Try our new research platform with insights from 80,000+ expert users

IBM DOORS vs Jama Connect comparison

 

Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive SummaryUpdated on Apr 6, 2025

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

IBM DOORS
Ranking in Application Requirements Management
2nd
Average Rating
8.0
Reviews Sentiment
7.0
Number of Reviews
55
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
Jama Connect
Ranking in Application Requirements Management
4th
Average Rating
7.6
Reviews Sentiment
6.3
Number of Reviews
16
Ranking in other categories
Application Lifecycle Management (ALM) Suites (11th)
 

Mindshare comparison

As of October 2025, in the Application Requirements Management category, the mindshare of IBM DOORS is 30.6%, down from 34.7% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Jama Connect is 14.8%, up from 13.0% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Application Requirements Management Market Share Distribution
ProductMarket Share (%)
IBM DOORS30.6%
Jama Connect14.8%
Other54.599999999999994%
Application Requirements Management
 

Featured Reviews

UweSeufert - PeerSpot reviewer
Old but capable of storing, organizing, and exchanging requirements
I use IBM DOORS because my customer wants it for managing their requirements IBM DOORS is a tool from the 20th century. It is very old but capable of storing, organizing, and exchanging requirements. It helps to manage requirements efficiently, which significantly improves the way requirements…
Lasse Mikkonen - PeerSpot reviewer
Traceability has improved documentation for auditors and regulators
The collaboration feature in Jama Connect could be improved because it is only used by a limited number of people within an organization due to license costs. For broader collaboration that includes departments like marketing and engineering, many still rely on tools like Slack or Confluence. Additionally, there are areas where usability and configurability could be enhanced.

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"IBM DOORS has a well-refined ASPICE template"
"I really like the customization that can be done using the DOORS Extension Language (DXL)."
"The most valuable feature of IBM Rational DOORS is the full requirements development and testing."
"What I like about DOORS is baselines, it's easy and I use the capability of multiple users. The traceability or links between different levels are very nice. Additionally, it is used by all of our suppliers, which brings us commonality."
"I like the user interface with regard to creating links between requirements and tracing links to requirements."
"The solution is stable."
"The data logs are ver conveneint."
"Very customizable and can be as powerful as you want it to be."
"Jama Connect is a good tool for the entire software development cycle."
"The most valuable feature is the single identity provider capability, which simplifies the integration with various platforms, like Google App Store and Microsoft Azure, for providing user access."
"In Jama Connect, users have the capability to view and manage all test cases directly within the platform and execute them. The entire product specification, spanning various domains such as electrical, mechanical, software, and testing, is consolidated within Jama Connect."
"Traceability is a key differentiator for Jama Connect, especially compared to Jira."
"The relationship mapping feature is especially helpful, as it allows us to connect different requirements and compliance-related documentation."
"The user experience is better than the competition."
"You can get full traceability with any other system. It also includes a test module, and you build the traceability matrix incrementally throughout the development process."
"Technical support answers fairly quickly compared to others like IBM or Atlassian. They also offer quite a good knowledge base for advanced cases and how to plan it, etc. via videos that they provide. They are quite useful."
 

Cons

"IBM DOORS should cover all engineering functions seamlessly, not just requirement engineering."
"It's difficult to set the code on the solution."
"The software and GUI is very outdated."
"Enhancing security measures, particularly when handling multiple projects simultaneously, would be beneficial to prevent data loss within DOORS."
"I would like to see them improve in agile management the Scrum/Kanban Board to work with overseas team members."
"They need to provide users with information on what options would be best for their setup."
"It would have been ok ten years ago, but we are used to having better tools now."
"The low performance of the solution is probably because it is quite an old tool."
"The user interface could be modernized and the product lacks project management functionalities."
"There are some security concerns with Jama Connect, including two-factor enablement."
"There are a few areas where Jama Connect can improve. One suggestion is to enhance the built-in feature of profile generation."
"There are delays sometimes from the Jama Connect team in resolving issues."
"I have inquired about pricing for this solution but have not yet heard anything, so their response time in this regard is something that should be improved."
"The collaboration feature in Jama Connect could be improved because it is only used by a limited number of people within an organization due to license costs."
"The solution is expensive."
"I believe one of the weak points is the reporting side. You must export inter-readable reports from Jama if you do not use the system as a repository for your design history file. Jama is great if you keep it in Jama, but reporting out requires some customization to get it right."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"The licensing costs for the product are quite high."
"I think it's expensive because you have to pay for the licenses to IBM and all that and maintain them."
"I would rate the pricing a seven out of ten, with one being very affordable and ten being quite expensive."
"IBM Rational DOORS is highly expensive."
"Licensing fees are billed annually and there is no support included with what I pay."
"The licensing cost is too high."
"IBM is a bit too expensive in terms of pricing. Customers are paying a lot for the license, and the price is quite high for this kind of environment. It is quite high as compared to what we can get today with other solutions."
"IBM DOORS is available at a reasonable price"
"Jama Connect is a little pricy."
"To have a single source for all the requirements and all the change requests our company gets is the most valuable feature. It has also helped us to keep track of reviews."
"If you want to have creative licenses, pricing may be an issue with the licenses, as it can become quite expensive over time to serve many people."
"The cost seems very competitive with other offerings."
report
Use our free recommendation engine to learn which Application Requirements Management solutions are best for your needs.
872,655 professionals have used our research since 2012.
 

Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Manufacturing Company
26%
Aerospace/Defense Firm
8%
Computer Software Company
7%
Government
6%
Manufacturing Company
28%
Healthcare Company
10%
Aerospace/Defense Firm
8%
Government
7%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business12
Midsize Enterprise10
Large Enterprise36
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business7
Midsize Enterprise4
Large Enterprise5
 

Questions from the Community

What do you like most about IBM Rational DOORS?
The traceability matrix in DOORS improved our project outcomes. It helps ensure coverage of requirements at different levels, from user requirements to software requirements to test requirements.
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for IBM Rational DOORS?
Over the years, the first version cost something around 5800 euros.
What needs improvement with IBM Rational DOORS?
Compared to today, DOORS' competitors also excel in this discipline. Yet the price is too high. It's often not as generic as it used to be. IBM promised to find a way for a generic format that allo...
What do you like most about Jama Connect?
I like Jama Connect because it's easy to use and understand. The widgets are great, and linking is straightforward. The solution is not complex compared to its competitors.
What needs improvement with Jama Connect?
The text and diagram handling in Jama Connect could be improved. The formatting is quite tricky, and diagrams don't import sometimes depending on the format. Importing diagrams into a requirement c...
What is your primary use case for Jama Connect?
My main use cases for Jama Connect involve managing our requirements through to test and validation. This includes reviewing the requirements, using the review functionality, and supporting our who...
 

Comparisons

 

Also Known As

Rational DOORS
No data available
 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

Infosys, Chevrolet Volt
Deloitte, SpaceX, Omnigon, Delft University
Find out what your peers are saying about IBM DOORS vs. Jama Connect and other solutions. Updated: September 2025.
872,655 professionals have used our research since 2012.