Jama Connect vs. Polarion ALM

Overview
ProductRatingMost Used ByProduct SummaryStarting Price
Jama Connect
Score 9.4 out of 10
Enterprise companies (1,001+ employees)
Jama Connect® is a Requirements Management software and Requirements Traceability solution. Jama Software enables teams to manage product requirements and enable Live Traceability™ across the development process, in order to reduce cycle times and improve product quality.N/A
Polarion ALM
Score 9.8 out of 10
N/A
Polarion ALM is an application requirement management software platform now owned and supported by Siemens since the 2015 acquisition. It is available on the cloud (Polarion X) and on-premise. Polarion connect teams and projects to improve application development processes with a single, unified solution for requirements, coding, testing and release.
$42
per month per user
Pricing
Jama ConnectPolarion ALM
Editions & Modules
No answers on this topic
Polarion X Base
$42
per month per user
Polarion ALM
Contact Sales
one or more years per user/concurrent
Polarion Requirements
Contact Sales
one or more years per user/concurrent
Polarion QA
Contact Sales
one or more years per user/concurrent
Offerings
Pricing Offerings
Jama ConnectPolarion ALM
Free Trial
YesYes
Free/Freemium Version
NoNo
Premium Consulting/Integration Services
NoNo
Entry-level Setup FeeNo setup feeOptional
Additional Details
More Pricing Information
Community Pulse
Jama ConnectPolarion ALM
Considered Both Products
Jama Connect
Chose Jama Connect
Microsoft Excel provides only barebone capability when it comes to requirements development, since it is not primarily designed for that purpose. It is therefore not a serious contender to the capabilities of Jama Connect
Chose Jama Connect
It’s easier to use, easier to trace requirements and verification and has a better UI

These other tools feel more like glorified excel sheets whereas Jama actually feels intentional with being an ALM tool.
Chose Jama Connect
Jama Connect had been selected because it offered an approach that could meet 61508. User-friendly and web-based
Chose Jama Connect
Was not involled in product selection.
Chose Jama Connect
Focused on Requirements Engineering.
Intuitive
User Interface
Chose Jama Connect
- Ease of use
- Straightforward set of features
- Cost-effective (due to the fact that we've been customers of Jama Connect for nearly 15 years)
Chose Jama Connect
in terms of features they were similar. The difference was due on the architecture of Jama Connect which apperas more simple and effcient. Polarion was relying to an SVN database.
Chose Jama Connect
easier to use with better UI and versioning etc.
Chose Jama Connect
Jama Connect was the perfect balance between cost, usability and scalability that our company desired. Helix was definitely cheaper but didn't offer the usability or scalability perks. Codebeamer missed the mark on cost and was designed more for a software centric requirement …
Chose Jama Connect
Cannot give an answer as since I have taken over this application and I don't know how we did it before.
Chose Jama Connect
Functionlity is there and ease of use
Chose Jama Connect
Jama Connect is more straightforward than these systems but not quite as versatile or comprehensive. I would choose those other systems if I were at a very large company working on very complex systems (which I am not).
Chose Jama Connect
Better online access, risk traceability, and impact analysis
Chose Jama Connect
Need to force users to review and approve requirements on time.
Chose Jama Connect
I really liked Cradle as it seemed to be very full-featured. BUT, my liking for it was predicated on my being a daily user of the tool; it took me a while to get familiar with the tool. What was certainly true of Cradle in my experience was that it was VERY challenging to get …
Chose Jama Connect
Jama Connect 100%. Don't burden yourself any longer in local files.
Chose Jama Connect
Polarion did not have the outside sales support that Jama Connect has. Polarion seems better suited for an Agile development lifecycle rather than an evergreen repository of requirements, design features, and verifications.

