Which development lifecycle model is characterized by breaking a project into a series of increments?

The incremental development model is characterized by dividing a project into a series of manageable increments, each of which adds to the functionality of the overall system. This approach allows teams to focus on delivering specific features in each increment, which not only facilitates easier planning and execution but also enables testing and feedback to occur sooner in the development process. By building the system incrementally, stakeholders can review and assess progress more frequently and make necessary adjustments or changes based on their feedback, enhancing collaboration and alignment with user needs.

In contrast, the Waterfall model follows a linear and sequential approach, where each phase must be completed before proceeding to the next. This does not allow for early delivery or frequent iterations. The Agile model shares some principles of incremental development but emphasizes iterative cycles and customer collaboration for flexibility and responsiveness. The Spiral model combines elements of both design and testing in a cyclic manner, focusing more on risk management rather than strictly incrementing functionality step-by-step. Thus, while all these models have their characteristics, the key feature of breaking a project into increments is most accurately defined by the incremental development model.