GoCD vs IBM Engineering Lifecycle Management (ELM) comparison

Thoughtworks and IBM are both solutions in the Application Lifecycle Management (ALM) Suites category. Thoughtworks is ranked #15 with an average rating of 7.3, while IBM is ranked #12 with an average rating of 7.2. Thoughtworks holds a 0.5% mindshare in ALM, compared to IBM’s 3.8% mindshare. Additionally, 88% of Thoughtworks users are willing to recommend the solution, compared to 76% of IBM users who would recommend it.

GoCD

Read 7 GoCD reviews

959 Views
192 Comparison Views

88% willing to recommend

IBM Engineering Lifecycle M...

Read 19 IBM Engineering Lifecycle Management (ELM) reviews

1,521 Views
1,506 Comparison Views

76% willing to recommend

GoCD

IBM Engineering Lifecycle M...

Comparison Buyer's Guide

Download the report

Executive SummaryUpdated on Jul 6, 2025

IBM Engineering Lifecycle Management and GoCD are competing products in software development and delivery, with IBM ELM excelling in comprehensive lifecycle management and GoCD favored for its CI/CD automation efficiency.

Features: IBM Engineering Lifecycle Management offers an integrated suite of tools for requirements management, quality management, and change configuration. It covers the entire project lifecycle comprehensively and supports detailed audit trails for compliance. GoCD, on the other hand, prioritizes continuous delivery with advanced pipeline visualization, seamless version control integration, and strong deployment management, making it ideal for CI/CD processes.

Room for Improvement: IBM Engineering Lifecycle Management could enhance its user interface for more intuitive navigation, improve integration with non-IBM tools, and provide more flexible licensing options. GoCD's areas for improvement include expanding its plugin ecosystem, enhancing reporting capabilities, and simplifying its user interface further, especially for non-technical users.

Ease of Deployment and Customer Service: IBM ELM provides a robust deployment model supporting complex environments and offers comprehensive customer support for stability and ease. GoCD allows for straightforward installation and setup, with responsive customer service focused on CI/CD reliability, though its flexibility can sometimes present a learning curve.

Pricing and ROI: IBM ELM has higher upfront costs due to its extensive feature set, offering significant ROI for complete lifecycle management needs. GoCD, being open-source, offers minimal setup costs with a strong ROI by efficiently streamlining CI/CD processes. While GoCD presents cost-effective solutions for pipeline management, IBM ELM could provide higher long-term value for organizations requiring full lifecycle capabilities.

To learn more, read our detailed GoCD vs. IBM Engineering Lifecycle Management (ELM) Report (Updated: September 2025).

Buyer's Guide

GoCD vs. IBM Engineering Lifecycle Management (ELM)

September 2025

Download the complete report

Helped 867,349 peers since 2012

Review summaries and opinions

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

Categories and Ranking

GoCD

Ranking in Application Lifecycle Management (ALM) Suites

15th

Average Rating

7.6

Reviews Sentiment

7.1

Number of Reviews

Ranking in other categories

Build Automation (17th), Release Automation (10th)

IBM Engineering Lifecycle M...

Ranking in Application Lifecycle Management (ALM) Suites

12th

Average Rating

7.2

Reviews Sentiment

6.2

Number of Reviews

Ranking in other categories

No ranking in other categories

Mindshare comparison

As of September 2025, in the Application Lifecycle Management (ALM) Suites category, the mindshare of GoCD is 0.5%, up from 0.2% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of IBM Engineering Lifecycle Management (ELM) is 3.8%, up from 2.1% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.

Application Lifecycle Management (ALM) Suites Market Share Distribution
Product	Market Share (%)
IBM Engineering Lifecycle Management (ELM)	3.8%
GoCD	0.5%
Other	95.7%

Application Lifecycle Management (ALM) Suites

Featured Reviews

Nishant Narayan Singh

DevOps Architect at Cognizant

Simplifies the pipeline process, but the access control system needs enhancement

One area of product improvement is the access control system. It is difficult to assign different access levels because it relies on separate keys for developer and admin access, which could be simplified. The folder structure is another aspect that could be enhanced, as all jobs are displayed on a single page without the clear organization seen in Jenkins. Implementing a more structured approach to organizing jobs would improve user experience. AI could simplify job creation. For example, instead of manually editing pipelines as code, an AI tool could allow users to input variables and automatically generate the required jobs. It would help reduce human errors, such as issues that arise from incorrect edits in large code files.

