Problems with the waterfall model

Question

I'm going to take an HCI exam tomorrow and a question on one of the past papers has really got me thinking, me and a few others are torn between A and C, what do you think?

Q 25 - the waterfall technique is recognised as having several problems for the development of effective interactive systems. Which of the following is not one of these problems?

a) It does not have the mechanism for undertaking requirements specification

b)Contractual problems may arise as the initially specificed design does not meet the user's needs

c)The forms of design representation that can be used in the technique are inappropriate for understanding users' concerns

d)The development process is unidirectional and offers few opportunities for iteration.

Answer 1

I believe the answer is A.

Interactive systems are often difficult to get right the first time through. The Waterfall method does not easily allow revisiting the initial specification.

Answer 2

I would say A. Waterfall doesn't really dictate any specific design representations, so that would rule out C in my opinion.

Answer 3

The answer is absolutely A as the waterfall model does account for requirements gathering.

The problem with waterfall is that it is inflexible and doesn't allow you to revisit design. It's also not iterative, which sort of goes against the nature of an evolving system (which software is).

Forms of design representation aren't really covered in the waterfall model. That's defined at a more granular level under each of the steps.

Answer 4

I think the answer can be C but it isn't necessarily so I'd stick with A.

Answer 5

A is surely correct, because requirements specification is an explicit part of waterwall, but also C can be correct. Waterwall does not define, that what forms of design representation can be used, so there is always the possibility that some design representation is appropriate for understanding the users' concerns. (Proving that something does not exist, is very hard and rarely possible.) For example, when using user interface prototypes as a representation of the design (that's what I do), it helps in understanding the users' needs. IMO, the question is faulty.