Learn how TopLeft supports traditional, phase-based project delivery by making Waterfall workflows visible, efficient, and easier to manage—without changing how your team works.
While TopLeft is often associated with Agile methodologies, it is equally effective for teams using Waterfall or traditional project management methods. If your team prefers a structured, sequential approach to projects—where each phase (e.g., planning, execution, delivery) is completed before the next begins—TopLeft provides the visibility, accountability, and control you need.
✅ Why TopLeft Works for Waterfall Teams
Waterfall projects benefit from TopLeft in several key ways:
1. Visual Flow of Project Phases with Kanban
TopLeft Kanban boards can represent your Waterfall stages exactly as defined in your process, such as:
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Requirements Gathering
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Design
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Implementation
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Testing
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Deployment
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Completed
Each stage becomes a column, making it easy to track progress and ensure smooth handoffs between phases.
2. Built-In Gantt Chart Views
TopLeft supports Gantt charts for a timeline-based view of your project. This is ideal for Waterfall teams who rely on sequential task planning, dependencies, and milestone tracking.
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Visualize task durations and relationships
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Spot schedule risks early
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Easily report on timelines to stakeholders
Switch between Kanban and Gantt views for the perspective that best suits your team’s workflow.
3. Client Portal Access
TopLeft includes a Client Portal that allows your customers to view their projects and tickets—in both Kanban and Gantt formats.
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Increase transparency
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Reduce the need for manual status updates
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Empower clients to self-serve progress information
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Enhance trust and satisfaction
This is especially helpful in Waterfall projects where formal updates are expected at each stage.
4. Project-Centric Visibility
If you manage projects in ConnectWise Manage or Autotask, TopLeft can pull in all tasks associated with a project. You can group tasks by phase, priority, or assigned resource—ensuring every detail is visible and nothing gets lost.
5. Improve On-Time Delivery
By visualizing bottlenecks and overdue tasks, TopLeft helps you stay on schedule. Easily identify where tasks are stuck—whether in Testing, Client Review, or another critical stage.
6. Workload Balancing
Use TopLeft’s swimlanes and WIP (Work In Progress) limits to manage resource capacity and avoid bottlenecks in crunch periods like QA or deployment.
🛠️ Best Practices for Waterfall in TopLeft
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Create custom boards for each major project or workflow
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Use Kanban columns to reflect exact Waterfall stages
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Leverage Gantt views to manage dependencies and timelines
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Enable the Client Portal for project transparency
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Set WIP limits and aging indicators to catch delays early
📈 Bonus: Waterfall + Lean
Even if you’re not “Agile,” TopLeft helps you apply Lean principles:
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Reduce task switching
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Limit work-in-progress
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Visualize flow
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Focus on completion
These principles can increase predictability and reduce rework in Waterfall environments—without changing your methodology.
🚀 Get Started
If you’re managing structured client projects, infrastructure upgrades, or migrations with defined start and end points, TopLeft helps your team stay aligned, on track, and efficient—without forcing an Agile shift.
Want help configuring your boards, Gantt views, or Client Portal? Contact support or schedule a walkthrough with our Customer Success team.