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IBM Rational ClearQuest vs. OpenText Dimensions CM

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    Overview
    ProductRatingMost Used ByProduct SummaryStarting Price

    IBM Rational ClearQuest

    Score7 out of 10
    N/AA customizable database workflow application development and production system that provides better visibility and control. IBM Rational ClearQuest is change management software that helps improve developer productivity while accommodating the methodologies, processes and tools that best fit the project and the people on the team. It provides tools and processes used to maintain control of changes while catering to the diverse needs of the developer.N/A

    OpenText Dimensions CM

    Score8 out of 10
    N/ADimensions CM is Software Change and Configuration Management for Agile development, developed by Serena Software and now sold by OpenText.N/A
    Pricing
    IBM Rational ClearQuestOpenText Dimensions CM
    Editions & Modules
    No answers on this topic
    No answers on this topic
    Offerings
    Pricing Offerings
    IBM Rational ClearQuestOpenText Dimensions CM
    Free Trial
    NoNo
    Free/Freemium Version
    NoNo
    Premium Consulting/Integration Services
    NoNo
    Entry-level Setup FeeNo setup feeNo setup fee
    Additional Details——
    More Pricing Information
    Best Alternatives
    IBM Rational ClearQuestOpenText Dimensions CM
    Small Businesses
    No answers on this topic
    GitHub
    Score9.2 out of 10
    Medium-sized Companies
    No answers on this topic
    Git
    Score10 out of 10
    Enterprises
    No answers on this topic
    Perforce P4
    Score7.6 out of 10
    All AlternativesView all alternativesView all alternatives
    User Ratings
    IBM Rational ClearQuestOpenText Dimensions CM
    Likelihood to Recommend
    4.0
    (6 ratings)
    9.0
    (1 ratings)
    Likelihood to Renew
    8.0
    (2 ratings)
    -
    (0 ratings)
    Usability
    7.0
    (2 ratings)
    -
    (0 ratings)
    Support Rating
    9.0
    (2 ratings)
    -
    (0 ratings)
    Implementation Rating
    8.0
    (2 ratings)
    -
    (0 ratings)
    Configurability
    10.0
    (1 ratings)
    -
    (0 ratings)
    User Testimonials
    IBM Rational ClearQuestOpenText Dimensions CM
    Likelihood to Recommend
    IBM
    If you are familiar with IBM Rational Suite products, RequisitePro will add up due to the synergy between other components. Beyond that, if your business is not structured to an adequate development methodology or lacks the degree of maturity or necessary resources, probably RequisitePro does not add much value. If you work with developers in the requirements analysis, they probably prefer to use an SVN repository.
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    OpenText
    Serena CM is well suited to highly controlled, audited, and process driven environments. It will allow strict segregation of duties, and change traceability. If implemented correctly it will help you quickly build trusts with your auditors. It is also well suited to environments that require constant branching and merging. Due to the complexity of the product and learning curve for your development and operations team it may be overkill in a small shop with loose rules
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    Pros
    IBM
    • Capability to query bugs on multiple criteria and export it to csv for triages.
    • Simple and intuitive user experience and clearly planned defect life cycle
    • There are other features like assigning the defect to pull request, clearly explaining defect by attaching screenshots, detailed description etc
    • If you are using other IBM tools for requirements documentation, this tool integrates very well
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    OpenText
    • Code Promotion: Dimensions CM allows supervisors to control changes to code, in that they delegate requests to developers, and act as a gatekeeper prior to promoting to the next environment. This functionality is configurable so you can set up a workflow that best fits the structure and requirements of your own company.
    • Code Repository for changes and versioning: Code can be checked out by item or by synchronizing folders. Code revisions can be compared against other revisions or work files. Item histories show which developers made which modifications, and which supervisor and operations personnel were involved in assigning the request and promoting the code to each environment. Additionally a pedigree will show a stream diagram which graphically displays branches and merges.
    • Deployment: Serena Change Management offers help automating deployment including integrations with SVN and Jenkins. Its newer versions also have a powerful graphical deployment automation tool (Serena Deployment Automation- SDA). It comes with a certain amount of licenses built-in. If you have a many nodes to deploy to there will be separate licensing costs for that.
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    Cons
    IBM
    • Performance can be an issue. Make certain the server is sized properly
    • There is a large difference in capability of the Thick Client Version compared with the web based version. Make certain each job function has proper access to be able to do what is required of them.
    • Learning curve is not too steep, but would suggest having someone with experience setup the repository. Highly suggest getting a contractor to assist to get the repository up and running.
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    OpenText
    • The only major negative that I have encountered with Serena CM product is that the very power and flexibility of the tool means there is a risk that you will make a mess of things. In other words it gives you plenty of rope to tangle yourself with. I recommend careful, well thought out deployments implementing the built in roles and workflows that can be turned on and configured, using a consistent methodology.
    • My experience with the Serena help desk support has not been impressive. Though reasonably polite and diligent, the technicians were well trained, and often gave bad advise and terrible scripts. On several occasions I had to rewrite scripts they have me; if I had run them as provided they would have caused even more difficulties than the problem I was trying to solve. I speak of the support in the past tense because I conditioned myself not to call them, it was usually just easier to solve nay problems my self. They do have a good account management team though, and for any major issues you can go thru them.
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    Likelihood to Renew
    IBM
    Most likely as it's one of the powerful tools in the organization. We needed this tool to track all the process related documentation and also to capture signatures.
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    OpenText
    No answers on this topic
    Usability
    IBM
    Please keep in mind that this all has to do with you you customize the user interface. It becomes very easy to house all of your requirements, but it may and can make life difficult for you if you do not think ahead of how you want the app to work and house your data
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    OpenText
    No answers on this topic
    Support Rating
    IBM
    IBM has good support and knowledge base. With the wealth of information on their site and the support desk, we were able to quickly resolve issues. It is smart to build up a COE and a group that manages the software otherwise it is quick to be able to lose the knowledge as team members are assigned different duties
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    OpenText
    No answers on this topic
    Implementation Rating
    IBM
    It was pretty simple.
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    OpenText
    No answers on this topic
    Alternatives Considered
    IBM
    IBM clearquest would the BEST option if you are looking for managing change requests, managing project workflows, generating reports on status of requests. The reason being: cost, cost and cost. It almost handles everything that you would need for your project including bug tracking unless you want something really fancy (like HP QC) with a higher cost that supports a wide variety of needs which you might need to evaluate based on your project needs. For example, if you would be really making use of all those additional features provided by HP Quality Center. To be honest it depends on your project size, the skills of team members and of course budget!
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    OpenText
    Serena CM is superior to Microsoft Team Foundation Server (TFS) in overall functionality, but does not have very good native integration with Microsoft. Therefore in a Microsoft centric shop with no audit needs ,TFS would be better. Otherwise I would choose Serena CM
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    Return on Investment
    IBM
    • IBM Rational ClearQuest has provided a workflow that works without unique software methodology. As a result we deliver complete software products to our clients in a 6 to 8 week development time frame.
    • As a result of our highly customized implementation, we have 8 resources supporting IBM Rational ClearQuest. Three of the resources are full time configuration management staff that administer and support the tool set and the other 5 are from the testing group that handle ClearQuest user support issues in addition to their testing duties.
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    OpenText
    • Serena has facilitated our annual completion of various audit and technology control certifications. These certifications make a huge difference to our company's reputation and bottom line.
    • There has been no negative impact on our company.
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