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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

    Smartsheet

    Score8.3 out of 10
    N/ASmartsheet is an online project management and collaboration tool. It includes automated alerts, instantaneous updating and sharing across team members, resource management, nested tasks organized in a hierarchy, a Gantt chart view, exportable and automated reports, and integration with email.

    $12

    per month per user (up to 10 users)

    Pricing
    IBM Engineering Lifecycle ManagementSmartsheet
    Editions & Modules
    No answers on this topic
    Pro
    $12
    per month per user (up to 10 users)
    Business
    $24
    per month per user (3 user minimum)
    Enterprise
    Contact Sales
    Advanced Work Management
    Contact Sales
    Offerings
    Pricing Offerings
    IBM Engineering Lifecycle ManagementSmartsheet
    Free Trial
    NoYes
    Free/Freemium Version
    NoNo
    Premium Consulting/Integration Services
    NoNo
    Entry-level Setup FeeNo setup feeNo setup fee
    Additional Details—A discount is offered for annual billing.
    More Pricing Information
    Community Pulse
    IBM Engineering Lifecycle ManagementSmartsheet
    Considered Both Products
    IBM
    No answer on this topic
    Smartsheet
    No answer on this topic
    Key User Insights
    Would buy again
    78%
    Would buy again
    7 Answers
    90%
    Would buy again
    62 Answers
    Delivers good value for the price
    88%
    Delivers good value for the price
    7 Answers
    97%
    Delivers good value for the price
    58 Answers
    Happy with the feature set
    89%
    Happy with the feature set
    8 Answers
    88%
    Happy with the feature set
    61 Answers
    Lived up to sales and marketing promises
    100%
    Lived up to sales and marketing promises
    5 Answers
    98%
    Lived up to sales and marketing promises
    47 Answers
    Implementation went as expected
    86%
    Implementation went as expected
    6 Answers
    96%
    Implementation went as expected
    51 Answers
    Features
    IBM Engineering Lifecycle ManagementSmartsheet
    Project Management
    Comparison of Project Management features of IBM Engineering Lifecycle Management and Smartsheet
    Feature
    IBM Engineering Lifecycle Management
    -
    Ratings
    Smartsheet
    9.1
    129 Ratings
    17% above category average
    Task Management00 Ratings9.8126 Ratings
    Resource Management00 Ratings10.0108 Ratings
    Gantt Charts00 Ratings9.0109 Ratings
    Scheduling00 Ratings9.8111 Ratings
    Workflow Automation00 Ratings9.2100 Ratings
    Team Collaboration00 Ratings10.0122 Ratings
    Support for Agile Methodology00 Ratings8.981 Ratings
    Support for Waterfall Methodology00 Ratings9.079 Ratings
    Document Management00 Ratings9.2101 Ratings
    Email integration00 Ratings9.0100 Ratings
    Mobile Access00 Ratings8.096 Ratings
    Timesheet Tracking00 Ratings9.762 Ratings
    Change request and Case Management00 Ratings8.169 Ratings
    Budget and Expense Management00 Ratings8.075 Ratings
    Professional Services Automation
    Comparison of Professional Services Automation features of IBM Engineering Lifecycle Management and Smartsheet
    Feature
    IBM Engineering Lifecycle Management
    -
    Ratings
    Smartsheet
    7.9
    66 Ratings
    3% above category average
    Quotes/estimates00 Ratings8.144 Ratings
    Invoicing00 Ratings7.537 Ratings
    Project & financial reporting00 Ratings8.760 Ratings
    Integration with accounting software00 Ratings7.332 Ratings
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    IBM Engineering Lifecycle ManagementSmartsheet
    Small Businesses
    Polarion ALM
    Score10 out of 10
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    Medium-sized Companies
    PTC Windchill RV&S
    Score2 out of 10
    KanbanFlow
    Score7.3 out of 10
    Enterprises
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    Score10 out of 10
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    Score7.9 out of 10
    All AlternativesView all alternativesView all alternatives
    User Ratings
    IBM Engineering Lifecycle ManagementSmartsheet
    Likelihood to Recommend
    3.0
    (22 ratings)
    9.3
    (146 ratings)
    Likelihood to Renew
    8.0
    (6 ratings)
    9.0
    (24 ratings)
    Usability
    4.0
    (5 ratings)
    9.2
    (17 ratings)
    Performance
    -
    (0 ratings)
    10.0
    (1 ratings)
    Support Rating
    5.0
    (3 ratings)
    8.1
    (45 ratings)
    Online Training
    -
    (0 ratings)
    7.0
    (1 ratings)
    Implementation Rating
    10.0
    (1 ratings)
    10.0
    (6 ratings)
    User Testimonials
    IBM Engineering Lifecycle ManagementSmartsheet
    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
    Smartsheet