Excel is the low-cost/low-feature requirements …
Chose Jama Connect
The major sellingpoints of Jama were the review-system for internal and external reviewers and the inclusion of (Use Case) modelling tools, while keeping the core requirements-centric. Ability to synchronise with currently in use test-tooling and the low learning curve were …
Chose Jama Connect
JAMA can navigate between them, as far as it generates reports accessible through MS Project, Word, and Excel. Moreover, very likely it can be embedded into Confluence as well however, we have not yet implemented this feature.
Chose Jama Connect
From a technical point of view, DOORS is much more customizable than Jama Connect, and this is more useful when talking about SW related requirements; when talking about system related requirements, Jama Connect is well suited with respect to DOORS, in the sense that …
Chose Jama Connect
Jama brings requirements engineering to the 21st century and sets up the bar to measure other tools. DOORS and DNG never managed to make this jump and stayed in the past.
Chose Jama Connect
We originally looked at Connect (Contour) and Doors as we wanted to move away from Word documents. Contour was much easier to use and had a better collaboration environment. The was many years ago; I haven't done any comparison in the last 5+ years.
Polarion ALM
Chose Polarion ALM
Some tool suites look cheaper at first, but the hidden costs make it expensive in the end. This also applies to the operation of the application or, in the case of some manufacturers, I would have to speak of stitched applications. Regardless, with all tools it becomes …
Chose Polarion ALM
Polarion ALM interface is much more user friendly, and the tool is completely web based. Thanks for the applications available in the marketplace it is easily possible to extend the application capabilities. Integration with most popular PLM, ALM or Service Management tools is …
Chose Polarion ALM
In Polarion ALM, the concepts of work items/tasks and documents are inherently integrated. Jira typically uses Confluence to support documents. By using these two tools, for example, you encounter baseline problems that do not exist in Polarion ALM.
Chose Polarion ALM
Polarion ALM have the traceability, both between the artifact but also the historical on who have done what when always available that is difficult for Jira, since Jira is more forward looking on what is left to do.
Chose Polarion ALM
Polarion ALM is designed as a comprehensive Application Lifecycle Management solution, covering requirements management, test management, collaboration, and more in a single integrated platform. If your organization values a unified approach to managing the entire development …
Chose Polarion ALM
Atlassian Jira Align and IBM Rational DOORS Next Generation
Chose Polarion ALM
  • Much more features
  • Easier to implement
  • Faster ROI
Chose Polarion ALM
We prefer Polarion because of its traceability. Working in documents is very important for many customers. We have the possibility to configure almost everything or extend it with our own solutions.
Chose Polarion ALM
Polarion ALM has the best usability, extensibility and reactiv product management. The support is also very good compared to other companies. Or in other words it is closer to the customer. Codebeamer is for sure also a good ALM tool with a great feature set, but existing …
Chose Polarion ALM
Polarion is a juggernaut of a tool when it comes to traceability and modelling. And it is far better for task management.
Best Alternatives
Jama ConnectPolarion ALM
Small Businesses
Polarion ALM
Polarion ALM
Score 9.8 out of 10
GitLab
GitLab
Score 8.7 out of 10
Medium-sized Companies
Polarion ALM
Polarion ALM
Score 9.8 out of 10
Planview AgilePlace
Planview AgilePlace
Score 9.9 out of 10
Enterprises
Polarion ALM
Polarion ALM
Score 9.8 out of 10
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Planview AgilePlace
Score 9.9 out of 10
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User Ratings
Jama ConnectPolarion ALM
Likelihood to Recommend
8.8
(0 ratings)
9.8
(0 ratings)
Likelihood to Renew
8.1
(0 ratings)
9.1
(0 ratings)
Usability
7.3
(0 ratings)
7.6
(0 ratings)
Availability
8.2
(0 ratings)
-
(0 ratings)
Performance
7.3
(0 ratings)
-
(0 ratings)
Support Rating
9.1
(0 ratings)
-
(0 ratings)
Online Training
8.2
(0 ratings)
-
(0 ratings)
Implementation Rating
9.1
(0 ratings)
-
(0 ratings)
Configurability
9.1
(0 ratings)
-
(0 ratings)
Ease of integration
6.4
(0 ratings)
-
(0 ratings)
Product Scalability
8.2
(0 ratings)
-
(0 ratings)
Vendor post-sale
9.1
(0 ratings)
-
(0 ratings)
Vendor pre-sale
9.1
(0 ratings)
-
(0 ratings)
User Testimonials
Jama ConnectPolarion ALM
Likelihood to Recommend
Jama connect has the best UI compared to DOORS, Codebeamer, and PTC Integrity. It’s the clearest to use with the best usability. For example make traces between all requirements is as straightforward as clicking a button. The trace matrix view is highly configurable to get you to show anything you need. It has extensive filtering where every index in your requirement is indexed. Same with their export features, you can use default templates or create custom templates to export to PDF for all your regulatory needs like submitting documentation to FDA. This has helped us a ton without requiring much edits and letting us create up to date reviewed documents.
Speaking of review system, it’s well organized and you can set required approved and optional reviewers. Track your redlines in the tool and also view and resolve comments.
The one issue I’ve experienced is that with a large system the web app can take some time to load everything.
