Standard with the other Meta vision of letting the tool used by the people without expense and low-cost deployment challenges. This outstanding model is going to be available on all main delivery platforms that include the cloud providers and API providers among others in the coming days making it actually ubiquitous.

It was revealed that the new Llama 3's tokenising system was more efficient than the previous generation, Llama 2, resulting in a token reduction of maximum 15%. Besides that, GQA inclusion in 8B and 70B attentions has been instrumental in achievement of the similar inference efficiency as the Llama 2 7B one, in spite of the increased model size.

Meta is able to provide an extensive collection of source code open-source for developers with its support in order to facilitate Llama 3 adoption rate. Rather than just a collection, it is neatly called "Llama Recipes. " In this, the developers are provided with examples and guidance on things like fine-tuning, deployment, model evaluation and so on.

## The Future of Llama 3: Continuous Innovation and Advanced Technologies in the Aircraft Manufacturing Market 

![Image from upklyak](img/the-future-of-llama-3-continuous-innovation-and-advanced-technologies-in-the-aircraft-manufacturing-market.jpg "Image from upklyak")

Image from upklyak\
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Even 8B and 70B Llama 3 models are the first steps in the Meta project. However, this project is not about releasing the technology - it's only the beginning of realizing this revolutionary AI technology. During the upcoming several months the company will be taking its prowess to the next level by launching a variety of new models with breath-taking capabilities like multimodality, multilingual conversational abilities, significantly longer context windows and much stronger overall performance.

To give an insight into what’s in store, Meta Corporation has revealed screenshots of its biggest LLM model; but, still there are some areas where the model is in the process of training and therefore currently excels in other areas. These abilities may not be available even in the models released today, but they set them as a stage for the future effort to explore the high level of capabilities that AI is able to reach.

Obviously, Meta features as one of the major actors in the open AI ecosystem, with the company working towards open development of AI things, responsible release practices and rapid adaptation in the market. Spreading the community-first approach, Meta plans to transfer the know-how of Llama 3 to developers, researchers, and enthusiasts, launching the community to search for new horizons which this innovative technology has opened for the society.

## Conclusion: 

The debut of Llama 3 AI by Meta and also the adding of Meta AI assistant are definitely calling stages in artificial intelligence theme. The next breakthrough in AI is aimed at providing its users with unrivalled performance, highly advanced architecture and a strong responsible development which will ultimately bring about an art form of the future that will let us access and utilize new layers of productivity, creativity and intellectual exploration.

As Meta works towards making Llama 3 even more advanced and feature rich, the horizons have possibly the widest and most astonishing landscape. AI language models are no longer just a simulation of the human language. Instead, they continuously change and improve in real-time to form a seamless communication platform in any language. AI technology will move from now simple multilingual communication to ground-breaking multimodal experience that will reshape our understanding of capabilities. This will create a future in which human intelligence can merge with machine intelligence to produce fantastic achievements.

Together with Meta AI use its innovative Llama 3 model based on AI technologies to explore with your own eyes the contributions of this revolutionary approach to the future.

Hey there, AI enthusiasts! Get ready to be amazed by Meta's latest creation – Llama 3, a next-generation AI model that's about to change the way you interact with technology.

Everything You Need to Know About Meta AI Assistant: Major AI model, Llama 3, has arrived

Career growth is now more important than ever. That's why BazaIT is [launching a series of live broadcasts](https://www.youtube.com/@bazait/streams) on this topic. The first speaker of the stream was Maria Tintul, Head of Business Development at [Startup Wise Guys](https://startupwiseguys.com/). Maria shared with Victoria Nalyvaiko, CEO and co-founder of the recruiting platform BazaIT.com her own experience and tips for successful professional growth that will suit both newcomers who have just joined the industry, and those who are only considering it for the future. Attention was also focused on important things for already experienced workers.

## **Why People Fear Business Development**

Maria never dreamed of or planned to work in sales. And to the question: "Why are there so few staff in sales in the market?" the answer is simple - most people perceive this profession from a negative perspective. Many people mistakenly believe that becoming a "salesperson" is something difficult or requires special skills, abilities, or even character. Like, you're given a pen and you have to sell it, as in the movie "Wolf of Wall Street".

