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    Overview
    ProductRatingMost Used ByProduct SummaryStarting Price

    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

    Zephyr Scale

    Score9.5 out of 10
    N/ATM4j is a test management application for Jira, developed by Jira solutions specialist Adaptavist, acquired and now supported by SmartBear since March 2020.

    $4.55

    per month per user

    Pricing
    IBM Engineering Lifecycle ManagementZephyr Scale
    Editions & Modules
    No answers on this topic
    No answers on this topic
    Offerings
    Pricing Offerings
    IBM Engineering Lifecycle ManagementZephyr Scale
    Free Trial
    NoYes
    Free/Freemium Version
    NoYes
    Premium Consulting/Integration Services
    NoNo
    Entry-level Setup FeeNo setup feeNo setup fee
    Additional Details—Free up to 10 users, $4.55/user/month after that. It gets cheaper as you scale.
    More Pricing Information
    Community Pulse
    IBM Engineering Lifecycle ManagementZephyr Scale
    Considered Both Products
    IBM
    No answer on this topic
    SmartBear
    No answer on this topic
    Key User Insights
    Would buy again
    78%
    Would buy again
    7 Answers
    No answers on this topic
    Delivers good value for the price
    88%
    Delivers good value for the price
    7 Answers
    No answers on this topic
    Happy with the feature set
    89%
    Happy with the feature set
    8 Answers
    No answers on this topic
    Lived up to sales and marketing promises
    100%
    Lived up to sales and marketing promises
    5 Answers
    No answers on this topic
    Implementation went as expected
    86%
    Implementation went as expected
    6 Answers
    No answers on this topic
    Features
    IBM Engineering Lifecycle ManagementZephyr Scale
    Test Management
    Comparison of Test Management features of IBM Engineering Lifecycle Management and Zephyr Scale
    Feature
    IBM Engineering Lifecycle Management
    -
    Ratings
    Zephyr Scale
    7.8
    1 Ratings
    4% below category average
    Centralized test management00 Ratings8.01 Ratings
    Map tests to user stories00 Ratings8.01 Ratings
    Test execution reporting00 Ratings8.01 Ratings
    Defect management00 Ratings7.01 Ratings
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    IBM Engineering Lifecycle ManagementZephyr Scale
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    Polarion ALM
    Score10 out of 10
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    Medium-sized Companies
    PTC Windchill RV&S
    Score2 out of 10
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    Enterprises
    Polarion ALM
    Score10 out of 10
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    All AlternativesView all alternativesView all alternatives
    User Ratings
    IBM Engineering Lifecycle ManagementZephyr Scale
    Likelihood to Recommend
    3.0
    (22 ratings)
    8.0
    (1 ratings)
    Likelihood to Renew
    8.0
    (6 ratings)
    -
    (0 ratings)
    Usability
    4.0
    (5 ratings)
    -
    (0 ratings)
    Support Rating
    5.0
    (3 ratings)
    -
    (0 ratings)
    Implementation Rating
    10.0
    (1 ratings)
    -
    (0 ratings)
    User Testimonials
    IBM Engineering Lifecycle ManagementZephyr Scale
    Likelihood to Recommend
    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
    Read full review
    SmartBear
    Jira and Confluence are widely implemented in organizations of various industries so incorporating Zephyr Scale is a very seamless method of adding scalable testing management. Testing visibility and end to end traceability is possible and integrates in Jira. Developers and engineers are able to take advantage of the built-in reports and statistics and even automate testing. The value is greatly reduced for organizations that do not already implement Jira and Confluence as the native integrated compatibility is much of the value
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Pros
    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
    Read full review
    SmartBear
    • Scalable and compatible with Jira & Confluence
    • Improves testing visibility, data analysis, collaboration with reports & gadgets
    • Easy to retrospectively trace testing with change history
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Cons
    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
    Read full review
    SmartBear
    • Not as valuable if not already using Jira or Confluence
    • Can be overlooked if the user does not set automation
    • Needs better first time tutorials
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Likelihood to Renew
    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
    Read full review
    SmartBear
    No answers on this topic
    Usability
    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
    Read full review
    SmartBear
    No answers on this topic
    Support Rating
    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
    Read full review
    SmartBear
    No answers on this topic
    Implementation Rating
    IBM
    No problems
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    SmartBear
    No answers on this topic
    Alternatives Considered
    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
    Read full review
    SmartBear
    Zephyr scale is easier to work with and more seamlessly used because it is natively integrated with Jira and Confluence. TestRail cannot provide the same scalable experience and is rather dated and limited in capability. Developers rather use tools that are compatible with each other, and Zephyr scale offers that
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Return on Investment
    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
    Read full review
    SmartBear
    • Dozens of added testing capability via integrated gadgets
    • Reduced testing and tracking time
    • Faster and clearer testing operations awareness
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    ScreenShots