Waterfall Methodology Configuration in Bitrix24
A team works on a project with tasks scattered across sprints, but there's no real sequence. A developer picks a task from phase three while the first phase isn't finished. A tester sits idle, unsure when their stage begins. Result: missed deadlines and chaos at delivery. Waterfall solves this with strict phase sequencing — each phase starts only after the previous one completes. Bitrix24 has no "enable Waterfall" button, but its tools allow you to build this methodology.
Project Phases Through Task Groups
Each Waterfall phase is organized as a group (stage) in a B24 project. Typical chain:
- Initiation — requirement gathering, specification agreement, project boundary definition
- Planning — work decomposition, time estimation, responsibility assignment
- Development / Execution — main work volume
- Testing / Control — result verification, acceptance
- Closure — delivery, documentation, retrospective
Tasks within each phase are grouped through subgroups or tags. Transition between phases is an intentional action by the project manager, not automation.
Gantt Diagram and Dependencies
Gantt in B24 is the primary Waterfall visualization tool. Dependency configuration between tasks:
- Finish-to-Start (FS) — task B starts only after task A completes. Primary type for Waterfall.
- Start-to-Start (SS) — tasks start simultaneously. Used for parallel work within one phase.
- Finish-to-Finish (FF) — tasks complete simultaneously. Applied when phase results are delivered as a package.
Dependencies are set in the task card: More → Dependencies → Previous Task. On Gantt, dependencies display as arrows — the critical path is visible.
When one task's deadline shifts, all dependent tasks are recalculated automatically. The project manager sees how a "Design" phase delay shifts the entire "Development".
Milestone Gates Between Phases
Milestone (checkpoint) marks phase completion. In B24, milestones are created as zero-duration tasks. Practice:
- Create a milestone task: "Gate: specification approval," deadline = end of "Initiation" phase.
- Bind dependencies to the milestone: all tasks in the "Planning" phase have FS type from this milestone.
- The milestone closes only after review and explicit manager confirmation.
- An automation robot on milestone closure notifies the team: "Phase N complete, starting phase N+1."
This fixes the Waterfall principle — no transition to the next stage without formal closure of the previous one.
Control and Reporting
For tracking Waterfall progress, use:
- Gantt — visualization of current project state, critical path, plan deviations.
- Task counters — how many tasks in each phase are complete, how many overdue.
- "Performance" report — shows percentage of completed tasks by employee.
- Business process — automatic check: all phase tasks closed → notification of gate readiness.
What We Configure
- Designing Waterfall phases for your specific project type (development, construction, implementation)
- Creating project structure in B24: work group, phase subgroups, task templates
- Setting up task dependencies on Gantt (FS, SS, FF)
- Creating milestone tasks with phase gate binding
- Setting up automation robots: notifications on gate closure, blocking transition on incomplete tasks
- Training project managers: working with Gantt, managing dependencies, monitoring critical path