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FunctionFox vs. IBM Engineering Lifecycle Management

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    Overview
    ProductRatingMost Used ByProduct SummaryStarting Price

    FunctionFox

    Score6.1 out of 10
    Small Businesses (1-50 employees)
    FunctionFox provides TimeFox which is a timesheet and project management solution for small creative companies. The vendor says TimeFox is currently used by over 100,000 creative professionals in Canada, the US, Europe, Asia, Australia and New Zealand.

    $5

    per user

    IBM Engineering Lifecycle Management

    Score5 out of 10
    N/AIBM Engineering Lifecycle Management (ELM) is an integrated suite for managing requirements, engineering work, system and software models, and verification activities across complex product-development programs. It is used by systems engineers, software teams, test organizations, project managers, and compliance teams in industries such as automotive, aerospace and defense, medical devices, and public infrastructure.N/A
    Pricing
    FunctionFoxIBM Engineering Lifecycle Management
    Editions & Modules
    FunctionFox Classic
    $5
    per user
    FunctionFox Premier
    $10
    per user
    FunctionFox In-House
    $20
    per user
    No answers on this topic
    Offerings
    Pricing Offerings
    FunctionFoxIBM Engineering Lifecycle Management
    Free Trial
    YesNo
    Free/Freemium Version
    YesNo
    Premium Consulting/Integration Services
    NoNo
    Entry-level Setup FeeNo setup feeNo setup fee
    Additional DetailsNo hidden fees. All customer support, and regular upgrades are included free of charge.—
    More Pricing Information
    Community Pulse
    FunctionFoxIBM Engineering Lifecycle Management
    Considered Both Products
    FunctionFox
    No answer on this topic
    IBM
    No answer on this topic
    Key User Insights
    Would buy again
    No answers on this topic
    78%
    Would buy again
    7 Answers
    Delivers good value for the price
    No answers on this topic
    88%
    Delivers good value for the price
    7 Answers
    Happy with the feature set
    No answers on this topic
    89%
    Happy with the feature set
    8 Answers
    Lived up to sales and marketing promises
    No answers on this topic
    100%
    Lived up to sales and marketing promises
    5 Answers
    Implementation went as expected
    No answers on this topic
    86%
    Implementation went as expected
    6 Answers
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    User Ratings
    FunctionFoxIBM Engineering Lifecycle Management
    Likelihood to Recommend
    8.0
    (14 ratings)
    3.0
    (22 ratings)
    Likelihood to Renew
    3.0
    (4 ratings)
    8.0
    (6 ratings)
    Usability
    4.0
    (1 ratings)
    4.0
    (5 ratings)
    Support Rating
    8.0
    (1 ratings)
    5.0
    (3 ratings)
    Implementation Rating
    5.0
    (1 ratings)
    10.0
    (1 ratings)
    User Testimonials
    FunctionFoxIBM Engineering Lifecycle Management
    Likelihood to Recommend
    FunctionFox
    If you are trying to track time across teams or functions, that is really what FunctionFox is designed for. I think this would work better for individual, smaller teams with similar tasks and activities, instead of for larger companies with more complex organizational operations. If you are just getting started with time tracking, this could be a good place to start.
    Incentivized
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    IBM
    The software is robust enough to handle highly complex software development or other product development and can be used well beyond the range to do what a client needs. However, because of the inability to hold its users to proper best practices, things can get wildly out of hand and cascade over the years, creating unnecessary technical debt. The system has a lot of usable features, but they don't funnel users toward the correct processes and practices.
    Incentivized
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    Pros
    FunctionFox
    • With only a couple clicks I can still easily pull reports by employee on a weekly basis which provide the information I need to run payroll.
    • I pull reports by client each month for our monthly client billings, which we have broken down by project so I can easily see how our time was spent on their account.
    • We set a budget for the approved number of hours we can apply to any one project for the month, and the system provides the project manager with a warning as the limit comes near. That function has been fantastic!
    • FunctionFox's Help Desk personnel are wonderful, providing an exceptionally personalized experience. They take their time, and will even schedule a call to go into greater depth, such as an entire account review just to ensure you're able to use all the product features to your company's best advantage. Our entire team jumped on a half hour call a couple months ago, and she answered ALL of our questions, including providing us with info on some features we hadn't realized even existed.
    Incentivized
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    IBM
    • Open Services supporting Lifecycle Collaboration (OSLC).
    • Required definition management and managed capabilities enabling.
    • Rational DOORS Web Access for local on the test field presence.
    • On-sites established reporting system.
    • Approved linking requirements to test plans
    • Engineering Requirements Management DOORS traces requirements thereby eliminates manually processes and spreadsheets, for improved productivity.
    • Returns the investment efficiently.
    Incentivized
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    Cons
    FunctionFox
    • The function of the site is not as user-friendly as others, it's sometimes hard to find certain projects and organize data in order to track effectively. I would often need to download/export reports.
    • Sometimes a project would accidentally be created twice and hours billed to two separate projects for the same thing. Which made tracking and billing increasingly difficult.
    • Little to no organization of projects for billing and finance purposes, which makes it hard when we conduct billing as there is not a clear way to know if a project is complete, ongoing, rejected etc.
    Incentivized
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    IBM