"It's not like that. Unfortunately, the stereotyping of BD and sales in general has created a huge bottleneck in society. We have a big problem attracting new staff to this profession at all, as it is perceived as something that you wouldn't want to be associated with. This is a stereotype that we need to fight against. You don't have to be such a 'pusher' to be in sales," says Maria.

![pic from google.com](img/vendimi-questa-penna.png "sell this pen ")

## **BD is a profession**

A "salesperson" is a profession where in 90% of cases, the goal is to communicate with people, identify their needs, and then sell them products and services. Finding the ones who will work with you is much more challenging than it appears at first glance.

The job of a business developer is not just to find clients and sell, but also to analyze the market, adapt your offer, and study your competitors. They also develop new services necessary to maintain your niche in this market, interact with key partners, and grow your network. Thus, BD is more extensive and strategic.

Sales is an essential component of BD. It's about the result. Despite numerous processes, it's important to focus on results and continuously update your skills to achieve specific metrics.

In marketing, you need to think globally as it's an important part of building your brand and growing your business.

![pic from personal edit Canva.com](img/beige-nero-e-verde-moderno-creativo-citazione-motivazionale-immagine-di-copertina-per-articolo-di-linkedin-copia-2.png "Canva 1 ")

## **Bizdev sales in an outsourcing company versus a startup**

In outsourcing, negotiations usually revolve around project details, including specialists who will work on the project, their rates, the possibility of additional research, UI/UX development, etc. This isn't always a creative process as it often leads to discussions of very specific things. Your client most likely already has a specific technical task.

"Conceptually, clients only approach you when they're ready to make a decision about choosing a partner for project development. However, there's an opportunity to offer full consulting to conceptualize with the client. When choosing a partner, it's important not only to consider hourly rates but also to understand the readiness stage of your audience to make decisions, and whether they will enjoy working with a conceptualist," Maria continues.

In contrast, startups are always an adventure, something like: "Let's help Dory find her keys."

"For them, it's crucial to have a good biz-dev or salesperson who can find interesting ways of testing ideas and researching the market to create a relevant product. Your role as a BD is to tap into your inner researcher and dig from all sides, interacting with experts already working in your niche, consultants, guides, and thought leaders in this industry. Develop horizontally to become a skilled and top-notch specialist. The more complex your B2B product, the more consultative your sales become."

Before coming to an interview, a candidate should already have tested insights about the product they will work with. It's important to try to understand both the positive and negative sides of the product and predict the audience's goals and pain points. This will help understand how successful the candidate will be in this specialization.

![pic from personal edit canva.com](img/beige-nero-e-verde-moderno-creativo-citazione-motivazionale-immagine-di-copertina-per-articolo-di-linkedin.png "Canva 2 ")

## **How to properly start in the BD industry**

Maria Tintul says:

"I was sending out resumes everywhere, searching for any positions that required English skills."

Recruiting can be compared to sales since in both cases you need to sell your company, job vacancy, or product/services. It's important to make your offer stand out against hundreds of other vacancies.

For the candidates, I have good news: previous experience working in other sales teams is not always a plus; sometimes, it's even a downside. BD team leaders often find it easier to train a person from scratch. Look for larger teams and departments with clear processes, as they provide an ideal stepping-stone for a junior specialist.

Remember, business development sometimes isn't even about direct sales, but about facilitating a mutual agreement between people around a table (which you will then formalize).

![pic from google.com](img/joao-ferrao-4yzrcdncrvg-unsplash.jpg "computer ")



## **How interviews go**

"Imagine that you came to sell yourself. Therefore, find out the needs of your client, what are the company's pain points, and how you could help. Learn as much as you can about the company and the team to understand how exactly you could complement it. Don't come to the interview if you only want to answer questions. This is a two-way process, you also need to be interested in the company, working conditions, and find out if everything meets your criteria. You are providing services and you also need to understand if there is a fit. Treat this as a sales call," Maria continues.

![pic from personal edit Canva.com](img/beige-nero-e-verde-moderno-creativo-citazione-motivazionale-immagine-di-copertina-per-articolo-di-linkedin-copia.png "canva 3")

## **Preparing for an Interview**

If you already have previous experience, the first thing a potential employer is interested in is your sales volumes. It would also be beneficial to share a few stories about successful cases.

