Adobe Workfront vs. Appian

Overview
ProductRatingMost Used ByProduct SummaryStarting Price
Adobe Workfront
Score 7.5 out of 10
N/A
Adobe Workfront, acquired by Adobe in late 2020, is a web-based project-management tool. It is designed for both IT and marketing teams, but can be implemented for any kind of project. Workfront offers all the features standard to project management platforms, as well as resource allocation, automation, and agile workflow.N/A
Appian
Score 8.8 out of 10
N/A
Appian is a low-code development and business process management platform. It features drag-and-drop design for app building, automated work processes, unified data management, and cloud-based deployment.
$0
Pricing
Adobe WorkfrontAppian
Editions & Modules
No answers on this topic
Appian Community Edition
$0
Application - Input-Only
$2
per month per user
Application - Infrequent
$9
per month per user
Application - Standard
$75
per month per user
Platform
Custom Quote Priced per user with unlimited apps.
minimum 100 users, no maximum
Unlimited
Custom Quote Priced per development with unlimited apps.
unlimited
Platform
Custom Quote Priced per user with unlimited apps.
Minimum 100, no maximum
Unlimited
Custom Quote Priced per development with unlimited apps.
Unlimited
Offerings
Pricing Offerings
Adobe WorkfrontAppian
Free Trial
YesYes
Free/Freemium Version
NoYes
Premium Consulting/Integration Services
YesYes
Entry-level Setup FeeRequiredNo setup fee
Additional Details
More Pricing Information
Community Pulse
Adobe WorkfrontAppian
Top Pros
Top Cons
Features
Adobe WorkfrontAppian
Project Management
Comparison of Project Management features of Product A and Product B
Adobe Workfront
6.5
303 Ratings
14% below category average
Appian
-
Ratings
Task Management7.6302 Ratings00 Ratings
Resource Management6.8274 Ratings00 Ratings
Gantt Charts7.2242 Ratings00 Ratings
Scheduling7.4270 Ratings00 Ratings
Workflow Automation6.7272 Ratings00 Ratings
Team Collaboration6.1292 Ratings00 Ratings
Support for Agile Methodology6.2185 Ratings00 Ratings
Support for Waterfall Methodology6.3199 Ratings00 Ratings
Document Management6.6275 Ratings00 Ratings
Email integration4.8230 Ratings00 Ratings
Mobile Access6.1233 Ratings00 Ratings
Timesheet Tracking6.5219 Ratings00 Ratings
Change request and Case Management6.6210 Ratings00 Ratings
Budget and Expense Management6.3188 Ratings00 Ratings
Professional Services Automation
Comparison of Professional Services Automation features of Product A and Product B
Adobe Workfront
5.4
173 Ratings
31% below category average
Appian
-
Ratings
Quotes/estimates5.381 Ratings00 Ratings
Invoicing5.371 Ratings00 Ratings
Project & financial reporting5.7171 Ratings00 Ratings
Integration with accounting software5.462 Ratings00 Ratings
Low-Code Development
Comparison of Low-Code Development features of Product A and Product B
Adobe Workfront
-
Ratings
Appian
9.1
75 Ratings
6% above category average
Visual Modeling00 Ratings8.873 Ratings
Drag-and-drop Interfaces00 Ratings8.972 Ratings
Platform Security00 Ratings9.171 Ratings
Platform User Management00 Ratings8.872 Ratings
Reusability00 Ratings9.475 Ratings
Platform Scalability00 Ratings9.473 Ratings
Best Alternatives
Adobe WorkfrontAppian
Small Businesses
FunctionFox
FunctionFox
Score 8.3 out of 10
Creatio
Creatio
Score 9.1 out of 10
Medium-sized Companies
SAP Ruum
SAP Ruum
Score 9.0 out of 10
Quixy
Quixy
Score 9.8 out of 10
Enterprises
Quickbase
Quickbase
Score 9.2 out of 10
Quickbase
Quickbase
Score 9.2 out of 10
All AlternativesView all alternativesView all alternatives
User Ratings
Adobe WorkfrontAppian
Likelihood to Recommend
6.0
(354 ratings)
9.1
(139 ratings)
Likelihood to Renew
9.0
(60 ratings)
8.5
(19 ratings)
Usability
9.0
(18 ratings)
8.7
(95 ratings)
Availability
9.1
(9 ratings)
-
(0 ratings)
Performance
9.1
(4 ratings)
-
(0 ratings)
Support Rating
10.0
(12 ratings)
8.4
(118 ratings)
In-Person Training
5.0
(1 ratings)
9.0
(1 ratings)
Online Training
8.9
(4 ratings)
6.0
(2 ratings)
Implementation Rating
8.3
(10 ratings)
1.0
(5 ratings)
Configurability
5.0
(1 ratings)
-
(0 ratings)
Contract Terms and Pricing Model
10.0
(1 ratings)
-
(0 ratings)
Ease of integration
1.0
(1 ratings)
-
(0 ratings)
Product Scalability
8.2
(3 ratings)
-
(0 ratings)
Vendor post-sale
1.0
(1 ratings)
-
(0 ratings)
Vendor pre-sale
1.0
(1 ratings)
-
(0 ratings)
User Testimonials
Adobe WorkfrontAppian
Likelihood to Recommend
Adobe
I write music and sound design for multiple projects at the same time, all within the same company, sometimes as much as 8-10. It can be hard to keep track of and stay on top of notes and changes, but Adobe Workfront is great at keeping everything organized, and informing you of deadline changes as they occur.
Read full review
Appian
