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Benefits: accommodating change

publish date: 2026/05/29 08:22:38.975633 UTC

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Incremental development is often preferred when requirements are likely to change.

Why is the cost of accommodating changing requirements generally lower in incremental development than in the waterfall model?

Requirements are never documented, so they cannot change.

Changes are forbidden after the first increment.

All increments must be completely redesigned from scratch.

Only the current increment needs to be changed, with less documentation to redo.

Correct Answer

Only the current increment needs to be changed, with less documentation to redo.

Explanation

Because functionality is delivered in increments, changes can be localized to specific increments, reducing rework compared to a monolithic waterfall process.

Reference

Software Engineering, Ian Sommerville, 9th edition

Quizzes you can take where this question appears

Incremental Development