These are the things assessed in such an interview:

* How well the candidate can sell themselves
* The coherence and eloquence of their speech
* The clarity and precision in conveying their thoughts
* Their attentiveness to the flow of conversation and ability to steer it in a more beneficial direction for themselves

Here's the impression your speech should create:

* It should be clear who you are and what the forecasted picture of potential collaboration is
* You should aim to understand the product well enough to become an expert and be able to sell it
* It's important to leave a positive impression of yourself as a professional interlocutor, as the company essentially chooses YOU to represent them to their clients
* The more you reveal about yourself in the interview, the more opportunities you'll be given to express yourself in the position

![pic grom google.com](img/amy-hirschi-k0c8ko3e6aa-unsplash.jpg "pic interview")



## **Important Soft Skills:**

The first checkpoint is the ability to tell a complete and understandable story. About anything: a book, a dog, a business, etc. The recruiter pays attention to how coherently the candidate narrates and if they monitor the listener's level of comprehension.

For a middle management position, it's crucial to have strong networking skills and to share this; your stories about unexpected new opportunities thanks to your network will show employers that you can also build relationships with the market for them.\
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During the interview, the main task is to understand whether the candidate is suitable for what the company sells. Whether it would be interesting to work with the clients they want to attract and whether you will work well together overall. Ask about everything in detail, because at the interview stage, only about 30% of what they really want to see in a candidate is typically discussed. You must understand how suitable this vacancy is for you and whether you are suitable for this position. This is necessary to formulate a quality and relevant offer later on.

"I advise you not to be afraid of new challenges and to try things, even if you have no experience. Like I did. But be sincere about it.

I chose new directions for myself every 2 years — it became the biggest challenge for me, something I hadn't tried yet. At my very first interview, I immediately said that I had no experience, except for knowing English, but I emphasized that I was ready to learn.\
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Later, I didn't actively look for a job — people in my environment recommended me. From the 3rd year, I was working as a freelance sales process consultant, where I constantly had orders and was expanding my network."

## **Tips for Beginners**

If you're a novice in the realm of BDM, here are several suggestions that can help kickstart your career:

1. Find a team from which you can learn. It's best if this team includes individuals who already have BDM experience.
2. Join a team with a founder who is a salesperson. This will help you learn to sell, a crucial skill in BDM.
3. Read a wide variety of literature on BDM to understand what approaches and strategies work best.
4. Enhance your communication and networking skills. This will help you find new clients and expand your contact network.
5. Determine what you enjoy and take it from there. It's best to work in a direction that appeals to you and sparks your interest (sales, market analysis, partnerships, events).
6. When interacting with a client or potential partner, demonstrate your expertise. You should be familiar with how your product or service is evaluated.
7. Develop your soft skills. This includes working on communication skills, empathy, and the ability to listen and understand your clients' needs.

![pic from google.com](img/cj-dayrit-xx2aysbsyko-unsplash.jpg "pic success ")

It's important to define what you specifically want to gain from your work in BDM. If you wish to become part of a process that already exists and is growing thanks to the team leader, this could be an excellent choice for you. But if you want to grow independently in this industry and become a founder, creating new concepts and ideas, join smaller teams that will trust you to develop an entire direction on your own.

To become a successful business development manager, you need to have a deep understanding of the specifics of the niche in which you work.

Networking is also crucial. It is a powerful tool in this profession.

"If you're a BDM and don't have a network, you're not relevant," emphasizes Maria.

Engage actively in this field - it will help you better understand the industry and work more effectively in it. Without probing questions, your progress might significantly slow down.

If you dislike digging too deep or bumping your head against various corners, you might want to try not BD, but sales.

## **What to pay attention to**

If you aspire to become a successful seller, focus on practical skills. Concentrate on your theme and get acquainted with different types of sales. There are many resources online, especially in English. Understand what a sales funnel is, what conversions are, and how they affect the efficiency of your work and your team.

You need to understand how the entire spectrum of sales works, including inbound and outbound sales, outreach, marketing, and the various specialists in this field. Become an expert in what you sell.

The smaller the team, the more valuable its specialists' time. You should aim to become an expert and impress your clients with specialized knowledge and skills. Quantitatively know about the market and client problems.

