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IBM Engineering Workflow Management vs Jira Align comparison

 

Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive SummaryUpdated on Dec 18, 2024

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 Enterprise Agile Planning Tools
11th
Average Rating
6.8
Reviews Sentiment
6.3
Number of Reviews
17
Ranking in other categories
Software Configuration Management (3rd)
Jira Align
Ranking in Enterprise Agile Planning Tools
4th
Average Rating
8.0
Reviews Sentiment
7.0
Number of Reviews
41
Ranking in other categories
Application Lifecycle Management (ALM) Suites (8th), Value Stream Management Software (1st)
 

Mindshare comparison

As of June 2025, in the Enterprise Agile Planning Tools category, the mindshare of IBM Engineering Workflow Management is 1.5%, up from 0.8% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Jira Align is 6.5%, up from 4.7% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Enterprise Agile Planning Tools
 

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.
ShyiamaKishun - PeerSpot reviewer
Has a straightforward setup process and efficient project management features .
Jira Align supports program increment planning by facilitating the planning aspect, including team setup, dependency management, and defining the layout for each step or stage in a project. The platform aids in breaking down targets into parts, aligning with Agile principles, and ensuring a structured layout. The most impactful feature of Jira Align for project management lies in its capabilities related to planning and setting up projects. The platform visually understands targets, offering a clear and detailed layout. We can determine when to speed up the process or access the project. We can address the issues related to planning and development efficiently. It is a great product to use, aiding in project planning and alignment. I recommend it to others and rate it a ten out of ten.

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"The tool provides traceability and reporting, which are important for compliance and measuring progress."
"All of the features work together to provide a powerful holistic solution - from the dashboard all the way through to security."
"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."
"Traceability reporting is inbuilt and includes all your requirements."
"The most valuable features of the solution are highly customizable reports and visibility for all the higher management."
"Good for managing stories, sprints, hydration and releases."
"The tool provides traceability and reporting, which are important for compliance and measuring progress."
"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 product's most valuable feature is CMDB for services desk management and backlog projects."
"The most valuable features in Jira Align are the dashboard and the reporting feature."
"It's easy to set up."
"I like the way the UI functions."
"The OKR experience is great."
"Defect tracking and dashboards are the most valuable features of Jira Align."
"Align enables the capture of all capabilities."
"The biggest advantage of Jira Align, in my opinion, is its user-friendly interface, making it simple and easy for end users to navigate and utilize. The most valuable feature of Jira Align for me is its automation capabilities, allowing us to create automation rules based on logical conditions for our projects. In terms of cross-team collaboration, Jira Align's integration with our project squads has been highly effective. It enables seamless creation of stories linked to incidents and changes, facilitating better visibility and understanding of the relationships between them. Regarding road mapping and dependency tracking, Jira Align enhances our project planning by aligning with our best practices and providing robust capabilities for mapping out dependencies and tracking progress."
 

Cons

"If you have multiple projects on one server, the tool becomes very slow, and some reports take longer to load."
"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."
"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."
"The solution is very heavily vendor dependent."
"Lacks ability to customize and reporting can be slow."
"It's becoming less relevant. For example, Maven has evolved, and in its later versions, there are plugins for integrating with source control systems, such as Git-based systems. Support for these plugins is diminishing."
"Some administrative tasks are difficult to perform. These could be simplified."
"Jira Align's cost needs improvement."
"One area where Jira Align could improve is in its licensing model. There was a significant change in the licensing module about six months ago, which resulted in increased costs for customers like us. This change wasn't communicated clearly, and it made it challenging for companies to adopt Jira Align without facing higher expenses. In terms of features, I would like to see improved workflows in the next release, as that would greatly benefit our organization."
"There are fewer customization options in Jira Align due to how it was designed."
"One area where Jira Align could be improved is mobile accessibility."
"The tool must provide better bulk editing features."
"Jira Align should reduce the many information fields we need to provide while closing defects."
"The synchronization between Jira and Jira Align takes too long."
"One area for improvement is that Jira Align's double menu and multiple menus can be difficult for new users."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"Licensing: The solution cost is high and should be brought down to increase competition."
"I've heard IBM Engineering Workflow Management is more expensive than other tools."
"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."
"On a scale of one to ten, where one is cheap, and ten is expensive, I rate Jira Align a seven out of ten."
"The pricing and licensing costs are rated lower, around six mainly due to significant increases in licensing costs that were not well-received by users."
"Our customers buy licenses. We are not involved in its purchase."
"Jira Align has price packages for different purposes."
"The software is very good, but the price is expensive. Our licensing costs are on a monthly basis, but there are no additional costs to the standard license fees."
"The tool is moderately expensive."
"Jira Align is an expensive solution."
"Jira Align is quite expensive for small-to-medium companies, but it's quite reasonable for larger ones."
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Manufacturing Company
18%
Government
12%
Computer Software Company
12%
Healthcare Company
8%
Financial Services Firm
21%
Computer Software Company
14%
Manufacturing Company
11%
Insurance Company
6%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
 

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.
What do you like most about Jira Align?
I joined the company because they had a large project, and as a startup company, they needed to scale up efficiently. My task was to review the current baseline, assess the team's capabilities, and...
What needs improvement with Jira Align?
The platform's communication features could be more robust for better team integration.
What is your primary use case for Jira Align?
We use Jira Align for business strategies, collaboration, and reporting. The solution allows us to manage the various products and features delivered on that platform.
 

Also Known As

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

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
Anthem, nielsen, Homeland Security, NCR, dimension data
Find out what your peers are saying about IBM Engineering Workflow Management vs. Jira Align and other solutions. Updated: June 2025.
856,873 professionals have used our research since 2012.