Appian works great for automating manual processes and integrating multiple systems through its toolset. It gives great flexibility for establishing rules for approvals, routings, escalations, and the like. Because of the low code toolset, it's very easy to deploy and make changes as needed as processes evolve and as the organization learns to utilize the system better. Minimal maintenance is required to support the applications build on the platform. Some of the automated testing integration with tools like Jenkins is limited so that may be an issue for some.
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Pros
Adobe
  • Fosters communication between team members.
  • Serves as a virtual "to do list" for me personally - I can track where I am with projects and what there is left to do, and when it's completed.
  • Sharing documents between team members that can be updated.
Read full review
Appian
  • Allows at a glance workflow documentation which assists in the need we have for information readiation.
  • Drag and drop interface for workflow development greatly speeds our apps time to market.
  • Using the advanced features of Appian, we are able to create working sites in a fraction of the time it would take to do so using "traditional" development.
Read full review
Cons
Adobe
  • Notifications (sometimes I am emailed when I am tagged, other times I am not)
  • Certain file formats do not render correctly in Workfront Proof (eg, .XLS files)
  • It can be difficult to manage projects if you have not been assigned the correct permissions.
Read full review
Appian
  • Search issues when type ahead and database search are used in the same field.
  • Buttons implementation where user is require[d] to click on the button description - if clicks on the button outside that text - button will not work.
  • Problems with using certain off-the-shelf performance tools like WebLoad or Neoload. That is because of different dynamic variables being used internally in Appian - which these tools are unable to correlate. We are still investigating using other tools like Jmeter to overcome dynamic correlation problem for performance testing.
Read full review
Likelihood to Renew
Adobe
All that I've said already is why. I suppose the clearest way to say it is that at this point? I cannot imagine running the 300+ active projects in eMarketing without AtTask; it simply wouldn't be possible and even more; I wouldn't imagine why we'd try to find an alternative tool when we have one meeting our needs.
Read full review
Appian
We recently renewed our license with Appian. We are convinced that its flexibility, relative ease of use, the support they provide, there mobile advancements and their general willingness and desire to see us succeed all contributed to our reason to renew our agreement with Appian
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Usability
Adobe
I gave a rating of 10 on overall usability because Workfront is cloud based and very easy to use. Workfront also provides collaboration on projects which is critical to a projects success. The tool gives everyone high level visibility in their projects down to the smallest detail. Wonderful project management system, allows you to cut down on emails, meetings and no more spreadsheets for tracking your projects.
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Appian
Appian is a low code environment, because of this, a very good visual interface is required. Appian is providing a feature-rich dashboard [that] we can use for building the dashboards and other interfaces. Appian also provides patches and releases to enhance these features. A developer can start off development just by going through a basic course from the Appian learning community.
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Reliability and Availability
Adobe
Maintenance is required, but usually after work hours, Some days the proofing tool function is not operational, but this is a new function of the tool that WF is working out. the kinks on. Chrome is the best browser to use the system in and we find Firefox and Explorer lose some view functionality - Gantt Chart, Resource Grid
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Appian
No answers on this topic
Performance
Adobe
Workfront's performance has been very good. Everything always feels very fast and snappy in my experience. We have integrated it with custom scripts to create folder structure for media managing our projects. It works very well.
Read full review
Appian
No answers on this topic
Support Rating
Adobe
It would be nice if the support forms were more dynamic so you could add more information to the support ticket when you enter it to reduce back and forth with the support team member. Also communication on escalated tickets isn't always great. It's gotten better over the years but still needs improvement. Other than that, initial response on support tickets is really quick and the people I've dealt with have always been very professional.
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Appian