![pic from Pinterest.com](img/the-blowup-un4paddppau-unsplash.jpg "pic failure success ")

## **How Long the Switch Takes**

If individuals have started a job and know what they're aiming for, then three months is generally sufficient for them to become a self-sufficient specialist. Lifehack: attend all thematic stand-ups of the team to learn the essence of the product faster and become an expert in it. Request to attend all meetings with the company's existing or future clients that your colleagues conduct.

It's extraordinarily important to listen and absorb the negotiation style of this particular company. Start gaining expertise in this product or service and build your arsenal of answers. Your task is to find as many answers as possible to the questions a client will ask you.


Career growth explained by a series of Broadcast by BazaIT

career growth startups business development interviews 

How and where to develop in the profession of Business Development Manager

Salespersons are critical in representing the company, and even if the service provided is of high quality and your marketing strategy is decent, it may not matter if the salesperson is unable to effectively sell themselves to the prospective client.  The ideal outcome is that the client thinks "This manager will help to cover my needs, I trust him/her" after the initial call. Technical skills, general erudition, and understanding of the field are still the base, but emotional intelligence is the missing link that can make the difference between a mediocre salesperson and a great one. 

Emotions drive buying decisions.

For example, in the IT outsourcing business, there are hundreds of almost similar companies - the range of services,  technology stacks, pricing, and expertise. Of course, there are companies deeply focused on one domain or technology and they are standing out of the trend, but you hardly find differences within the majority. So when clients search for a vendor they shortlist 3 to 10 companies for some objective reasons like location, referrals on aggregators, and information they have got on the website, and then reach out to them. And when they face similar offers and conditions, emotions drive buying decisions because people tend to make decisions based on how they feel, rather than purely on logic or rational thinking. Many factors can trigger emotions during the buying process, such as smooth communication, perception of proficiency, cultural fit, or feeling of confidence in the future success of their common project.

Emotions can also influence how people perceive the value of a product or service. Additionally, people often make impulse buying decisions based on their emotions, even when it is not the most practical or rational choice. Marketers and salespeople who understand the emotional drivers of their customers can use this knowledge to influence their buying decisions and improve their sales effectiveness.

Here are a couple of examples of how emotions can influence buying decisions:

* Brand loyalty: Consumers may feel a strong emotional attachment to a particular brand, which can influence their decisions. For example, someone who has always used Apple products may continue to purchase Apple products even if a cheaper alternative with similar features is available. But it must be emphasized that brand loyalty globally tends to decrease.
* Social influence: Emotions such as the desire to fit in or impress others can influence purchasing decisions, like purchasing a luxury brand handbag to fit in with a certain group of people.
* Fear of missing out (FOMO): Emotions such as anxiety and fear of missing out on a limited-time offer or a scarcity tactic ("only 2 left in stock!") can create a sense of urgency and push consumers to make a purchase.
* Personal values: Emotions tied to personal values is the most powerful trend nowadays. People who place a high value on sustainability may choose to purchase eco-friendly products, even if they are far more expensive.
* Impulse buying: Emotions such as excitement or happiness can lead to impulse buying decisions even if goods are not necessarily needed. Intentional speculation on impulse buying is regarded as toxic, non-sustainable in the long run, and harmful to brands.

Successful sales people manage their own emotions and understand the emotions of the clients

Salespeople must be able to handle emotions during the selling process because emotions are contagious and can easily influence their customers. If a salesperson feels anxious, stressed, or desperate, this can create a negative font in the negotiation process and make customers less likely to make a purchase. On the other hand, if a salesperson maintains a positive and confident behavior and manner, this can create positivity and trust in the customer and increase the probability of a successful sale. Additionally, managing own emotions can help the salesperson stay focused on the customer's needs and concerns, rather than becoming too focused on their own desires for a sale. This can ultimately lead to better communication, a stronger relationship with the customer, and increased sales success.

Emotional intelligence is a skill that could be developed, so here are some tips to help:

* Practice self-awareness:  pay attention to your own emotions, and learn how to recognize and label them. This can help you better understand your own behavior and how it affects others.
* Practice active listening: be fully focused on what the other person is saying, ask clarifying questions, and repeat back what you heard. This can help you better understand and connect with others.
* Learn to manage your stress and emotions so that you can stay calm and focused in challenging situations. Techniques such as deep breathing, visualization, and positive self-talk can be helpful.
* Practice empathy: try to understand your counterpart’s thoughts and feelings; show admiration for the path the person has taken or the project they are undertaking. That will help you to build stronger relationships.

