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IBM Engineering Lifecycle Management (ELM) vs Rally Software comparison

 

Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive SummaryUpdated on Dec 23, 2024

Review summaries and opinions

We asked business professionals to review the solutions they use. Here are some excerpts of what they said:
 

ROI

No sentiment score available
Sentiment score
7.9
Rally Software improves efficiency and ROI, simplifies processes, offers valuable insights, and outperforms Quality Center in cost-effectiveness.
 

Customer Service

Sentiment score
5.9
IBM ELM support is helpful but needs faster responses and simpler processes; additional self-service resources are recommended.
Sentiment score
6.9
Rally Software's customer service is knowledgeable and responsive, but response times can be slower for complex issues.
 

Scalability Issues

Sentiment score
7.4
IBM ELM's scalability varies; seamless for some, challenging for others, requiring knowledge and affected by licensing and stability issues.
Sentiment score
7.2
Rally Software is known for scalability and agile integration, with minor slow-downs but no major data handling issues.
 

Stability Issues

Sentiment score
6.7
IBM Engineering Lifecycle Management is generally seen as stable, though impressions vary based on different product experiences.
Sentiment score
7.3
Rally Software is stable with reliable uptime, but users face occasional performance issues, needing improvement in reporting and speed.
 

Room For Improvement

IBM Engineering Lifecycle Management requires enhanced reporting, user interface, integration, customization, stability, and improved user guidance and documentation.
Users seek improved navigation, performance, reporting, Kanban support, integration, and customization in Rally Software for better user satisfaction.
 

Setup Cost

IBM ELM is seen as costly, yet its long-term value ensures strong user retention despite underutilized features.
Rally Software is costly compared to competitors, but offers value for agile scaling and negotiable professional services for large users.
 

Valuable Features

IBM ELM offers customizable planning, integration with Git, compliance features, and cost-effective cloud-based SaaS solutions for lifecycle management.
 

Categories and Ranking

IBM Engineering Lifecycle M...
Ranking in Application Lifecycle Management (ALM) Suites
13th
Average Rating
7.2
Reviews Sentiment
6.2
Number of Reviews
18
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
Rally Software
Ranking in Application Lifecycle Management (ALM) Suites
7th
Average Rating
8.0
Reviews Sentiment
6.9
Number of Reviews
119
Ranking in other categories
Enterprise Agile Planning Tools (7th)
 

Mindshare comparison

As of December 2024, in the Application Lifecycle Management (ALM) Suites category, the mindshare of IBM Engineering Lifecycle Management (ELM) is 2.7%, up from 1.7% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Rally Software is 6.9%, up from 5.4% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Application Lifecycle Management (ALM) Suites
 

Featured Reviews

Harold Pogue - PeerSpot reviewer
A complex deployment that is not stable, but is cloud-based
The team of 15 to 20 software engineers uses IBM Rational ALM and Jira for testing. They coupled different online packages together because the Duration Enterprise was impossible to use IBM Rational ALM did not help the organization and we ended up moving to another solution. The most valuable…
Deep Maini - PeerSpot reviewer
Helps you collaborate on various effects and solutions from the top to the bottom of the organization
We use Rally Software extensively in our agile development processes. We have program boards set up where we write and break down stories. We assign story points and map dependencies between different stories, showing how stories from one team may depend on stories from another team. It integrates these functions well, especially compared to Jira, which has some limitations in this area. The tool keeps improving based on how teams actually work in Scaled Agile, continually upgrading their software versions to meet our needs. I find the whole Rally Software tool integrated very nicely. In Jira, we often go to Confluence for documentation using two separate tools. But in the product, it's not like that. The documentation is tightly integrated. I don't feel like switching to another tool, like going from Jira to Confluence. The tool is designed for collaboration. It shows your organization's view, showing different teams and verticals. It helps you collaborate on various effects and solutions from the top to the bottom of the organization. It has an ecosystem that supports this. All the dependencies between different teams can be easily mapped in Rally Software. They have a program board for that purpose.
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Manufacturing Company
22%
Computer Software Company
13%
Financial Services Firm
9%
Government
7%
Educational Organization
81%
Financial Services Firm
3%
Manufacturing Company
3%
Insurance Company
2%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
 

Questions from the Community

What needs improvement with IBM Rational ALM?
The user interface requires significant improvement as it is overly complex. For business users with no experience in IT, it can be particularly challenging to understand the UI and create test cas...
What is your primary use case for IBM Rational ALM?
We use IBM Rational ALM as part of our overall application suite for our manufacturing company. It is used by our engineering team to capture requirements, perform testing, and manage defects. Spec...
What do you like most about Rally Software?
Rally offers many features that help the management of activities, coordination, alignment and reports, which applies agility across the organization. If I were to highlight a particular feature, i...
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Rally Software?
I don't know the exact pricing, but I think the tool is priced high. They provide quality workmanship, good software, regular upgrades, and they're always attentive and listen to users. Everything ...
What needs improvement with Rally Software?
The product itself seems to have a lot of bugs. One issue is that it sometimes allows people to modify data inappropriately. For example, team members can change numbers at will. While we have a me...
 

Also Known As

IBM Engineering Rhapsody, Rational ALM, MKS
CA Agile Central, Rally Enterprise, CA Agile Training, CA Agile Coaching, CA Agile Academy, CA Agile Management , CA ALM
 

Learn More

 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

Tennis Australia, WeCloud AB, Port Otago Limited, Logicalis US, Valmer, The Chevrolet Volt, Ashurst
Physicians Mutual, Harvard Pilgrim HealthCare, Editora Abril, Tata Communications, Level 3 Communications, Seagate, TomTom, Philips, Hiscox, Physicians Mutual, MYOB
Find out what your peers are saying about IBM Engineering Lifecycle Management (ELM) vs. Rally Software and other solutions. Updated: December 2024.
824,106 professionals have used our research since 2012.