Helix ALM vs TFS comparison

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280 views|219 comparisons
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Read 93 TFS reviews
2,281 views|1,375 comparisons
Comparison Buyer's Guide
Executive Summary

We performed a comparison between Helix ALM and TFS based on real PeerSpot user reviews.

Find out in this report how the two Test Management Tools solutions compare in terms of features, pricing, service and support, easy of deployment, and ROI.
To learn more, read our detailed Helix ALM vs. TFS Report (Updated: March 2024).
763,955 professionals have used our research since 2012.
Featured Review
Quotes From Members
We asked business professionals to review the solutions they use.
Here are some excerpts of what they said:
Pros
"The tool offers high stability.""Helix ALM enables users to build, make efficient and effective decisions, and use least-cost methods for maximum benefit, as fast as possible. They allow you to see and visualize your configuration.""The most valuable features of Helix ALM are traceability and flexibility."

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"I like its MTM (Microsoft Test Manager) section which gives us options to create various test plans and add test cases into it.""It is a stable solution.""I like the Kanban board. It is very useful in terms of seeing who is working on what and what the current status of work is.""The most valuable feature is the backlog.""User alerts are very helpful for knowing when work is required.""The interface is easy to navigate.""Stability is okay.""Team Foundation Server (TFS) is easy to use, and we have a complete trail and traceability. We also like the access control part."

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Cons
"Helix ALM should be able to integrate with other systems better. Helix ALM should also have an easier user interface, and the solution needs to have drag-and-drop tools included in it.""It would be great to see Perforce's strategy is for implementing intelligence into the process via AI or ML. It's not clearly defined, at least not to my knowledge.""The accountability and the equivalent to using, acting, editing, working with Word, and also importing and exporting from Word needs improvement."

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"The overall reports in TFS could improve. Additionally, there should be an easier way to migrate from an older version to a newer one.""Not all of the functionality, which is exposed by the command line interface (tf.exe) is available in the Visual Studio GUI.""The project management side should be addressed and the project and release planning should be somewhat extended.""It has been really dated. When you start to work more in an agile environment, it is not really that flexible. They tried to replicate the look and feel of Jira, but it is not quite there. It was nice to use in the past, but it is not as flexible now with the changing development environments and methodologies.""The test management interface is not very handy.""I would like to see the reporting features expanded so that I can see details on the users connected to all of the projects.""One of the areas that could be improved is to have an effective full lifecycle management.""The interface can be improved and made more user-friendly."

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Pricing and Cost Advice
  • "I give the solution a nine out of ten for pricing."
  • "I rate the product price a nine on a one to ten scale, where one is low price and ten is high price."
  • More Helix ALM Pricing and Cost Advice →

  • "It's just as expensive as HPE ALM, without many of the features, best used for development tool only to avoid higher costs."
  • "TFS is on the higher side, but if you intend to use the tool as a complete ALM tool, it will reduce your costs in the long run."
  • "Use the Microsoft recommended “seat-based” licensing model. This allows a single developer with multiple machines to consume only one client license."
  • "If running TFS on-premise is expensive, maybe you could consider moving to the Cloud and use the Visual Studio Team Services."
  • "It is pretty expensive compared to other project management tools."
  • "The pricing is reasonable at this time."
  • "TFS is more competitively priced than some other solutions."
  • "We pay subscription fees on a yearly basis and the price is reasonable."
  • More TFS Pricing and Cost Advice →

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    Questions from the Community
    Top Answer:The tool offers high stability.
    Top Answer:I rate the product price a nine on a one to ten scale, where one is low price and ten is high price.
    Top Answer:Helix ALM should be able to integrate with other systems better. Helix ALM should also have an easier user interface, and the solution needs to have drag-and-drop tools included in it.
    Top Answer:TFS and Azure DevOps are different in many ways. TFS was designed for admins, and only offers incremental improvements. In addition, TFS seems complicated to use and I don’t think it has a very… more »
    Top Answer:Microsoft's technical team is supportive.
    Top Answer:There is a yearly licensing fee that needs to be paid.
    Ranking
    16th
    Views
    280
    Comparisons
    219
    Reviews
    2
    Average Words per Review
    475
    Rating
    5.5
    2nd
    Views
    2,281
    Comparisons
    1,375
    Reviews
    27
    Average Words per Review
    391
    Rating
    8.0
    Comparisons
    Also Known As
    TestTrack
    Team Foundation Server
    Learn More
    Overview