By understanding the emotions behind a customer's purchasing decisions and the challenges they are facing, salespeople can tailor their approach, proposal, and communication style to build trust and rapport. That can lead to a deeper understanding of the customer's needs and desires, allowing the salesperson to provide personalized solutions that resonate with the customer's emotions. Active listening, empathizing, paying attention to the tone of voice and mimicking, an active curiosity, and reading the body language are the tools that will help to understand a customer's emotions. That will help a salesperson anticipate objections, prepare beforehand, and respond to them in a way that addresses the underlying challenges behind them. 

Human to Human

A lot of sales professionals tell us that there is no such a sales model as B2B or B2C. Now it is an era of H2H, a human buy from humans. In a modern way of life and with the global problem of loneliness, simple open trustful relations are the new gold. And don't take the selling process too seriously, it’s still a mindful game, and I’ll suggest you some hints to be more successful in it:

* Sell yourself first, and then your service - build trust, rapport, and closure of a deal will be a matter of time.
* Clients speak only about what is important to them, and they don’t care about your product or service characteristics, he cares about how it will cover their needs. Listen to the client.
* Be optimistic even if there are no signs of optimism. No one likes to cooperate with grumpy people.
* Price without Value is nothing. Show the Value, create the Value.
* Don’t lie. The Fake it till you make it concept failed massively. Transparency and openness will give you more credit at a distance.

  ![* www.linkedin.com/in/malashevskyi](img/dima-malashevskyi-photo.jpeg "* www.linkedin.com/in/malashevskyi")

  www.linkedin.com/in/malashevskyi

 Today's business world is highly competitive across all industries. While there may be some objective reasoning behind purchasing physical products, the selling process for services is distinct in that emotions play a major role in the decision-making process. Emotional intelligence is the ability to recognize, understand and manage our own emotions, as well as the emotions of others. As sales are fundamentally about emotions, salespeople who are skilled in emotional intelligence are better able to build rapport with customers, handle objections, and close deals.

The role of emotions in the selling process

In the current highly competitive business environment, companies and individuals are forced to invest in innovations and creativity to remain at the top of the competition. It increases the importance of changes and the significance of project management processes in any organisation.

Different approaches may be taken to achieve success because the project management process can vary greatly depending on the organisation and the project itself. It is up to the project manager to identify which strategy will work best based on their specific circumstances.

### **The 5 phases of project management**

![](img/microsoftteams-image-81-min-2-1536x742.jpg)

Waterfall and Agile approaches are the two most popular ways of project implementation in today's business environment. Both methodologies can help organisations achieve strategic alignment by providing leadership and direction to projects while ensuring a proper plan is in place for either [developing an application](https://eleks.com/services/custom-application-development/) or executing the company's strategic objectives. Let's look closely at waterfall project management vs Agile to see which would be best for your organisation.

## Agile vs waterfall: the pros and cons of each

![](img/microsoftteams-image-84-1536x742.jpg)

### Waterfall approach

The waterfall approach is a linear process in which all stages and phases of the project management cycle follow each other in sequence. It depends heavily on predictable instruments and experience, meaning that each project must follow the same cycle and process regardless of the nature of the organisation or project deliverables.

The primary phases of this process include feasibility, planning, designing, building, testing, production and support. This method is most appropriate for projects with little to no chance that the scope will change and impact the business or project.

The waterfall approach relies heavily on proper planning and evaluation in the development stage. This streamlined process makes it challenging to implement changes if the need arises but allows project managers to focus on other tasks since the team works effectively without guidance or supervision unless a problem occurs.

### **The 5 stages of the waterfall method**

![](img/microsoftteams-image-82-1536x742.jpg)

### Key benefits of the waterfall approach

* **A clear sense of direction** – everything in this approach is pre-planned. Every team member deeply understands their roles and responsibilities and the project necessities. As a result, it is easier for all stakeholders to work efficiently and effectively with minimal management and supervision.
* **High level of control** – the project manager has the ultimate power and authority in a traditional setup. They often adopt a hierarchical structure where power and authority trickle down from top management to lower management. It ensures that only the manager can approve significant changes in the project management process, preventing deviations from the original project scope.
* **A single point of accountability** – given that all crucial decisions go through the project manager, they are ultimately responsible for the success or failure of the project. This way, stakeholders always know who to approach to get updates on progress rather than holding various team members accountable for different aspects of the project.
* **Clear documentation** – it is one of the significant pillars of the waterfall project approach. Having all the documentation in place is essential to standardising and making the process successful. It can be used as a point of reference for future projects, ensuring they are carried out effectively.