Read full review

Juergen Albrecht

Managing Director at CCC Systems Engineering Suisse GmbH

Combining tools for effective data analysis while customization and integration need improvement

The most valuable feature is how IBM Engineering Lifecycle Management (ELM) allows me to present to the customer what the actual software, even hardware, will do. It helps them gain an impression of the complexity of the functionality and find an easier way to decide whether to implement it. A picture says more than one thousand words, which is why I work with the combination of ELM and the specification of DOORS. The automation capabilities I built use column-based scripts for analysis to search, fetch, and transfer information. When I open modules, it automatically analyzes the changes since the last opening by me.

Read full review

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"The UI is colorful."

"Permission separations mean that we can grant limited permissions for each team or team member."

"GoCD's open-source nature is valuable."

"The most notable aspect is its user interface, which we find to be user-friendly and straightforward for deploying and comprehending pipelines. We have the ability to create multiple pipelines, and in addition to that, the resource consumption is impressive."

"It is relatively easy to use and user-friendly once the setup is complete."

"We have something called the GC (global configuration), which is a unique feature compared to any other competitor we have in the ALM space."

"Everyone in a team can work on the same platform and share the same information."

"I would rate the stability of this product a nine out of ten."

"The integration with Git works well."

"The most valuable feature is the reporting of the CPU usage on the dashboard."

"You can customize the board according to your needs."

"The tools for requirement capture we have found very useful."

More IBM Engineering Lifecycle Management (ELM) pros

Cons

"The documentation really should be improved by including real examples and more setup cases."

"The aspect that requires attention is the user management component. When integrating with BitLabs and authenticating through GitLab, there are specific features we desire. One important feature is the ability to import users directly from GitLab, along with their respective designations, and assign appropriate privileges based on that information. Allocating different privileges to users is a time-consuming process for us."

"It is difficult to assign different access levels because it relies on separate keys for developer and admin access, which could be simplified."

"The tool must be more user-friendly."

"The stability of IBM Rational ALM could be improved."

"Of course it would be related to customer experience. The solution is not user friendly at all. It needs an expert to use it, although the reporting feature was okay."

"Some improvements to the user interface (UI) would be helpful, such as exposing more services to make it easier to customize to the needs of each customer."

"In the next release, we expect a traceability metrics configuration where we can configure the user stories. We also expect them to improve or simplify the query process."

"There is not enough beginner support material in the form of FAQs or simple training to help you get started."

"IBM Rational ALM should remove the features not used by the customers and keep this product as lightweight as possible."

"I think nowadays people are getting into Jira and other tools. What is happening is, this solution is becoming more traditional, whereas Jira and other tools are more attractive for the new users to learn and start using because of the graphical interfaces."

"The stability of this solution can be improved."

More IBM Engineering Lifecycle Management (ELM) cons

Pricing and Cost Advice

"It's an open-source and free tool."

"This is an open-source solution and it is inexpensive."

"The solution is not cheap."

"IBM Rational ALM has both monthly and yearly licensing options."

"The price of the solution could be reduced. Many of our customers are not using all the features and this could be why our clients feel the price is too high."

"We have a contract, but I am not aware of the details."

"This product is a little expensive and we had to pay extra to have them set it up for us."

See which vendors are best for you

Use our free recommendation engine to learn which Application Lifecycle Management (ALM) Suites solutions are best for your needs.

See recommendations

867,349 professionals have used our research since 2012.

Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews

Computer Software Company

14%

Financial Services Firm

Retailer

Educational Organization

Manufacturing Company

23%

Computer Software Company

13%

Government

12%

Transportation Company

Company Size

By reviewers

Large Enterprise

Midsize Enterprise

Small Business

By reviewers
Company Size	Count
Small Business	4
Midsize Enterprise	2
Large Enterprise	3

By reviewers
Company Size	Count
Small Business	5
Midsize Enterprise	4
Large Enterprise	12

Questions from the Community

What do you like most about GoCD?

The UI is colorful.

See all answers

What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for GoCD?

The product is free of cost.

See all answers

What needs improvement with GoCD?

See all answers

What do you like most about IBM Rational ALM?

The solution is customizable.

See all answers

What needs improvement with IBM Rational ALM?

Improvement is needed in bridging DNG and Rhapsody and vice versa for better data exchange from both sides with some trigger technologies. This would provide a visual reminder of changes in a modul...