Appian is one of the leading low code business automation platforms that support RPA, decision rules, case management, workflow automation, and machine learning all in a single bundle. But it is also harder to implement and replace the traditional business process.
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In-Person Training
Adobe
It was from my boss, not a rep from AtTask.
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Appian
As analyst I participated in a developer boot camp. At times it was hard to keep up but most of the time it made sense. Trainer took the time to explain and slowed pace down to answer questions etc.
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Online Training
Adobe
The training is very easy to use and you can simply choose the topics included in the course(s) that are most important to your training needs. After each training course, you are tested on what you have learned. If you need a refresher course, they provide Course Catalogs as well as instructor-led courses & workshops.
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Appian
Very boring; hard to get through quickly, but rather effective in demonstrating the use of the platform.
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Implementation Rating
Adobe
Most people learn as you go, a lot of this stuff requires trial and error throughout so my suggestion is to provide as much information in the upfront and keep it as simple as possible. You can add other tools and features as you go but everyone should have the basics down so no bad habits can start to develop. Be persistent with everyone, and don't be afraid to correct and talk through steps again so everyone is on the same page
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Appian
It was really seamless. SaaS in the true definition of the word. We logged on and started using the product. Very easy.
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Alternatives Considered
Adobe
Jira is mostly used as a bug locking tool or to track any new development for any specific region/EPIC. But Workfront has a lot of other features which are beneficial in project management. I still consider Jira and Workfront my top two options for project management and believe both have some of the other useful features which are required to manage any team.
Read full review
Appian
Appian has enormously transformed and keeps on updating the product every quarter to meet the latest needs of the world with new innovations & technologies being integrated within the platform. What gives more pleasure than a product that keeps on continuous[ly] improv[ing]?
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Contract Terms and Pricing Model
Adobe
As I stated earlier, I didn't have to pay for Workfront myself- I'm a user under a large organization. I know it's not cheap to implement, I don't know how the price scales for a small-business, but I do like the product enough that I'm going to look into it in the future for my own company.
Read full review
Appian
No answers on this topic
Scalability
Adobe
Our organization has thousands of users that use Workfront and it seems to hold up very well. I have not encountered any issues using it and I think it makes it very easy for multiple people to be involved in a project and keep things organized and clear for everyone involved.
Read full review
Appian
No answers on this topic
Return on Investment
Adobe
  • Workfront allowed our company to have multiple offices and work remote and still have projects continually move through the agency
  • The platform allowed streamlined project management needs so PMs could look at a higher level of timing for resourcing needs for a given team
  • Workfront's ease of integration with other tech allowed for a lot of flexibility to meet the needs of individual wants/needs so that each person could do their best work
Read full review
Appian
  • I believe it has negatively impacted our release dates. There may have been a misunderstanding as to the learning curve, even though it is "low code."
  • The look and feel of the applications created using Appian have uniformity and it's easier to have "reuse" between applications.
  • There is less developer control when it comes to features. I think this mainly has to do with the amount of plugins available. I would think there should be many more available plugins. But again, our use case is probably different than most others.
Read full review
ScreenShots

Adobe Workfront Screenshots

Screenshot of Agile StoryboardScreenshot of Assignment RecommendationsScreenshot of Custom DashboardsScreenshot of Gantt PortfolioScreenshot of My Work QueueScreenshot of PM Portfolio Milestones

Appian Screenshots

Screenshot of Low-Code DevelopmentScreenshot of Business Process Management SuiteScreenshot of Dynamic Case ManagementScreenshot of Mobile App DevelopmentScreenshot of Appian RPA with Blue Prism