    Helix ALM is a comprehensive Application Lifecycle Management (ALM) software platform offered by Perforce. It provides organizations with tools and features to manage the entire lifecycle of software development and product engineering. Helix ALM combines requirements management, test management, issue tracking, and version control into a unified solution, enabling teams to collaborate effectively and ensure the delivery of high-quality software products.

    Helix ALM Features:

    • Requirements Management: Helix ALM allows for capturing, organizing, and managing requirements, ensuring clarity, traceability, and alignment with stakeholders.
    • Test Management: The platform provides tools for creating, executing, and tracking tests, enabling comprehensive test coverage and quality assurance.
    • Issue and Defect Tracking: Helix ALM offers robust issue and defect tracking capabilities, allowing teams to log, track, and resolve issues throughout the software development lifecycle.
    • Version Control Integration: It integrates with version control systems, such as Helix Core, enabling teams to manage source code, track changes, and maintain version history.
    • Traceability and Impact Analysis: Helix ALM establishes relationships between requirements, tests, defects, and code changes, facilitating traceability and impact analysis to understand the impact of changes and make informed decisions.
    • Collaboration and Workflow Management: The platform supports collaboration among team members, streamlines workflows, and provides notifications and approvals to ensure efficient progress and timely delivery.
    • Reporting and Analytics: Helix ALM offers reporting and analytics capabilities to gain insights into project status, quality metrics, and overall performance, aiding in decision-making and process improvement.

    Helix ALM Benefits:

    • Streamlined Development Process: Helix ALM provides a centralized platform that streamlines the software development process, promoting efficient collaboration and coordination among team members.
    • Improved Collaboration and Communication: The platform facilitates effective collaboration and communication among cross-functional teams, reducing miscommunication and fostering better teamwork.
    • Enhanced Requirement Management: Helix ALM helps ensure clear, traceable, and well-managed requirements, leading to better understanding and fulfillment of customer needs.
    • Comprehensive Test Management: With Helix ALM, teams can create, execute, and track tests, ensuring comprehensive test coverage, early defect detection, and improved product quality.
    • Effective Issue and Defect Tracking: Helix ALM's issue and defect tracking features enable teams to log, track, and resolve issues throughout the development process, ensuring timely issue resolution and reducing the risk of defects in the final product.
    • Regulatory Compliance Support: Helix ALM provides features to support compliance with industry regulations and standards, offering documentation, audit trails, and version control to meet regulatory requirements.
    • Increased Visibility and Control: Helix ALM offers transparency and visibility into project status, metrics, and performance, empowering teams with actionable insights to make informed decisions and manage projects effectively.
    • Scalability and Customization: Helix ALM is a flexible solution that can be tailored to fit the specific needs of different organizations and projects. It scales to accommodate growing teams and supports customization to align with unique processes and workflows.

    Reviews from Real Users

    Harold Pogue, Global IT Director of Digital Platforms, says that, “The initial setup is complexly straightforward. The vendor offers support where they come and set up the solution for a fee”, and also adds, "The most valuable features of Helix ALM are traceability and flexibility.

    Visual Studio’s Team Foundation Server (TFS) is a powerful application development lifecycle management solution. It aids developers in managing every aspect of their DevOps and application creation. TFS combines many different types of solutions into a single powerful platform.

    Visual Studio TFS Benefits

    Some of the ways that organizations can benefit by choosing to deploy TFS include:

    • Build automation. TFS enables users to create definitions that can easily automate any and all tasks that are critical to the development of their applications. Businesses can utilize features that are built into TFS to accomplish preset tasks that can help them create the application of their choice. This can include enabling them to run automated tests when the need arises. Additionally, users can create custom tasks that will run automatically and allow users to focus their attention on the areas that most demand their focus.
    • Security. TFS is designed with the security of a user’s DevOps in mind. It enables an organization to restrict user permissions so that only developers that are meant to have access to particular parts of the development process can perform tasks related to those sections. It segments the development process to reduce the possibility of sensitive data being stolen.
    • Enables product rollbacks. TFS keeps copies of past versions of the organization’s application. Users can sift through the different versions that are available and can redeploy the version that best fits their needs should it ever become necessary to do so.

