Appian vs Smartsheet

• Appian is great for sharing information across processes. The platform is designed such that objects from one application can be simply referenced in another (if your security permits it, of course.) This makes information sharing across processes quite simple from a technical implementation perspective.
• Development cycles on Appian are shorter as compared to traditional methods. We're able to churn out solutions at a higher velocity.
• Building a user interface is fast and simple. It has limited widgets but meets our needs 95% of the time out of the box.

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• Smartsheet has been excellent for assigning tasks to teams. By entering my team member's contact information and a due date, I can easily set reminders to keep them on track and to notify me if anything is running behind.
• Reports are an excellent way to pull information from multiple sheets. One of our teams uses this for each staff member to track their case load. Team leads are able to easily see the status of each assignment.
• Smartsheet is easy to learn. We have staff ranging widely in age and technology use. The functionality of Smartsheet is like a mix of Excel and Google Docs with the additional perk of alerts and easy collaboration. We have found that anyone who has even basic experience with Excel can easily work in Smartsheet with a little extra guidance.
• Conditional formatting automatically changes as a project is updated by you and/or your team. This makes it easy to identify where the project is on track and where it is falling behind with just a quick glance at your Gantt Chart or spreadsheet.

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• Advanced functionality requires use of the Appian expression language. The more advanced the logic, the harder it is to build with the expression language. This means development expertise is more relevant if you need advanced functionality, which I imagine applies almost all the time. I would much prefer if they allowed some common language such as JavaScript or Groovy out of the box.
• Debugging has proved difficult.

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• Growing pains. There are some features I still do not know about or do not have the proper training to utilize or understand. Even though paid workshops are available in WA they are outside my area (San Francisco, Bay Area). Furthermore, if I want to be an advocate of this software to hopefully educate my company to use it I would like more available courses (prefer free) in my reach to better push it forward.
• Mixed review, some think it's easy and some find it complicated. Maybe add more integration and features or even templates to help these users.

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• Although I don't have direct access to ROI assessment, I feel if projects are managed well, Appian has the ability to deliver applications / deliverables quick enough to ensure quick ROI.

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• Visible employee efficiency increase during large releases. It really helped to maintain the project plan up to date (as much as a tool can help), and it empowered project managers to quickly address issues impacting the critical path.
• We are still in the assessment mode, but the results from the pilot were very promising for internal customer satisfaction. Users reported that it was much easier for them to collaborate, saved time and improved visibility within their teams.

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