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Polarion ALM shines where it is intended to be used: Application Lifecycle Management. It fits well with agile development concepts, but the extensive customization abilities allow it to adapt to other concepts, too. It is suitable as an all-in-one solution, which is capable of giving transparency over all related areas, be it Requirement Management, Test Management, Release Management, Defect Management, etc., to the involved stakeholders.
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Pros
  • Requirements Management in general
  • Focus in the content without loosing the track of the evolution of the items by maintaining the exchange of information between the users inside the Tool.
  • The possibilities to integrate this tool within our IT-landcape and with our other engineering tools is for us a leverage to success.
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  • Requirement management in Polarion is extremely effective, with a simple but powerful authoring environment, simple approval process management, seamless traceability and advanced reuse capabilities
  • Test management capabilities allow to link together the requirements with the validation process, and let the user define, plan, execute and record tests across the whole development process
  • Day bay day management of development is easy to track, with out of the box support for agile methodologies, live planning reports and integration with Git, SVN and CI/CD tools.
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Cons
  • The 'filtering' capabilities in Jama are not as good as they could be. In particular, the ability to "nest" filters is quite limited. I have certain seen much better capabilities in other tools. ('Cradle' is an example of a tool with excellent "nested filters" capabilities.)
  • From an administrative point of view, the 'License' admin view is pretty disappointing. The particular thing that I'd like to be able to find out from it is the peak number of 'Float Creator' licenses in concurrent use on each day. If there's a way to get to that information, I haven't found it yet.
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  • Depending on complexity of application, it can be difficult to learn
  • Object oriented way of organizing information might be difficult due to high abstraction level
  • Massive configuration possibilities give also great responsibility and need clear focus on business benefits to prevent going too much tool centric
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Likelihood to Renew
Jama is really easy to use and operate compared to other tools. This allows a process owner to get easier buy-in from the organization to see value early. My experience with this tool was very positive and we were able to see value early in its introduction
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There is too much at stake to go into a new system. But with everything else being promised as far as newer more innovative products, the justification to not renew is a huge risk so that is not a concern
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Usability
The requirements and baseline parts are easy to use. The review centre is very useable and understandable, once you understand/set up the moderation. (This last part could use some refinement.) Integration/connectability (the Connect part of Jama) is quite possible, but the useability could use some love as well.
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Polarion ALM can be used individually and what I do with Polarion ALM is decided by my configuration. Lesson-learned, operational risk management, product, system or software development or customer management .... doesn't matter at all. I decide with my configuration what I will do with Polarion ALM. Of course, you can also use Polarion ALM out-of-the-box for your development because it comes with a large set of project templates.For this reason, I would also recommend not to just get started. A suitable consultant will show you the right templates and customize them according to your needs. Having Polarion ALM is like having a car. You know exactly how to operate the car. You've done it a thousand times before. The details are in the configuration: did I have a navigation system installed or not? Do I have a lane departure warning system or not? Do I have cruise control or not? Unlike when buying a vehicle, almost all functions are already available and can be used, usually at no extra cost. However, if something is missing, it can be obtained via the manufacturer's extension portal. Individual extensions are subject to a charge. Polarion ALM - easy to deploy and easy to use.
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Reliability and Availability
It has always been available, except for preventative maintenance which is announced beforehand. Nonetheless, we experienced one day shortage over a miscommunication about payment.
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update, reindex takes to long
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Performance
With performance compared to JIRA, I do recommend Jama in this case. Jama provides very good performance, it loads immediately for any of the items and searches any item immediately. Performance is really good in all of the operations including creating stories, epics, item types or other support operations or report generation.
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No answers on this topic
Support Rating
They typically answer within minutes of posting a ticket, and then you have a clear expectation of what the issue is, how to diagnose it, how long will it take to get resolved, and in which version a given problem is resolved, or if there is a patch for hosted services. They have a number of support people, and all of them are top-notch.
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Support for customers using the full range of Polarion could be better.