### Agile approach

Unlike the waterfall approach, which focuses on upfront planning, cost, scope and time, the Agile approach pays closer attention to project team collaboration, customer collaboration and flexibility. It is best characterised as an iterative methodology that improves partner coordination by incorporating client input into the dynamic process. The Agile approach allows for flexibility and experimentation.

This approach allows for making changes in the planning and implementation process. By paying closer attention to adjustments, the Agile approach helps to deliver positive results instead of simply following an inflexible method that may not produce the best outcome.

The adaptability of the planning process is one of the critical features of the Agile approach, as it allows for quickly incorporating changes into the project's scope. This makes it the most popular methodology in today's business environment. Despite its benefits, the Agile approach can potentially devote a lot of time to communications between team members and stakeholders and lead to confusion if not managed correctly.

Businesses that have adopted Agile software development methods may sometimes find themselves experiencing decreased technical motivation and productivity. Our blog outlines the possible reasons for this problem, as well as potential solutions: [Why Agile Doesn’t Work And 6 Ways You Can Fix This](https://eleks.com/blog/why-agile-doesnt-work/)

**Agile project management process**

![](img/microsoftteams-image-83-1536x742.jpg)

Two of the most well-known Agile frameworks are Scum and Kanban. They both work with independent direction, which helps to keep the focus more on the customer and use available resources to track the task's progress at each stage quickly.

### Top benefits of Agile project management

* **Higher flexibility** – the fact that the Agile approach is not pre-planned in advance makes it flexible and able to adapt to changes, increasing the chances of success. The project is divided into smaller sprints, making identifying and implementing necessary changes easier.
* **Better transparency** – this methodology ensures that all stakeholders have an influence and a say in decision-making. This way, everyone is kept up to date with the sprint progress. Having everyone on board makes it easier to decide as a team and share responsibility for the project and is crucial for enhancing transparency.
* **Effective collaboration** – the success of this approach is based on its ability to share information regularly. There is no compartmentalisation of information as it flows to all members across all organisational levels. It ensures that everyone's opinions and feelings matter, resulting in a more effective organisation.
* **Efficient problem solving** – by having all team members play a significant role in solving issues and problems, you'll find that things become more efficient and effective. Plus, team members can make substantial changes without needing approval from the manager – saving valuable time in the process.

If you would like to explore the advantages of Agile methodology in greater detail, as well as any potential challenges and disadvantages, check out this blog post: [Six Key Benefits of Agile Development](https://eleks.com/blog/benefits-of-agile-development/)

## Handling risks: waterfall project management vs Agile

Risk management is an integral part of any project management methodology. However, each project management methodology takes a different risk management approach. Both waterfall methodology and Agile framework apply the risk management cycle at the primary level with four main phases: risk identification, evaluation, handling, and control. Here is a deep dive into the different features of waterfall project management vs Agile and their risk management approaches.

**Waterfall vs Agile risk management**

![](img/microsoftteams-image-85-1536x742.jpg)

### Waterfall methodology risk management

Waterfall applies predictive risk management, emphasising risk forecasting and analysis. The project manager and team establish the probability of occurrence and expected project effect on individual risks. By identifying and prioritising risks early on, the project team and organisation can address them before they develop into critical problems. Waterfall risk management attempts to identify and assess project risks and opportunities before or at the start of the project.

Unfortunately, this approach prioritises bulk risk identification and evaluation at the beginning of the project, which reduces the likelihood of making critical changes throughout the entire process. Since it is impossible to predict the future, this approach creates an inaccurate risk plan. Additionally, project managers and developers are motivated to deliver based on a plan, putting pressure on them to ignore risks until they become a problem.