    Visual Studio TFS Features

    • Source code management. TFS comes with all of the tools that developers need to completely manage their source code. They can share their code so that multiple developers can work on the same project. Additionally, TFS enables them to do things like review the history of a particular piece of source code.

    • Project management. Organizations can leverage the wealth of project management features that TFS offers and ensure that their projects run as smoothly as possible. Project managers are able to use TFS to control every aspect of their project, from the planning stage until the application’s development has reached its conclusion.
    • Reporting. TFS enables users to generate reports that leverage critical metrics and provide them with important insights into the applications that they are creating. These comprehensive reports can be secured so that only users with the proper level of clearance can access them.

    Reviews from Real Users

    TFS is a highly effective solution that stands out when compared to many of its competitors. Two major advantages it offers are its source code management capabilities and its powerful integration suite.

    Carl B., the vice president of engineering at Vertex Downhole Ltd, writes, “The most valuable features are related to source code management. Using TFS for source code management and being able to branch and have multiple developers work on the same projects is valuable. We can also branch and merge code back together.”

    Ashish K., the principal consultant at Wipro, says, “I have found almost all of the features valuable because it integrates well with your Microsoft products. If a client is using the entire Microsoft platform, then TFS would be definitely preferable. It integrates with the digital studio development environment as well.”

    Sample Customers
    Invision, Softing, CACI, Hunter Industries, ITSO, Itron, EEC, Database Consultants Australia, VirtualScopics, March Networks, WorkForce
    Vendex KBB IT Services, Info Support, Fujitsu Consulting, TCSC, Airways New Zealand, HP
    Top Industries
    VISITORS READING REVIEWS
    Healthcare Company15%
    Educational Organization13%
    Manufacturing Company10%
    Financial Services Firm9%
    REVIEWERS
    Financial Services Firm26%
    Computer Software Company18%
    Manufacturing Company16%
    Energy/Utilities Company11%
    VISITORS READING REVIEWS
    Educational Organization51%
    Computer Software Company7%
    Manufacturing Company5%
    Financial Services Firm5%
    Company Size
    REVIEWERS
    Small Business43%
    Midsize Enterprise29%
    Large Enterprise29%
    VISITORS READING REVIEWS
    Small Business13%
    Midsize Enterprise11%
    Large Enterprise76%
    REVIEWERS
    Small Business16%
    Midsize Enterprise25%
    Large Enterprise59%
    VISITORS READING REVIEWS
    Small Business9%
    Midsize Enterprise57%
    Large Enterprise34%
    Buyer's Guide
    Helix ALM vs. TFS
    March 2024
    Find out what your peers are saying about Helix ALM vs. TFS and other solutions. Updated: March 2024.
    763,955 professionals have used our research since 2012.

    Helix ALM is ranked 16th in Test Management Tools with 2 reviews while TFS is ranked 2nd in Test Management Tools with 27 reviews. Helix ALM is rated 6.4, while TFS is rated 8.0. The top reviewer of Helix ALM writes "Helix ALM is insanely configurable, with great traceability, and flexibility". On the other hand, the top reviewer of TFS writes "It is helpful for scheduled releases and enforcing rules, but it should be better at merging changes for multiple developers and retaining the historical information". Helix ALM is most compared with IBM Rational DOORS, Jira, IBM Rational DOORS Next Generation, Polarion Requirements and SmartBear TestComplete, whereas TFS is most compared with Microsoft Azure DevOps, Jira, Rally Software, Visual Studio Test Professional and OpenText ALM / Quality Center. See our Helix ALM vs. TFS report.

    See our list of best Test Management Tools vendors.

    We monitor all Test Management Tools 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.