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IBM Engineering Workflow Management vs IBM Rational Synergy 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:
 

Categories and Ranking

IBM Engineering Workflow Ma...
Ranking in Software Configuration Management
4th
Average Rating
6.8
Reviews Sentiment
6.3
Number of Reviews
17
Ranking in other categories
Enterprise Agile Planning Tools (10th)
IBM Rational Synergy
Ranking in Software Configuration Management
10th
Average Rating
3.0
Number of Reviews
1
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
 

Mindshare comparison

As of May 2025, in the Software Configuration Management category, the mindshare of IBM Engineering Workflow Management is 3.5%, up from 2.9% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of IBM Rational Synergy is 2.2%, up from 2.0% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Software Configuration Management
 

Featured Reviews

Suvajit Chakraborty - PeerSpot reviewer
Offers good traceability elements but UI needs improvement
There is room for improvement in the UI. The UI has to improve a lot compared to the competitive tools, like Atlassian Jira, for example. It's very easy to use. It is easy to manage and easy to use. Anybody can learn it right quickly and start with it. But IBM ELM is something where somebody has to have good knowledge, training, and understanding and then only start using it. But there's a big known knowledge curve for IBM ELM. But once that is there, it's normally; organizations do have their own internal team to basically manage it IBM ELM portfolio, the tool chain. So if they have internal teams who are doing it for quite some time, not something new, then it is definitely better. But if there's if somebody is starting new, definitely there is a knowledge curve time it can take at least a year or maybe a couple of years before they can start realizing the benefits.
OA
Users must go through a lot of steps to properly manipulate this solution, which can interrupt workflows and cause unnecessary downtime
We are required to use this tool by DO-178 guidance. We have to use a configuration management tool and this is the one we have been using. People see this tool more like a constraint than a benefit. Users really have to know how to use this tool and how to set the baseline functionalities for their case. The user must go through a lot of steps to properly manipulate this solution, which can interrupt workflows and cause unnecessary downtime. Synergy requires user training and development. It's not user-friendly. You have to perform a lot of manipulations; it's a bit archaic. Some people are reluctant to use this tool because they are familiar with and proficient in using Windows Explorer to navigate through directories and use WinZip to archive data. It is not a very good tool for document management. I would rate this solution a three out of ten because it's an old tool. It was a good tool 15 years ago. To get a ten out of ten I would need to see a more integrated user-friendly tool and it should be competitively priced as it is it's too expensive. I don't recommend using it because it's obsolete.

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"Work distribution among team members and accountability for completion with a clearer picture."
"Agile templates give us a standard methodology for every Agile project. Also, the ability to create our own object types and linkages to features/epics allows us to enhance the verification of feature readiness."
"The tool provides traceability and reporting, which are important for compliance and measuring progress."
"Good for managing stories, sprints, hydration and releases."
"It was an all-in-one solution for source code, integrated source control, defect tracking, and project planning."
"The most valuable features of the solution are highly customizable reports and visibility for all the higher management."
"We can track the status of test cases (passed or saved) in a single view. Based on releases and other attributes, we generate various reports and extract metrics from the data."
"The tool provides traceability and reporting, which are important for compliance and measuring progress."
"Managing source code, tracking modifications, and being able to analyze evolutions of source code are the most valuable features."
 

Cons

"We have encountered issues with stability. We have seen where the entire system kind of goes for a toss when certain people use certain types of queries, which are very costly. Then the system kind of slows down a bit, and we have to monitor it."
"If you have multiple projects on one server, the tool becomes very slow, and some reports take longer to load."
"Lacks ability to customize and reporting can be slow."
"Teams need clearer pictures of resource availability in charts and dashboards along with plans."
"Improved graphics in terms of metrics and connectivity to SharePoint from Microsoft products would be beneficial."
"Some administrative tasks are difficult to perform. These could be simplified."
"The solution is very heavily vendor dependent."
"I would rate the IBM Engineering Workflow Management a seven or an eight. I am leaning closer to seven based on a couple of items I mentioned that I would like to see or know more about, such as improved reporting."
"I'd like to see more integration with respect to requirement management, though this is not possible with this Synergy solution. I know that PTC enables this feature as well as Polarion. We need to have full trustworthiness and accountability in knowing that the tool will track every modification from specification through to the source code, with Synergy this isn't possible. The solution requires additional tools like rectify, desktop system solutions, to enable trustability between requirements, from one specification to another."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"It is not a free tool. We use a token-based licensing model, which is specific to IBM. The cost per token is around $115-$120."
"It's an expensive investment to make, so the decision should be driven on individual requirements."
"I've heard IBM Engineering Workflow Management is more expensive than other tools."
"Licensing: The solution cost is high and should be brought down to increase competition."
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Manufacturing Company
18%
Government
13%
Computer Software Company
11%
Financial Services Firm
8%
No data available
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
No data available
 

Questions from the Community

What do you like most about IBM Engineering Workflow Management?
We can track the status of test cases (passed or saved) in a single view. Based on releases and other attributes, we generate various reports and extract metrics from the data.
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for IBM Engineering Workflow Management?
I've heard IBM Engineering Workflow Management is more expensive than other tools. On a scale from one to ten, where one is cheap and ten is expensive, I rate the solution's pricing a six out of ten.
What needs improvement with IBM Engineering Workflow Management?
Improved graphics in terms of metrics and connectivity to SharePoint from Microsoft products would be beneficial.
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Also Known As

IBM Rational Team Concert (IBM ALM), IBM RTC
IBM Synergy, Rational Synergy
 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

Telstra Corporation, Visteon, Atos SE, Panasonic Automotive Systems, IBM Global Technology Services, CareCore National, JTEKT Corp., ItaÒ BBA, Avea, CACEIS, Danske Bank Group, APIS IT
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