### Agile risk management

Agile methodology's adaptive risk management approach keeps risks small by defining and delivering system functionality iteratively and continuously. As a result, the scrum master with the team can easily handle any potential hazards. Additionally, because Scrum-based projects are constantly monitored as they evolve, the likelihood of a significant impact from any individual risk is negligible.

While this approach encourages risk identification and evaluation at the start of each sprint, the planning is short-term. It allows the project team to identify new risks as they move to the next phase of short-term planning. Besides, the risk management and treatment process is part of development instead of a separate process, which increases the probability of success by eliminating any complexities.

By adopting this approach, teams can integrate risk management and control into their everyday workflows. It helps to encourage better identification and evaluation of risks, ultimately increasing the chances of success.

## Agile transformation: everything you need to know

Agile transformation is essential for successful Agile adoption. It's all about transitioning to and implementing an Agile way of thinking and working within an organisation. Agile transformation brings the philosophy associated with Agile frameworks software development across all departments and teams in an organisation and applies it to all collaborations, processes, and measurements.

In other words, an Agile transformation is not simply about changing how software is developed within an organisation. It is much more than that; it represents a great opportunity to change the entire organisation. It can involve creating highly effective cross-functional or self-organised teams that achieve predetermined goals. If you want to learn more about enterprise-wide Agile transformation, we have a blog post discussing this topic: [10 Steps for Migrating to Agile Enterprise Architecture](https://eleks.com/blog/agile-enterprise-architecture/)

There is no one-size-fits-all answer to how long an Agile transformation can take. However, encouraging self-organising teams is critical to a successful transformation, and this may require more time. The team should be free to work in the way that suits them best but always strive for iterative improvement. Therefore, the timeframe for transformation will vary depending on factors such as the training and experience of individual players and teams.

**Agile transformation**

![](img/microsoftteams-image-86-1536x742.jpg)

### What is the Agile transformation roadmap?

An Agile transformation project is like any other project that introduces significant changes to an organisation or team. So an Agile transformation roadmap is a great way to communicate the vision and phases an organisation wants to go through in its journey towards becoming more Agile.

However, it is worth noting that an Agile transformation project is complex and comprehensive and often includes an Agile transformation roadmap as a discrete roadmap milestone. Thus, Agile transformation project plans can be created based on whether or not a company is scaling its transformation.

**Agile transformation roadmap**

![](img/microsoftteams-image-87-1536x742.jpg)

### 5 steps to success with Agile transformation

Agile transformation is essential for improving organisational flexibility, speed, collaboration, communication, and cross-functional setups. Several basic steps characterise this process:

**1. Identify where is your organisation**

Identify where your organisation is – establishing and understanding the company's current state helps determine if the stakeholders are excited about the change and their expectations. It is also vital to understand the status quo in the organisation by collecting data and facts about the company.

**2. Assess your organisation**

An organisational assessment can help you understand a company's inner workings, including its structure, decision-making criteria, leadership approaches and corporate culture. This data is crucial for defining objectives, systems and strategies that can lead to an Agile transformation.

**3. Building a leadership team**

The next step is selecting qualified and skilled individuals who can achieve transformation. It is essential to have a clear strategy and leadership team in place to drive significant changes forward.

**4. Providing training and workshops**

This phase focuses on training leadership, teams or technical subjects so that everyone involved have the skills and knowledge to embrace an Agile approach and be successful.

**5. Coaching and consulting**

Although training provides theoretical knowledge about Agile practices, hands-on coaching is vital for building on that foundation and assisting people and teams in establishing the habits necessary for becoming Agile. Without proper coaching, there is little chance of success.

**5 steps to becoming Agile**

![](img/microsoftteams-image-88-1536x742.jpg)

## Conclusions

To sum up, when deciding between the waterfall approach and Agile frameworks, it is essential to consider the project's goals, budget, and timeline. The comparison of the waterfall project management vs Agile demonstrates that the Agile approach is more flexible and adaptable. In contrast, the waterfall approach is more focused on planning and control.

No matter which method you decide to use, it is crucial that your team be well-trained and follow the principles of project management to ensure a successful outcome.

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There are a multitude of approaches and methodologies within the discipline of project management, making it difficult to know where to begin. In this article, we will compare waterfall project management vs Agile, their pros and cons and help you decide which is right for your project.

Waterfall Project Management vs Agile: Which is Best for You?

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