IBM DOORS can handle your data referencing needs.
March 28, 2019

IBM DOORS can handle your data referencing needs.

Anonymous | TrustRadius Reviewer
Score 8 out of 10
Vetted Review
Verified User

Overall Satisfaction with IBM Rational DOORS

We currently use DOORS to manage the project requirements for one or more projects. We use the software in one department for one or two lines of service that the company offers. DOORS allows us to manage a vast amount of data with relative ease. Although the program is very powerful, it is sometimes difficult to use.
  • Allows linking of information in different parts of the program.
  • Works fairly well with other programs like Excel and Word.
  • Has a layout that is familiar, with a ribbon-like bar at the top.
  • The program can seem overwhelming because it is very complex. Maybe a beginner, intermediate and advanced mode?
  • The software has some dependencies on other software that make it easy to break at times.
  • Setting up the software was a nightmare. It has too many components, and once the connection between them is set you cannot make changes easily.
  • Having this software available was mandatory, but allowed us to win a bid for a project that has led to other work.
  • We have gained major experience and recognition due to our use of this software.
To me, DOORS is like a super version of Excel and Word combined with a relational database. I have not used too many database softwares before, but DOORS does a very specific job well enough. It is so powerful that some of the tools just go unused. Some parts of the software are too complex for the average user.
DOORS is a very specific piece of software. It is suited to managing contract/project requirements. It works well to list and connect a lot of data, and then gives you the opportunity to show these relationships in several different ways, both graphical and in reports. The software is costly, so your project needs to be large enough to support it.

Using IBM Rational DOORS

5 - All of the people in our company that use DOORS are part of the same team and at least one project. We are providing services using DOORS for one client, and are working to expand those offerings to get other jobs and projects. We use DOORS to verify and validate project requirements.
1 - All issues with DOORS are attempted to be fixed in-house first by me, the company IT Admin. If that fails to recover the issue, then we reach out to IBM support. In the past, they have been very helpful and very responsive to our needs, and have gotten us up and running fairly quickly.
  • Gather all project requirements in one place with shared access.
  • Being able to attach and link the evidence that satisfies those requirements within the same software.
  • Being able to compile and then export into an Excel format the information we need to relay back to the client.
  • DOORS comes with the ability to archive shadow data, which can speed up the user interaction.
  • DOORS allows code scripting to make repeating tasks more manageable.
  • Backing up the DOORS database can be as easy as turning off a service and then copying one folder over to another drive.
  • We could use this software to organize any large volumes of data.
  • We could use this software to expand our lines of business offerings/services.
  • We could use this software to branch into similar but different industries that require its use.
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.

Evaluating IBM Rational DOORS and Competitors

  • Third-party Reviews
The project we were going to work on required that we use the IBM DOORS software. We needed to purchase and learn the product very quickly to make this happen. We got some help from a reseller and from a local person who had used it extensively before and was willing to do some training for us.
All in all, DOORS is a very capable piece of software. While we had a steep learning curve, it is a good program and does the job well. I'm not sure if we would have gone another route if the choice was up to us the first time around.