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In-Person Training
Helpful and exhaustive and tailorable for our needs. Instructor was well versed and engaged. Material was a good reference and was up to date with tool. Overall, in person training was valuable for tool introduction. Trainer was an active user of the tool and worked closely with other clients. So, very knowledgeable.
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competent trainer, good training project
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Online Training
Easy to reference and understand. Updated routinely to include new topics. Online training evolves to include more advanced topics and how to guides. Online training includes videos and reference guides that make it easy to perform more complex tasks. Online training is free and can be accessed from any computer.
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easy to follow, efficent
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Implementation Rating
Jama 2015.5 implementation is very smooth and no need for much manual work. Jama 8 has many challenges and we can not install it as smoothly as Jama 2015.5. Initially, Jama didn't provide the Jama 8's installer files or zip files and they were just providing docker files to everyone (which was really strange). It is the worst that they don't provide all the files at a time. Why should they tell us where we should deploy, and why only a dockerfile? I am not very satisfied with Jama implementation.
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Automated install and backup procedure ist missing
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Alternatives Considered
JCA is an extraordinary tool that is very simple to use and brings efficiency to the creation of requirements. It is particularly good at highlighting improvements to requirements which, when done properly and done up front in the engineering development process, will save significant time and prevent confusion downstream in the development process. It's difficult to quantify how much of a positive impact JCA would have on any individual project, but I would say it could easily save an organization more than its cost in terms of improving efficiencies and the traceability integrity throughout the entire portfolio of projects when applied correctly. This additional product from Jama is highly recommended.
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Some tool suites look cheaper at first, but the hidden costs make it expensive in the end. This also applies to the operation of the application or, in the case of some manufacturers, I would have to speak of stitched applications. Regardless, with all tools it becomes critical at some point. We have found for ourselves that when safety and/or security come into play, things get tricky with most applications. Ultimately, it is and remains a matter of taste and the food should be based on the requirements and not on personal sensitivities. I hope everyone makes the right decision for themselves and the company.
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Scalability
There is no horizontal scalability available in Jama, we have only one choice to scale it vertically. But vertical scalable applications always have limitations to grow. In this case, Jama doesn't support horizontal scalability functions like multi-node architectures with a shared drive for the home directory.
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No answers on this topic
Return on Investment
  • One experience that converted an engineer to using Jama Connect was an electronics engineer that was writing test plans. I showed them about how to write "unit" or very discrete tests and then showed them an automatic export to get the document. Thus the authoring of the document effort was taken away, they could focus on defining the test
  • Unfortunately I have very much struggled to embed systems engineering, requirements management and Jama Connect as part of the 'ways of working' outside the systems and electronics teams.
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  • The traceability features in Polarion ALM help identify and address issues early in the development cycle
  • Polarion ALM provides real-time dashboards and reporting, offering stakeholders visibility into project status, progress, and quality metrics.
  • The initial implementation of Polarion ALM may require time and effort. Some organizations may face challenges in adapting to the tool, and there might be a learning curve for users, especially those new to ALM solutions.
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ScreenShots

Jama Connect Screenshots

Screenshot of Jama Connect - Live TraceabilityScreenshot of Jama Connect - Project Dashboard ViewScreenshot of Jama Connect - Requirements ManagementScreenshot of SOC 2 Type II Compliant

Polarion ALM Screenshots

Screenshot of Requirements Management - This feature is used to gather, author, approve and manage requirements across the full project lifecycles.Screenshot of Test & Quality Management - From this interface, users can manage all testing activities from a central platform.Screenshot of Issue & Risk Management - This interface is used to track all possible and reported failures, or plan and assign tasks to mitigate them.Screenshot of Connectors & Extensibility - Out of the box integrations with popular tools. Free, open APIs can be used to build apps and extensionsScreenshot of Agile / Hybrid Project Management - Modern agile techniques can be adopted at once or incrementally with out of the box project templates that can be adjusted to meet any needs.Screenshot of Core Functionality - Collaboration, Traceability and Workflow - 3 core principles built into the software