    • I feel like it is too heavy sometimes and updating is not very straight forward. For example, if I want to change an incident ticket (IN) to a service request (SR) and add some comment for the change, I have to first change the IN to SR, then click refresh which takes a few seconds, then add a comment. If I forget the refresh step, my comment will be discarded without warning like my ticket is not in the latest status. This also happens when somebody else changes the ticket during my edit as I can not lock the ticket exclusively.
    Incentivized
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    Likelihood to Renew
    FunctionFox
    All of my employees are used to it and introducing a new software to them requires them to get trained again increasing the costs. TimeFox is an easy to use and understand software. Another advantage of TimeFox is that is an online software and I can access it whenever I want to.
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    IBM
    At the moment we are required by contract to continue to use the IBM DOORS software for our current client. Given that it can be expensive, if we were to use it after our current client's needs were met, we would have to secure other projects in order to justify the continued use of the software.
    Incentivized
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    Usability
    FunctionFox
    It's a good tool for tracking hours and overall budget. It does not give you insight into why there are those hours, or what part of the project has over burned. The tool is also tough to export reports and find the correct information throughout. Not only this, but I also have a hard time changing project details - there's no real easy way to and there's a larger room for error
    Incentivized
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    IBM
    The UI is terrible and not intuitive. Users need training in order to complete tasks. Much like SAP, it's not the clearest tool. The tracing feature is especially complicated because you must write the scripts yourself. There is a learning curve. Also, even the setup, installation, and logging in each time takes a considerable amount of time.
    Incentivized
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    Support Rating
    FunctionFox
    I haven't used FunctionFox for a lot of support requests. On the times that i've been having issues I've had the issue resolved within a day, most questions I have had i've been able to source answers online or from a colleague. From what I have experienced the support team seems great.
    Incentivized
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    IBM
    It does a basic job and has the potential to complete some robust reporting tasks, however, it really is a clunky piece of software with a terrible user interface that makes using it routinely quite unpleasant. Many of our legacy and maintenance projects still use DOORS but our department and company use many alternatives and are looking for better tools.
    Incentivized
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    Implementation Rating
    FunctionFox
    Unsure on implementation of FunctionFox - was before my time at the company. Everyone at the company had a good understanding of the product and how to use it by the time I joined. My understanding is we implemented ourselves with a few training sessions for the creative team and adding hours as well as training for the account team to add projects
    Incentivized
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    IBM
    No problems
    Incentivized
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    Alternatives Considered
    FunctionFox
    When we were looking for software we tested several, and FunctionFox was hands down the best value. While there are other options, and each company is different, nothing could come close to filling our needs the way FunctionFox has. The money we spend has been returned several times over.
    Incentivized
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    IBM
    It was easier to do all the change management-related activities, even configurations were handled very effectively. New process definitions and initiatives made it easier for better project deliverables. Effective resource allocations and better reporting and defect management. The overall cost of the tool is great too and well within budget.
    Incentivized
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    Return on Investment
    FunctionFox
    • FunctionFox pays for itself just about every month in terms of how much more I am able to bill than before I started using the software, and how much less time I need to spend on non-billable admin tasks. I used to create invoices based mostly on what sounded fair, rather than on accurate time & cost records. I'm sure my clients loved it, but it wasn't healthy for my business. Now I base invoices on actual time and expense records, and end up with more money in my pocket.
    • It's not tangible, but FunctionFox has improved my ability to communicate with clients, and with freelance partners when I'm involved in a collaborative project. I can anticipate and discuss potential budget or delivery deadline overruns before they occur. The goodwill this builds has had a tremendously positive impact on client and partnership relations.
    • I fell into freelancing without a lot of experience running a business. FunctionFox has been a great teacher, helping me think through many issues that I wouldn't have even recognized as important. It is simple to use, with a UI that is neither intimidating nor overwhelming, and it has been super flexible in terms of molding it to suit the way I work.
    Incentivized
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    IBM
    • It's part of CLM suite so it can be used to manage the whole lifecycle with tight integration with development module (Rational Team Concert) and quality module (Rational Quality Manager).
    • Comprehensive reports and dashboards provide better visibility.
    • License cost is on higher side.
    Incentivized
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    ScreenShots

    FunctionFox Screenshots

    Screenshot of Easily navigate throughout FunctionFox from the customizable Home dashboard.Screenshot of CEO Desktop enables users to visualize budgets and deadlines for specific projects.Screenshot of The Project Status page provides the users with  an overview of the projects and the different stages they are at. With the filters users can drill down to see specific clients or projects.Screenshot of The Calendar provides a great weekly or monthly view of project start and due dates, along with deliverables, milestones, and meetings.