    Smartsheet shines for collaboration. When you have multiple people involved with planning events Smartsheet makes it easy to share and collaborate. For instance, multiple people can be in Smartsheet working at the same time. Also setting permissions for exactly those who need to know is quite easy with Smartsheet. For data analytics and general spreadsheet purposes Excel is better but for project management and event planning Smartsheet is superior
    Incentivized
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    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
    Smartsheet
    • Its hard to overstate the value of familiarity. Being able to use a tool that has some familiarity takes away the time needed to train and orient employees on a new tool and allows an organization to hit the ground running.
    • Smartsheet covers most of the basics of a project management tool, the usual tasks, milestones and project viewing options.
    • For data viewing, you get multiple data viewing options including a calendar view (good for marketing teams and those who work around scheduling), Kanban, Gaant etc
    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
    Smartsheet
    • Smartsheet set up is similar to Excel, yet when you upload an Excel file, things like conditional formatting are lost. Smartsheet has its own conditional formatting, and you have to reinstate the rules. It would be great if those would apply automatically once a file is uploaded
    • Some Smartsheet management and access rules can take some tweaking to work properly. This may be a case of offering more info to admins so they can apply these better and with more efficiency
    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
    Smartsheet
    It definitely meets our needs as far as organizing and archiving our tasks and files. As we train more staff to view it, I see opportunities for more improvement, which I am sure this program can handle. I look forward to seeing continued improvement from Smartsheet on their capabilities and functionality.
    Incentivized
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    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
    Smartsheet
    Smartsheet is very easy to learn. However, while I have been able to pick it easily, Microsoft Excel and Project super users that I have trained on Smartsheet get bogged down in the differences and can find it frustrating. Explaining the differences ahead of time and why Smartsheet is being chosen instead of a different software seems to counteract those reactions
    Incentivized
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    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
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    Smartsheet
    I give this rating because it fills a niche in the market. MS Project scares many away from proper task management but there are limited tools our there, especially cloud-based that are mobile-friendly. Smartsheet fills this market gap, especially for small to medium-sized businesses. IT is not fair to compare it to MS Project, but fairer to see what gaps it fills.
    Incentivized
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    Implementation Rating
    IBM
    No problems
    Incentivized
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    Smartsheet
    It's absolutely paramount to take a few minutes to actually play with the software. It's nearly impossible to do anything wrong or make a mistake which cannot be fixed easily. Under the help menu is Live Training option. After you familiarize yourself with the commands, watch the live training for some in depth understanding of how to make the software fit your needs perfectly.
    Read full review
    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
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    Smartsheet
    Jira and Redmine are much more robust and technologically advanced project management solutions. I enjoy using either when managing a very large project. However, I prefer to use Smartsheet for my smaller to medium sized projects. As for Google Drive - I would say that Google sheets and Smartsheet are almost identical in my opinion when it comes to functionality. Personally I prefer to manage smaller projects via Google Drive, but it is a personal preference!
    Incentivized
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    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
    Smartsheet
    • This has really opened up collaboration across teams. A lot less working in silos.
    • It hasn't fully replaced any one tool so it means having to go to another place. Hopefully, we can eliminate a tool or two in the next six months.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
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