IBM Engineering Workflow Management vs TFS comparison

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Executive Summary

We performed a comparison between IBM Engineering Workflow Management and TFS based on real PeerSpot user reviews.

Find out in this report how the two Enterprise Agile Planning Tools solutions compare in terms of features, pricing, service and support, easy of deployment, and ROI.
To learn more, read our detailed IBM Engineering Workflow Management vs. TFS Report (Updated: July 2019).
765,234 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
"Good for managing stories, sprints, hydration and releases.""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.""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.""All of the features work together to provide a powerful holistic solution - from the dashboard all the way through to security.""Work distribution among team members and accountability for completion with a clearer picture."

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"Team Foundation Server (TFS) is easy to use, and we have a complete trail and traceability. We also like the access control part.""It's is a very stable solution.""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.""As far as queries are concerned, creating, grading, or customizing the queries as a primary requirement is very easy to do.""Complete integration with VS IDE and Office tools: This give us a possibility of high-level automation, thus minimizing human error.""From the project management perspective, the tool is efficiently managing teams by giving management information, such as reports, graphs, velocity, capacity, etc.""The biggest value-add is the solution integrates well with most Microsoft products."

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Cons
"Teams need clearer pictures of resource availability in charts and dashboards along with plans.""Some administrative tasks are difficult to perform. These could be simplified.""Lacks ability to customize and reporting can be slow.""The solution is very heavily vendor dependent.""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."

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"I understand Microsoft is phasing out TFS in favor of Git, so I would steer anyone interested in TFS to look into Git.""TFS needs to be stable.""Its pricing could be improved.""TFS on-premise does not support integration with SharePoint Online.""Currently, we are looking for a solution with which we can incorporate third-party development sites or third-party project teams into the system. Because it is on-premise, it is a bit problematic because we need to have a VPN or something else in the system. A cloud-based solution would be better for us, and that's what we are looking for. Our biggest problem is the external connection, which, of course, is limited by our own IT. It would be good to have some kind of publishing service for this external connection. It might be there, and it might be that our IT is making it impossible for us. Its template editor could be easier to use. Currently, customizing the project templates according to your needs requires some work.""There are many things that I cannot do, and I have a lot of bugs.""The overall reports in TFS could improve. Additionally, there should be an easier way to migrate from an older version to a newer one.""The solution should have better dashboards."

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Pricing and Cost Advice
  • "Licensing: The solution cost is high and should be brought down to increase competition."
  • "It's an expensive investment to make, so the decision should be driven on individual requirements."
  • "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."
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  • "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: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.
    Top Answer:Customers need to pay for a license to use this product. It is not a free tool. We use a token-based licensing model, which is specific to IBM. We have about 7,800 tokens, and including maintenance… more »
    Top Answer: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… more »
    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
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    306
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    Average Words per Review
    1,076
    Rating
    7.0
    2nd
    Views
    2,281
    Comparisons
    1,375
    Reviews
    27
    Average Words per Review
    391
    Rating
    8.0
    Comparisons
    Also Known As
    IBM Rational Team Concert (IBM ALM), IBM RTC
    Team Foundation Server
    Learn More
    IBM
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    Overview

    IBM Engineering Workflow Management manages plans, tasks, the project status and acts as the critical link between required and delivered work. It provides flexibility to adapt to any process, which enables companies to adopt faster release cycles and manage dependencies across both small and complex development projects. This solution offers no-charge server software and flexible pricing models. It becomes a complete IBM Engineering Lifecycle Management solution—when purchased as a set of seamlessly integrated tools: IBM Engineering Workflow Management, IBM Engineering Test Management, and IBM Engineering Requirements Management DOORS Next.

    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
    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
    Vendex KBB IT Services, Info Support, Fujitsu Consulting, TCSC, Airways New Zealand, HP
    Top Industries
    VISITORS READING REVIEWS
    Manufacturing Company22%
    Government12%
    Computer Software Company10%
    Financial Services Firm8%
    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 Business15%
    Midsize Enterprise23%
    Large Enterprise62%
    VISITORS READING REVIEWS
    Small Business13%
    Midsize Enterprise7%
    Large Enterprise80%
    REVIEWERS
    Small Business16%
    Midsize Enterprise25%
    Large Enterprise59%
    VISITORS READING REVIEWS
    Small Business9%
    Midsize Enterprise57%
    Large Enterprise34%
    Buyer's Guide
    IBM Engineering Workflow Management vs. TFS
    July 2019
    Find out what your peers are saying about IBM Engineering Workflow Management vs. TFS and other solutions. Updated: July 2019.
    765,234 professionals have used our research since 2012.

    IBM Engineering Workflow Management is ranked 10th in Enterprise Agile Planning Tools with 14 reviews while TFS is ranked 2nd in Test Management Tools with 93 reviews. IBM Engineering Workflow Management is rated 6.8, while TFS is rated 8.0. The top reviewer of IBM Engineering Workflow Management writes "Offers good traceability elements but UI needs improvement ". 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". IBM Engineering Workflow Management is most compared with Jira, Microsoft Azure DevOps, Codebeamer, GitLab and Polarion ALM, whereas TFS is most compared with Microsoft Azure DevOps, Jira, Rally Software, Visual Studio Test Professional and OpenText ALM / Quality Center. See our IBM Engineering Workflow Management vs. TFS report.

    We monitor all Enterprise Agile Planning 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.