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IBM DOORS vs Jama Connect vs Jira comparison

 

Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive Summary

Review summaries and opinions

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

Mindshare comparison

As of August 2025, in the Application Requirements Management category, the mindshare of IBM DOORS is 32.0%, down from 34.9% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Jama Connect is 16.2%, up from 12.3% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Jira is 15.4%, up from 15.5% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
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.
AmitUbale - PeerSpot reviewer
Efficient project management that's comprehensive and and helps with time efficiency
We use Jira primarily for project management within the organization. It helps us manage tasks, bug management, and tracking tickets effectively. We assign tickets to individual team members and track them easily For project management, Jira has helped facilitate efficient task segregation and…

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"The most valuable feature of this solution is traceability. We can track every requirement, including what the stakeholder must do and component-level requirements."
"Makes good work of prioritizing and planning product delivery."
"It helps to manage requirements efficiently, which significantly improves the way requirements are managed."
"The next-generation features are good."
"The platform's traceability capabilities are invaluable. They provide a solid foundation for certification processes and manage requirement changes across project lifecycles."
"It's a very interesting tool. I like that it's simple. You have to create your document, add your templates, and have your headings and definitions, and it's done. You must attribute the discipline and fill out the comment field for requirements. It also provides you with unique IDs for each requirement. I like that it never duplicates IDs."
"The program is very stable."
"Traceability on requirements for a huge project in an organization is a big gain."
"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."
"We use Jama Connect mainly for requirements management."
"It is good at requirements management and test management."
"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."
"The impact that Jama Connect provides for my company overall is significant as it saves a huge amount of time."
"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."
"Traceability is a key differentiator for Jama Connect, especially compared to Jira."
"The most valuable feature is the user-friendly interface."
"In our organization, we use Jira for project management and usually use the Scrum project type. We might adjust the workflows and stages to better suit our needs, but we mostly use the default functionalities it offers to manage our projects."
"Its visual display and ease of use are most valuable."
"JIRA stores history of changes, which helps a lot to track who, when, and why the issue was modified​."
"Jira is a comprehensive tool for managing projects. It helps in task segregation and assignment, making it time-efficient for employees."
"What I really like about Jira is that it ticks off all the boxes for any agile project. It's easy to set up, easy to use, and it has excellent notification features. Jira is the top choice for anyone working on agile projects like ours."
"The board has been a very valuable feature because it can be very simple for teams that are not technical. It can also be highly technical and have lots of data for teams that are technical. So we use it for both instances."
"Jira is very user friendly, easy to install, and easy to access."
"It's easy to use, and it also offers excellent notifications."
 

Cons

"It is complicated sometimes, such as the logic about updating, moving from one server version to another, and the communication between restricted and non-restricted servers."
"There are problems with communicating between DOORS and Microsoft Office."
"One thing that I would like to see is a lower-cost version of it that we could use for smaller projects. Sometimes, we do projects for commercial customers who would benefit from something like DOORS, but it's just so expensive. It's just a monster, so a lower-cost version would be the thing that we'd like to see."
"The kind of dashboard is not very convenient."
"The low performance of the solution is probably because it is quite an old tool."
"The solution should be more compatible with thin clients"
"IBM should integrate some solutions they already own toenhance the utility of the product further. Specifically import and export to Office products is more difficult than it needs to be."
"Rational DOORS' most valuable feature is that you can write any kind of requirement you want."
"The initial setup could be better, it's complicated."
"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 user interface could be modernized and the product lacks project management functionalities."
"I think there's room for improvement, especially with the review process. Reviews should be integrated with requirement evaluation instead of being separate from it. The review should not run parallel to the requirement."
"More automation could speed up workflows, flag errors more timely, and eliminate manual steps."
"t is rather slow, so the speed of the process and consuming information should be improved. It doesn't have a nice way of viewing information. We would like to see better interfaces for consuming information."
"The solution is expensive."
"The biggest complaint industry-wide about JIRA is they need to purchase additional extensions, such as reporting automation. If they could provide some additional extensions from the initial purchase it would be a huge benefit."
"We would like to see the integration of a lite-version of Confluence, just to manage some of the templates and documents."
"Jira has recently updated their UI, but more can be done to make it even better."
"There are a limited number of gadgets accessible in Jira; thus, additional ones should be supported."
"I'd like the solution to be more secure."
"The stability could be improved."
"There is a difficulty viewing all the attachments because they are shown in one place. I would like attachments to be shown at the comment level."
"In the way it is deployed, I think Jira is too dependent on the third-party applications that are available in its marketplace. If we could get some of the basic functionalities which are offered by these third-party applications, that would be ideal because each time we need a new functionality, we have to purchase a new plugin as an add-on."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"We have to pay for a license. I think it's a one-time payment as my company hasn't notified me about more charges. I don't think it's expensive for large corporations, but it will be costly for an average person."
"I think it's expensive because you have to pay for the licenses to IBM and all that and maintain them."
"IBM Rational DOORS is highly expensive."
"Pricing can vary depending on the size of the organization and how contracts are negotiated."
"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."
"I don't personally know what the numbers are. I just know that one of the reasons we've limited it to three seats is a function of cost."
"Licensing fees are billed annually and there is no support included with what I pay."
"It's expensive."
"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."
"Jama Connect is a little pricy."
"The cost seems very competitive with other offerings."
"It is not too expensive. It is just comparative to other tools like Microsoft Teams."
"We are using the enterprise license which is nice because it ensures that we always have the latest versions of Jira software."
"There are no additional costs to the standard licensing."
"Almost everybody uses JIRA nowadays because it is the most cost-effective solution."
"I don't have the number, but I sure wish Jira was less expensive. Its price point should be a little lower, and it should be more flexible for users who are just ticket viewers."
"There is a need to make yearly payments towards the licensing costs attached to the solution. The product offers flexibility in pricing since it depends on the memory bits you have used."
"It is an affordable tool."
"When you get larger, the pricing becomes very, very steep."
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Manufacturing Company
26%
Aerospace/Defense Firm
8%
Computer Software Company
8%
Government
6%
Manufacturing Company
28%
Healthcare Company
10%
Aerospace/Defense Firm
8%
Government
7%
Manufacturing Company
16%
Financial Services Firm
11%
Computer Software Company
10%
Government
8%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
 

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 differen...
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 gen...
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. T...
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 i...
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 re...
Is Jira better or would you go with Micro Focus ALM Octane?
Hi Netanya, Basically , it all depends on the use cases for your environment and the business needs. Hope the below d...
Which is better - Jira or Microsoft Azure DevOps?
Jira is a great centralized tool for just about everything, from local team management to keeping track of products a...
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Jira?
We operate under a nonlimited license with Jira, allowing a number of users to access it with a single enterprise lic...
 

Also Known As

Rational DOORS
No data available
Jira Software
 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

Infosys, Chevrolet Volt
Deloitte, SpaceX, Omnigon, Delft University
Square, Nasa, eBay, Cisco, SalesForce, Adobe, BNP Paribas, BMW and LinkedIn, Pfizer, Citi.
Find out what your peers are saying about Atlassian, IBM, Siemens and others in Application Requirements Management. Updated: July 2025.
865,295 professionals have used our research since 2012.