See all answers

What is your primary use case for IBM Rational ALM?

Most of my primary use cases involve the combination of IBM Engineering Lifecycle Management (ELM) ( /products/ibm-engineering-lifecycle-management-elm-reviews ) and DOORS, including both Classic D...

See all answers

Comparisons

GitLab vs GoCD

Compared 35% of the time

Jenkins vs GoCD

Compared 32% of the time

GitHub Actions vs GoCD

Compared 20% of the time

Tekton vs GoCD

Compared 13% of the time

More GoCD Competitors

Jira vs IBM Engineering Lifecycle Management (ELM)

Compared 25% of the time

Codebeamer vs IBM Engineering Lifecycle Management (ELM)

Compared 19% of the time

Microsoft Azure DevOps vs IBM Engineering Lifecycle Management (ELM)

Compared 12% of the time

Polarion ALM vs IBM Engineering Lifecycle Management (ELM)

Compared 10% of the time

PTC Integrity vs IBM Engineering Lifecycle Management (ELM)

Compared 8% of the time

More IBM Engineering Lifecycle Management (ELM) Competitors

Product Reports

Buyer's Guide

Application Lifecycle Management (ALM) Suites

September 2025

Download GoCD product report

Buyer's Guide

IBM Engineering Lifecycle Management (ELM)

September 2025

IBM Engineering Lifecycle Management (ELM) report

Download IBM Engineering Lifecycle Management (ELM) product report

Also Known As

Adaptive ALM, Thoughtworks Go

IBM Engineering Rhapsody, Rational ALM, MKS

Overview

GoCD is an open source continuous delivery server created by ThoughtWorks. GoCD offers businesses a first-class build and deployment engine for complete control and visibility. It was designed for continuous delivery and the concepts essential to this practice are built in at the core.

Thoughtworks

IBM Engineering Lifecycle Management stands out for its robust Agile Scrum planning, lifecycle traceability, and tool management, offering cloud-based configurability and strong collaboration features.

IBM Engineering Lifecycle Management provides rich capabilities for Agile project management, facilitating requirements and test management, configuration management, and version control. Its integration with IBM Doors supports comprehensive requirements handling, and the cloud-based platform enhances collaborative efficiency across teams. Despite needing advances in user-friendliness and reporting, ELM's global configuration and compliance features make it invaluable in demanding environments.

What are the key features of IBM Engineering Lifecycle Management?

Scrum-based planning: Supports Agile methodologies with rich planning tools.
Lifecycle traceability: Offers complete traceability across development stages.
Customizable workflows: Adaptable workflows with Kanban for flexibility.
Git integration: Supports efficient version control and collaboration.
Global Configuration: Manages complex configurations globally.
Compliance and reporting: Ensures robust auditing and comprehensive reporting capabilities.

What benefits should be evaluated in reviews?

Collaboration: Enhanced sharing across platforms for seamless teamwork.
Cost-effectiveness: Delivers efficient tools that optimize project spend.
Comprehensive requirement handling: Facilitates detailed requirement management through IBM Doors integration.

IBM Engineering Lifecycle Management is vital in sectors like automotive and manufacturing, where it implements Agile frameworks to manage requirements, conduct testing, and handle defects. It integrates into development pipelines ensuring live traceability and visibility, supporting critical engineering processes efficiently.

IBM

Sample Customers

Ancestry.com, Barclay Card, AutoTrader, BT Financial Group, Gamesys, Nike, Vodafone, Haufe Lexware, Medidata, Hoovers

Tennis Australia, WeCloud AB, Port Otago Limited, Logicalis US, Valmer, The Chevrolet Volt, Ashurst

Buyer's Guide

GoCD vs. IBM Engineering Lifecycle Management (ELM)

September 2025

Free Report: GoCD vs. IBM Engineering Lifecycle Management (ELM)

Find out what your peers are saying about GoCD vs. IBM Engineering Lifecycle Management (ELM) and other solutions. Updated: September 2025.

DOWNLOAD NOW

867,349 professionals have used our research since 2012.

See our GoCD vs. IBM Engineering Lifecycle Management (ELM) report.

See our list of best Application Lifecycle Management (ALM) Suites vendors.

We monitor all Application Lifecycle Management (ALM) Suites reviews to prevent fraudulent reviews and keep review quality high. We do not post reviews by company employees or direct competitors. We validate each review for authenticity via cross-reference with LinkedIn, and personal follow-up with the reviewer when necessary.